NF-16D VISTA Redesignated an ‘X’ Plane to Test Skyborg

Aug. 2, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

There’s a new X-plane in the Air Force’s fleet.

The Air Force Test Pilot School in June redesignated the NF-16D Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft as the X-62A, allowing the aircraft to be used for testing the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Skyborg program.

The aircraft, originally a Block 30 F-16, has been heavily modified and upgraded since its first flight in 1992 to give pilots a way to simulate different flying conditions as well as the characteristics of other aircraft, according to a USAF release.

“For more than two decades VISTA has been a vital asset for the USAF TPS [Test Pilot School] and the embodiment of our goal to be part of the cutting edge of flight test and aerospace technology,” said William Gray, VISTA and TPS chief test pilot, in the release. “It has given almost a thousand students and staff members the opportunity to practice testing aircraft with dangerously poor flying qualities, and to execute risk-reduction flight test programs for advanced technologies.”

The Air Force is now replacing the aircraft’s VISTA Simulation System with the System for Autonomous Control of Simulation, the release states.

“The redesignation reflects the research done on the aircraft over the past almost 30 years, as well as acknowledges the major upgrade program that is ongoing to support future USAF autonomy testing,” said Chris Cotting, USAF TPS director of research, in the release.

AFRL’s Skyborg is a suite of hardware and software aimed at developing the Air Force’s use of teaming manned and unmanned aircraft, also known as a “loyal wingman.” The system made its first flight on a Kratos UTAP-22 Mako air vehicle in April. In December 2020, the Air Force awarded Kratos, Boeing, and General Atomics contracts to continue with the effort.

Skyborg is one of four Air Force “Vanguard” programs—top research projects that USAF believes will be unique and useful. Others include the Golden Horde weapons swarm, Navigation Technology Satellite-3, and the “rocket cargo” space mobility effort.

The famed “X” designation is for aircraft that are designed for “testing configurations of a radical nature,” Edwards said in the release. The X-62 is now part of an exclusive club that has helped shape cutting-edge aeronautical research for decades, including the Bell X-1, which was the first airplane to break the sound barrier, and the hypersonic X-15. Other more recent examples include the X-37 space plane, the hypersonic X-51 Waverider, and the second-most-recent X-61 Gremlins.

As China’s Military Might Rises, the US Must Master Change to Prepare for Next War, Milley Says

Aug. 2, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

The U.S. must adapt to the “changing character of war” or face “devastating consequences,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley said Aug. 2.

“China will be a major agent of change to the current international order,” he told a full luncheon crowd at the Gaylord National Resort in Maryland.

“China is coming at us with increasing diplomatic capabilities, economic capabilities, and military capabilities to include a world-class navy surface capability, undersea capability, and naval air capability,” he said during the Navy League of the United States’ Sea-Air-Space Global Maritime Exposition.

Milley said at least 40 to 50 new technologies, including unmanned systems and artificial intelligence, are available to all countries in the world, so they must be mastered by the United States to prepare for war.

He cited Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, who spoke earlier in the day, in estimating that one-third of U.S. Naval surface and subsurface systems would be unmanned by the 2030s. The percentage of pilotless aircraft would likely be higher.

“About 40 to 60 percent of future air forces, air wings, and squadrons will be robotic, pilotless,” the Chairman said. “They will be teamed up with manned aircraft, fourth- [and] fifth-generation.”

Milley said the technologies are not secret and are available right now.

Taking a historical view, he described 100-year cycles of peace interrupted by great-power wars and said the world was currently in the 76th year of the current international order, but “under intense, growing stress.”

Milley underscored that the U.S. military needs to “accelerate our change over the next 10 years” to keep up, but not in spending and equipment numbers.

The Pentagon is expected to get a flat defense budget this year, and despite an expected budget increase, the Navy will fall behind its goal of a Congressionally mandated 355 ships. The Navy now has 297 deployable ships, while China is believed to have 335 surface ships.

“It’s not about the sheer volume of weapons. It’s not about numbers. It’s not about the machines that you possess. It’s about having a different set of capabilities,” he said. “It isn’t about how much money we’re spending. It’s what we’re spending it on.”

Milley instead spoke about investments in capabilities such as precision munitions and artificial intelligence. Combined, the new technologies will be a determining factor in great-power competition.

“It’s likely to have a significant and perhaps a decisive edge at the beginning of the next war,” the chairman said. “Mastering this fundamental change in the character of war is going to be the most important thing we will do as a professional military in the next 10 years.”

ACC to Allow New Mothers to Use Breast Pumps in Secure Facilities

Aug. 2, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Thanks to a grassroots effort, new mothers serving in Air Combat Command can now use Bluetooth-enabled breast pumps in secure facilities—the latest in a series of USAF steps to remove barriers to service.

Capt. Jennifer McNeill, an F-15E Strike Eagle pilot at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., discussed the challenges involved with leaving her secure facility to find a lactation room and the potential impact her absence has on her team, during ACC’s second Sword Athena 2021 conference earlier this year.

McNeill submitted an administrative package to let her use a Bluetooth-enabled pump in a secure facility, which can be used discreetly under her uniform, allowing her to participate in pre-mission briefings and debriefs, even while pumping.

“These changes have allowed me the opportunity to maintain my status as a tactical asset while not feeling pressure to give up on breastfeeding,” McNeill said in the release.

Former ACC Command Surgeon Maj. Gen. Sharon R. Bannister signed a memo in June designating breast pumps as a medical device, the release states. After a technical analysis, ACC Director of Intelligence Brig. Gen. Steven M. Gorski and the Special Access Program office authorized ACC Airmen to use the device in secure facilities. As part of the new process, which is similar to the use of other personal electronic devices, Airmen must secure a user agreement with their facility manager before using the devices.

“Classifying breast pumps as medical devices that can be brought into any workplace shows women in the Air Force that their choice to have a family isn’t a burden to be shouldered, but a direction that is encouraged and endorsed by Air Force leadership,” McNeill said in the release. “It also makes a statement to all Airmen that the Air Force values family, inclusivity, and breaking down gender barriers to service not just on paper, but in practice.”

This was not the only change spurred by the event. ACC boss Gen. Mark A. Kelly also signed a memorandum approving command civilians to be compensated for nursing breaks during a child’s first year.

“These initiatives are perfect examples of what I asked Sword Athena to tackle, and it highlights ACC’s commitment to families,” Kelly said in the release. “The work isn’t done yet. We continue to remove barriers for our new mothers to stay tactical and on mission, and at the same time take care of their families.”

The efforts are the latest in a series of changes aimed at making it easier for women to stay in service after they have children. Others changes include adjusting height requirements for pilot applicants, developing maternity flight suits, and allowing missileers, remotely piloted aircraft pilots, and some other pilots to continue to work during their pregnancy.

Senate Confirms New Bosses at AMC, AFGSC

July 30, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Senate on July 29 confirmed new bosses for Air Force Global Strike Command and Air Mobility Command along with five other general officer roles in the Air and Space Forces.

Lt. Gen. Anthony J. Cotton will receive his fourth star and replace Gen. Timothy M. Ray as the head of Air Force Global Strike Command. Cotton, a missileer by training, currently serves as Ray’s deputy. He’s commanded the 20th Air Force, the 45th Space Wing, and the 341st Missile Wing. He also served as commander and president of Air University from 2018 to 2019. Ray, who has led the command since August 2018, was ceremoniously retired earlier this month after 36 years in uniform.

Lt. Gen. Mike Minihan also will receive his fourth star to lead Air Mobility Command. He replaces Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, who has been nominated to lead U.S. Transportation Command. Minihan is a command pilot with more than 3,400 flying hours in the C-130, KC-10, and C-32.

Other confirmations, include:

Lt. Gen. Kevin B. Schneider to serve as the Air Force’s director of staff. Schneider is currently the commander of U.S. Forces Japan and Fifth Air Force.
Maj. Gen. Tom D. Miller to receive his third star and to lead the Air Force Sustainment Center in Air Force Materiel Command. Miller is currently the director of logistics, engineering, and force protection at Air Combat Command.
Maj. Gen. James A. Jacobson to receive his third star and to serve as the deputy commander of Pacific Air Forces. Jacobson is currently the director, training and readiness, in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff at Headquarters Air Force.
Maj. Gen. Mark E. Weatherington to receive his third star and to replace Cotton as deputy commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. Weatherington is currently the commander of 8th Air Force.
Space Force Maj. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein will receive his third star and become the first commander of Space Systems Command when it stands up next month. The current Space and Missile Systems Center will become SSC. Guetlein is now the deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office.

Maintenance Error Brought Down Eglin F-22, ACC Declines to Conduct Public Investigation Into Mishap

July 30, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

A maintenance error, committed after an F-22 was washed, affected its control inputs and caused the Raptor to crash May 15, 2020, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The pilot safely ejected, but the aircraft was totaled, with an estimated loss of $201 million, according to Air Combat Command.

ACC released limited information on the crash despite the significant loss to the Air Force’s fifth-generation fighter fleet, because unlike most major mishaps, the command did not conduct a publicly releasable investigation.

In a statement, the command said that “due to operational concerns,” ACC directed a Safety Investigation Board and a Commander Directed Investigation into the crash and did not complete an Accident Investigation Board report. The AIBs typically detail the circumstances concerning a crash as well as the AIB president’s determination of the cause.

The other two types of investigations are not released, so the limited information in a press release is the extent to which ACC is telling the public about what happened to the F-22. The Northwest Florida Daily News was the first to report on the cause of the crash.

Air Force Instruction 51-307 governs the Air Force’s aerospace and ground accident investigations. It requires the publicly releasable AIB for on-duty Class A mishaps—defined as incidents that cause a loss of life or more than $2.5 million in damage. But there’s an exception.

“This requirement may be waived by competent authority,” an ACC spokesperson said in a statement to Air Force Magazine. “In the case of the May 15 incident, the convening authority, ACC’s deputy commander, was the waiver authority for this provision. With the concurrence of Air Force Judge Advocate, who was the AFI approval authority, ACC’s deputy commander waived the requirement for an AIB.”

ACC said the Safety Investigation Board and the Commander Directed Investigation were “conducted to determine the cause of the accident and to prevent future mishaps.”

The full description of the crash is: “Upon takeoff, the pilot noticed a Flight Control System advisory and elected to continue with takeoff. Shortly after the aircraft became airborne, the pilot began having trouble controlling the aircraft and declared an emergency. While a recovery plan was being coordinated, the pilot continued to have issues with the aircraft and ejected.”

The pilot, who was assigned to the 43rd Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Wing, sustained minor injuries in the ejection. The incident was one of two involving fifth-generation fighters at the base. Less than a week later, on May 19, 2020, an F-35 crashed at Eglin. An AIB into that mishap stated that excessive landing speed, exacerbated by issues with the pilot’s helmet-mounted display, caused the crash.

Even though Air Education and Training Command conducted an AIB to investigate the second incident, the F-35 Joint Program Office said any corrective measures from the crash would remain secret.

While most Class A mishaps result in publicly released reports, it is not clear how often commanders waive the requirement to provide the public with the investigation. In fiscal 2020, the Air Force reported 29 total Class A mishaps with 14 aircraft destroyed. The public repository for AIBs lists nine reports for the destroyed aircraft. Air Education and Training Command did not conduct an AIB for an Afghan Air Force A-29 Super Tucano that crashed in Afghanistan since USAF did not own the aircraft. It is not clear what the remaining aircraft are.

Long-Serving Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin Dies at 87

July 30, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Former Michigan Senator Carl M. Levin, known for overseeing the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee for more than 10 years, over two separate spans, died July 29 in Detroit. He was 87.

Levin began his career as an attorney, professor, and assistant attorney general in Michigan and was elected to the Senate in 1978. He became the state’s longest-serving senator before retiring in 2015.

“Whether he was chairing a hearing on critical national security issues or working on behalf of his home state, he
believed that collaboration and compromise served our common purpose better than partisanship and political
brinkmanship,” Levin’s family said in a statement. “He was a clarion voice for a military strong enough to defend our nation and uphold American values.”

Levin first took over the Senate Armed Services Committee in 2001, later telling a Roll Call reporter that he had never served in the military and saw guiding the military as “a way of providing service.”

Throughout his time in the Senate, Levin was known for pressing for strong oversight of military procurement programs, nuclear nonproliferation through steps such as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and New START, and enacting the legislation that ended the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Levin visited ground zero at the Pentagon and supported the authorization to target al-Qaida in Afghanistan, though he opposed the invasion of Iraq.

Levin announced his planned retirement in 2013, saying he wanted to use his last term to “best serve my state and nation” by focusing on “fiscal pressures on our military readiness” during sequestration. The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act was named the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act in both his honor and for the retiring representative from California. The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer DDG-120 was named the USS Carl M. Levin in his honor in 2016.

In a statement, both the current chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee paid tribute to Levin. SASC Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said Levin was a friend who “tackled every challenge with character and integrity.”

“I was fortunate to travel with Carl many times to U.S. outposts and ships around the world, and I witnessed firsthand his concern for those who served,” Reed said. “He understood service and sacrifice, and his tireless advocacy for the troops has left a lasting legacy within our military.”

Ranking Member Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said Levin was a “rare Democrat who was totally independent and had no issue disagreeing with his party when he felt strongly. He was so strong on defense that I wondered why the Democrat leadership left him in that position—but he was so popular he would have been impossible to get rid of.”

Fire Season Now Year Round for the Guard, Hokanson Says

July 30, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Firefighting technology hasn’t changed much from the days when Chief of the National Guard Bureau Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson dropped buckets of water from a UH-60 Black Hawk, and his brother, a smokejumper, parachuted in to fight wildfires on foot.

What has changed is the number of fires—and their intensity.

“We used to talk about ‘fire season,’” Hokanson told a gaggle of journalists at the Pentagon on July 29 as fires raged in Oregon and California. “It’s really a ‘fire year’ now. Fires really almost go year round.”

About 500 Guard and Reserve members and 19 aircraft are helping state authorities respond to the Bootleg Fire in Oregon and the Dixie Fire in California. Combined, the fires have already torched over 600,000 acres. The Guard’s C-130 Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) are able to drop 3,000 pounds of retardant on a wildfire in less than five seconds, fly back, refill, and be in the air again in under 20 minutes.

“When you see a plane come in and leave that big red streak of fire retardant, we use our C-130s to do that,” said Hokanson.

To date, four MAFFS-equipped C-130s from three states have made 273 drops and flown 280 sorties.

In addition to the C-130’s fire retardant power, helicopters are called to deliver water buckets, like in the late ’90s when Hokanson was piloting fire crews.

“We use a lot of helicopters as well, with buckets, and they usually scoop up water nearby and drop it on the fire,” he said. “I used to do that when I was young and cool. So, it’s a pretty intense environment to do that.”

In anticipation of a larger wildfire season and more demand, fire crews from Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Arizona were trained earlier this year to provide backup, Hokanson said.

The force is always watching environmental conditions: snowfall, rain, wind, and humidity content in forests.

“When it reaches a certain level, of course, it’s very prone to fire,” he said.

Civilian fire crews used to be sufficient for fires in the fall, winter, and early spring, but now the Guard is needed more than ever before.

Hokanson said the Guard is using just 10 percent of its firefighting capacity, with a reach of up to 200 aircraft. The advanced training and the available aircraft are sufficient for the Guard to help states now, but resources will need to remain in place if the wildfire trend continues.

“We’re in a pretty good spot right now,” Hokanson said of the Guard members in nearby states who received advance training. “Most of those folks are already trained and ready to go.”

AFRL Looking for Contractors to Build Anti-UAS High-Powered Microwave

July 30, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force Research Laboratory is looking for contractors to develop a fieldable high-powered microwave system that can protect air bases by disabling or destroying hostile drones, according to a solicitation published July 28. The program will launch this fall, and AFRL wants a prototype system in 2023.

The program is called “Mjolnir,” the name of the hammer wielded by the Norse god Thor. It will build on the success of an existing experimental version, the Tactical High-power Operational Responder (THOR), and AFRL wanted a related name for the next version, according to an AFRL press release.

The THOR demonstrator “uses bursts of intense radio waves to disable small unmanned aircraft systems [sUAS] instantly,” AFRL said. An AFRL video posted on YouTube shows the THOR sweeping microwaves against a UAS swarmS, causing them to explode or fall out of the sky instantly, but at relatively close ranges to their intended targets.

AFRL’s THOR (Tactical High-power Operational Responder) is a prototype directed energy (DE) weapon used to disable the electronics in drones and was specifically engineered to counter multiple targets–such as a drone swarm–with rapid results. Credit: Air Force Research Laboratory YouTube page.

After a two-year experiment campaign, the AFRL team “has learned a lot about the benefits of the technology and how it can be improved,” said Amber Anderson, THOR program manager. The Mjolnir will be the follow-on system using the same technology, with improved capability, reliability, and “manufacturing readiness,” AFRL said.

The goal is a deployable system that can be “economically produced in large numbers,” THOR deputy program manager Adrian Lucero said, and to “grow a fledgling industry that will become critically important as the U.S. strives to maintain our electromagnetic spectrum superiority,” he said.

The announcement comes a week after AFRL published a paper on potential future directed energy systems called “Directed Energy Futures 2060.” The paper said the Air Force is looking for systems that can destroy swaths of UASs at once, rather than individually pointing directed-energy systems at them and destroying them one at a time.

AFRL is partnered with the Joint Counter-UAS Office and the Army’s Rapid Capability and Critical Technologies Office on the project, which is being managed out of Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, by AFRL’s Directed Energy Directorate, High Power Electromagnetics Division.

The solicitation specifies that AFRL wants “a single, near-production representative, cost-effective counter-unmanned aerial system (cUAS) that is suited to operational environments and performs at levels equal to or greater than” the THOR prototype. The program will capitalize on the earlier work and “enable future transition to a program of record.” A cost-plus, fixed-fee award is anticipated. AFRL estimates it will spend $14 million on the program in fiscal 2022 and $6 million in 2023, for a total of $20 million. Although one award is anticipated, more may be made.

Responses to the solicitation are due Sept. 13.

Northrop Grumman Earnings Up in Second Quarter, Strong on Space

July 29, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

Strong performance in space systems helped Northrop Grumman achieve sales three percent higher than a year ago, company officers reported in a July 29 second-quarter earnings call with reporters. CEO Kathy Warden said the company’s prospects are rosy given strong support in Congress for not only a higher defense spending plan than the one requested, but also for Northrop Grumman’s programs, specifically.

Warden said Congress has endorsed the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) missile system, the B-21 bomber, the F-35 fighter, and the Navy’s Triton unmanned reconnaissance aircraft based on the RQ-4 Global Hawk. She expects an “integrated” new National Defense Strategy and Nuclear Posture Review “in the next six months or so” and is “pleased” that the Biden administration is reviewing both documents in tandem.

“It is the threat environment that should define the overall defense strategy and the role of the strategic deterrent,” she said, responding to how she sees the environment for the company’s strategic programs shaping up.

The administration has clearly stated that Russia is the pacing threat when it comes to nuclear capabilities, but China’s are rapidly growing, making the programs necessary, she said. “Recent intelligence … further supports that,” she added. The NPR will evaluate how well U.S. strategic systems “measure up against that threat.”

Given the assessment and the “affordability of the programs,” Warden said Northrop Grumman has “positioned our portfolio well” and that it “should line up” with the NDS and NPR.

She noted that the Senate Armed Services Committee endorsed a $25 billion increase over the requested $715 billion top line.

“We are making great progress on the GBSD program,” Warden said. “In the second quarter, the team officially closed out the EMD [engineering and manufacturing development] baseline review with our Air Force customer, and we completed the integrated baseline review,” which is a “critical step in setting cost and schedule baselines,” she said, calling it “an important milestone for the program.” The company also recently got a contract to continue supporting the Air Force’s 400 Minuteman III missiles until the GBSD is ready for service.

Warden highlighted Northrop Grumman’s role in the recent Northern Edge wargame, touting the company’s efforts in networking and connecting systems to be able to talk to each other toward a future joint all-domain command and control (JADC2) architecture. Responding to a question, she said she anticipates that JADC2 will be a large federated system of many contractors and platforms, rather than a “big bang” contract with a single company, at some point in the future.

She also noted that Northop Grumman is working on “several restricted programs,” which are apparently above and beyond the B-21 bomber. Chief Financial Officer David Keffer said, “Volume was higher on restricted programs and E-2D,” the Navy’s airborne warning and control airplane, and there was “lower volume in autonomous systems,” which include the Global Hawk and Triton.

Warden did not discuss the B-21, except to refer reporters to the Air Force’s recently released fact sheet and artist’s concept of the bomber, and to tout the program as performing well.

Aeronautics sales were “flat for the quarter,” Keffer said, as several programs, such as the F/A-18 and F-35, are entering a “plateau” of work. As provider of the rear fuselage of the F-35, Northrop Grumman’s work levels run ahead of those at prime manufacturer Lockheed Martin, Keffer pointed out.

Space systems drove Northrop Grumman’s high performance, with sales growing 34 percent in the second quarter and 32 percent year-to-date, “reflecting continued ramp-up on GBSD and the Next-Generation Interceptor,” Keffer reported, as well as the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module for NASA’s Gateway space station that will orbit the moon, plus work on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and the Pentagon’s Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared system (OPIR). Northrop Grumman is also partnered with Blue Origin on designing a human-rated moon lander spacecraft for the Artemis program—a lost bid that Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is still trying to get the contract for.

Warden said HALO is one of the company’s very few firm-fixed-price contracts, which the company went into because it already has built similar hardware for NASA and the risk was low. The company has demonstrated that “we will walk away” from a competition if the financial risk is too great, she said. She doesn’t see more fixed-price contracts on the horizon and said the practice may even be on the wane for the industry at large.