SASC Advances Kendall’s Nomination to be Secretary of the Air Force

June 10, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Senate Armed Services Committee on June 10 advanced the nomination of Frank Kendall to be the next Secretary of the Air Force, setting him up for a floor vote soon.

Kendall, who served as the No. 3 in the Pentagon during the Obama administration as the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, was picked for the job in April. During his May 25 nomination hearing, Kendall said he wanted to return to the Pentagon because of his concerns about China’s rapid modernization.

“That is the reason, perhaps, that I’m interested in coming back into government, … and hopefully, to be confirmed, is to address that problem,” Kendall said.

During the hearing, he said he supports a fleet of 145 B-21s, continued buys of the F-35, and retaining much of the A-10 and MQ-9 fleet. While overseeing Defense Department acquisition, he criticized the F-35 program as “acquisition malpractice” but eventually became a supporter as the program progressed.

The smooth hearing and quick voice vote sets Kendall up for an expected easy vote on the Senate floor, though the date has not been set.

Also on June 10, the committee advanced the nominations of:

Heidi Shyu to be the under secretary of defense for research and engineering
Susanna Blume to be the director of the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office
Jill Hruby to be the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration
Frank A. Rose to be the NNSA’s principal deputy administrator
Deborah G. Rosenblum to be the assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs
Christopher P. Maier to be assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict.

Allvin: Old Iron Whittling Down Air Force Readiness

June 10, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force is losing ground on readiness because it has too many old airplanes to keep operating, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin told the House Armed Services readiness panel.

The Air Force’s $15.4 billion weapon systems sustainment request in 2022 is “on a par” with the 2021 request, but Allvin told legislators the “funding is not keeping pace with the escalating cost.” Up to 2021, he said, “requirements grew by more than $800 million, as we brought on new aircraft without retiring legacy platforms.”

The 2022 request looks to retire 201 aircraft and buy 91 new ones, for a net decrease of 110 airplanes, in an effort to “affordably balance the weapon systems sustainment accounts,” Allvin said. The Air Force would use the savings to upgrade the remaining gear or develop new systems that are more relevant to what Allvin called “the future fight.”

He also said the budget makes “several key adjustments to operational deployment constructs, to ensure our forces are optimally postured to build and sustain readiness for peer competition, including re-aligning the Air Force’s force generation model.”

The readiness accounts also support more dynamic force employment taskings and “more high-end training for peer competition,” he told the subcommittee.

If allowed to make the requested changes, Allvin said the service can accelerate “the readiness recovery this committee makes possible.”

Asked what the Air Force is doing to combat its chronic pilot shortage, he said the goal is to bring on 1,500 new pilots per year, and he itemized a number of “irons in the fire” that Air Education and Training Command is exploring to accelerate pilot production. These include a fast-track training program for qualified civilian pilots to become USAF pilots; skipping the fixed-wing portion of training for helicopter pilots and sending them directly to rotary-wing instruction; shifting to civilian instructors for simulator training and allowing them to conduct that training virtually and remotely, thus putting more line pilots back in operational cockpits.

Putting all those together—and if they pay off as expected—he said, “the Air Force can really produce about one additional base’s worth” of pilots per year, “and our target for knowing that will be by FY ’24, but we want to make sure we’re assessing each of these and where we might want to put more emphasis.”

Allvin also said the Air Force will put more effort into managing pilots “throughout their career, so the bathtub [the cohort shortage] doesn’t just move from company grade officers to field grade officers. We need to manage them through their entire life cycle, which will be a challenge going forward.”

He also confirmed that USAF plans to keep with its “three depot strategy” and is putting money into programs to grow new civilian talent for depots through scholarships and journeyman programs. The depots are also being funded for new technologies such as 3-D, or additive manufacturing, to make a “graceful transition” to retirement for aircraft suffering from vanishing vendor syndrome. There’s $100 million in the budget being applied to sustainment technologies, Allvin said.

Biden Addresses Airmen after Landing in Europe for First Overseas Trip

June 9, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

Just a few moments after landing in the United Kingdom on June 9 to kick off his first foreign trip as President of the United States, Joe Biden took to a stage in a hangar at RAF Mildenhall, U.K., and delivered an address to hundreds of U.S. Airmen and their families.

Speaking for more than 20 minutes, Biden praised the service of the Airmen while reflecting on his own military connections, tying the two together as he offered a sharp defense of democratic values and spoke on his goals for the visit overseas.

Members of the 100th Air Refueling Wing, the 352nd Special Operations Wing, 48th Fighter Wing, 501st Combat Support Wing, and 95th Reconnaissance Squadron were all present for Biden’s speech, as he remarked that he was “so damn proud” of the service members.

“We owe you. We owe you big. I’ve long said that as a nation, we have many obligations, but we only have one truly sacred obligation, only one. That’s to properly prepare and equip the women and men we send into harm’s way, and to care for you and your families, both while you’re deployed, and when you come home,” Biden said.

Both Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden took time to pay tribute to military families as well, citing their own experience with their son Beau, who served in the Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq for a year.

“Everyone in this room knows that our military families are essential, essential to our strength. It’s the key reason Jill relaunched Joining Forces, to make sure we’re doing everything we can to support military spouses and children and their mothers and fathers as well,” Biden said.

Much of Biden’s speech focused on his foreign policy and national security objectives, as he pledged to reiterate the U.S.’s support for traditional alliances with the U.K. and NATO, take on climate change as a security threat, build up infrastructure across countries, and establish norms of conduct in cyberspace while combating ransomware.

Biden also took a quick jab at Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he is set to meet at the tail end of his trip, saying he would “let him know what I want him to know.” He built on those comments later, hitting upon the theme of democracy overcoming the challenges of modernization. And in doing so, he made reference to the Air Force.

“You can send more fuel through a boom of a KC-135R in eight minutes than a civilian gas pump can pump in 24 hours. And you do it in midair, and it’s all a normal day for this team,'” Biden said. “So don’t tell me we can’t win our race to the future across the board.”

China Task Force Recommendations Focus on Education, New Defense Strategy

June 9, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon will overhaul its policy on China after a task force spent 100 days looking at the issue and forming recommendations on how the Defense Department can better compete with Beijing.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on June 9 announced DOD efforts to address these challenges, though most of these steps will remain classified. Public initiatives will include using the background of the China Task Force to guide the development of the next National Defense Strategy and a new look at education.

“The efforts I am directing today will improve the department’s ability to revitalize our network of allies and partners, bolster deterrence, and accelerate the development of new operational concepts, emerging capabilities, future force posture, and a modernized civilian and military workforce,” Austin said in a release.

Austin has ordered the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness to overhaul professional military education to include an increased focus on China.

The move follows a similar Air Force effort. USAF Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., in his “Accelerate Change or Lose” memorandum, called on the service to “develop and build a deep institutional understanding” of China through education and training.

This is taking place largely through Air University, which will have a “heavy flavor” of great power competition and a focus on China, Air Education and Training Command boss Lt. Gen. Marshall B. Webb told Air Force Magazine.

President Joe Biden in February went to the Pentagon to announce the creation of the task force, which included civilian and uniformed members from the Joint Staff, the military services, combatant commands, and intelligence. Biden said there needs to be a whole-of-government effort, including bipartisan support in Congress, to address the increasing competition with Beijing.

“That’s how we’ll meet the China challenge and ensure the American people meet the competition of the future,” Biden said.

Speaking the same day at a virtual Atlantic Council event, USAF Gen. Tod D. Wolters, head of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander-Europe, said NATO too has a “newfound vigilance with respect to China.”

“We will obviously continue to exercise pretty vigilant to those areas. We seek to enforce good order and discipline in international seas, and international airspace …. and with this renewed NATO interest with respect to activities that take place in China, I believe we’re on the right track,” Wolters said.

Air Force One Replacement Delay Could Mean More Maintenance for Existing Planes

June 9, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The existing VC-25As, known as Air Force One when the President is on board, may have to undergo another maintenance cycle, requiring Air Mobility Command to take funding from other requirements, as the replacement program faces a possible schedule delay.

Boeing presented the Air Force with a revised schedule for the production of the VC-25B, which would push back the delivery of the first aircraft by one year to 2025. Darlene Costello, the acting assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, said during a June 9 House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee hearing that the Air Force is reviewing this schedule and will make a decision on it by September.

“Boeing has proposed, or informed, us that they believe they will be about 12 months beyond their original schedule. That doesn’t mean that we agree with that yet,” she said.

The most recent schedule change comes after the company’s supplier, GDC Technics LLC, filed for bankruptcy after Boeing canceled its contracts because of schedule delays. The company in April reported a $318 million pre-tax charge on the program because of this issue and COVID-19 impacts.

Boeing received a $3.9 billion contract in 2018 to build the two jets, but Costello said the company has reached out to the Air Force to negotiate a price adjustment for the program.

Lt. Gen. Brian S. Robinson, deputy commander of Air Mobility Command, said during a June 9 Defense News event that because of the VC-25A’s mission, carrying the President of the United States, the aircraft gets its best support and expertise.

If the VC-25s need to enter another extensive maintenance cycle it would mean AMC would “have to divert resources from other things that we’d like to do to cover any gap that might be there. So, there will be some stresses there, … but if we come to that position to make that decision, we’ll make it in favor of being priority one to support and protect the President of the United States.”

No One Hurt After Possible Shooting at Lackland Gate

June 9, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, lifted a lockdown on the base Wednesday afternoon, after a shooting was reported at the main gate. No one was injured in the incident, said officials.

The base first announced the lockdown around 12:50 p.m. local time, saying there is a real-world active shooter warning at the installation.

Lt. Col. Brian Loveless, commander of the 802nd Security Forces Squadron at the base, told reporters there was a report of shots fired outside the base’s Valley Hi Gate. Responders did not determine anything “up front” when responding, but security forces and local police are pursuing a “couple of leads to confirm gunshots did take place.”

No witnesses reported seeing a shooting, Loveless said.

Joint Base San Antonio, in an update, said the shooting is suspected to have happened outside the gate, and responders worked with police to “clear the area and search for the shooters.”

Loveless said security forces were pursuing leads of multiple shooters, but that was not confirmed. The Valley Hi gate remained closed hours after the shooting, but the lockdown was lifted for the rest of the base.

Lackland is a major Air Force installation that hosts the service’s basic training. The Joint Base San Antonio complex also includes nearby Kelly Field, Fort Sam Houston, and Randolph Air Force Base.

The active shooter threat comes less than 24 hours after Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii, locked down as officials investigated a possible bomb threat on ship there.

Investigation: Pilot’s Disorientation Caused 2020 Fatal F-16 Crash in Michigan

June 9, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

A Wisconsin Air National Guard pilot experienced spatial disorientation while flying at night, in bad weather, and without working GPS, causing his F-16 to crash in a wooded area of northern Michigan, according to an Air Force Investigation released June 9.

Capt. Durwood “Hawk” Jones, 37, was killed instantly in the Dec. 8, 2020, crash in the Hiawatha National Forest. He was assigned to the 176th Fighter Squadron, 115th Fighter Wing out of Truax Field Air National Guard Base.

Jones and his wingman were scheduled to take part in an aerospace control alert training mission the night of Dec. 8, when the Wisconsin Civil Air Patrol aircraft, expected to serve as the intercept target, canceled because of poor weather near Green Bay.

The two F-16s took off as a two-ship to practice a scramble flight, using a backup instrument profile, relying on the aircraft’s avionics during the night flight. The pilots were also wearing night-vision goggles during the flight.

During the sortie, Jones noticed his GPS was degraded because of the loss of satellite tracking data. He decided to perform an “in-flight alignment” of the aircraft’s inertial navigation system while troubleshooting the GPS problem. While doing this, the two F-16s performed a lead swap, with the wingman taking point.

After switching, Jones continued to try to diagnose the navigation problems and then lost visual contact with the wingman. At one point, the wingman asked Jones if he could see him, and Jones radioed that he was “blind.”

The two pilots established deconfliction “via vertical and horizontal means,” during which Jones apparently became spatially disoriented. His F-16s went into a series of heading, altitude, and attitude changes. The F-16’s nose dropped to 90 degrees low, at 135 degrees of right bank, and at a speed of 600 knots “that terminated with controlled flight into terrain,” according to the report. He did not attempt to eject.

The aircraft was completely destroyed. After losing radio contact, the wingman stayed on scene to start search and rescue. Other USAF and Coast Guard aircraft also participated in the search and local agencies responded to the scene.

Because of the extent of the crash, investigators could not analyze physical evidence from the F-16 and instead relied on interviews, radar data, and radio recordings to determine the cause.

The Air Force Accident Investigation Board report states the cause of the crash was the pilot’s inability to recover from spatial disorientation. The combination of night, weather conditions, the use of night-vision goggles, low illumination, the aircraft’s speed and position, and the pilot’s breakdown in visual scan of the aircraft’s instrumentation impacted his “ability to recognize, confirm, and recover from the unusual attitude created by the spatially disorienting event,” the report states. Additionally, the pilot’s fixation and the degraded GPS satellite tracking system contributed to the crash.

Jones, a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, joined the Air National Guard in 2011. He had deployed to Japan, South Korea, and Afghanistan, where he received two Air Medals with “C” devices for operating while exposed to hostile action or under significant risk of hostile action.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time,” 115th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Bart Van Roo said in a Dec. 10 release. “Today is a day for mourning. The 115th Fighter Wing and the entire Wisconsin National Guard stands with the pilot’s family as we grieve the loss of a great Airman and patriot.”

USAF Won’t Retire More B-1s Until B-21 On Duty

June 8, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 5:18 p.m. on June 9 to clarify comments Air Force acting acquisition executive Darlene Costello made during a House Armed Services subcommittee on projection forces hearing on June 8. The first two B-21s are “in production,” but are not completely built, according to the Air Force.

The Air Force won’t retire any more B-1 Lancer bombers until the new B-21 Raider joins the fleet, Lt. Gen. David S. Nahom told a House Armed Services panel June 8.

Speaking before a House Armed Services subcommittee on projection forces June 8, Nahom said the 45 remaining B-1s, after the planned 17 are retired, will be kept in service “until these units shake hands with the B-21s as they arrive. We have no intention of going below 45, because the combatant commanders need that firepower in the next five, seven, 10 years, until the B-21s start showing up in the numbers we need them.”

The Air Force had previously suggested there might be further drawdowns of the B-1 as the B-21 neared deployment.

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) asked if the combat needs of the Air Force will be met by the new size of the bomber force.

“Flat out, no,” said Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration, and requirements. “This is why I say, the risk in the bomber portfolio is high. We’ve got to do better. We’ve got to accelerate the B-21 capability as quickly as we can. But in the short term, the answer is no.” The decisions on whether to extend the service life of some bombers and the schedule for the B-21 “were made five, 10, 15 years ago,” under the Budget Control Act, and the decision was made to prioritize readiness over modernization, he said.

When Luria asked if the B-21 can be accelerated, Hinote said, “It’s just true that we can’t get the B-21 fast enough.”

Air Force acting acquisition executive Darlene Costello said the priority for the B-21 is “to get through the design, get completed, and not introduce concurrency” in the program.

“Once we get through design and get the first ones delivered, we can adjust production rates and maybe affect them that way, but we have to get through the engineering with solid discipline,” she said.

Luria expressed surprise that the design is not yet complete, to which Costello replied, “We have the design. There are two test aircraft [being] built and it will take a while to get through all the testing. And therefore, there could be some changes as a result of the testing.”

Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director and program executive officer for the B-21, Randall G. Walden, told Air Force Magazine late last year that the second B-21 was in production and the first would roll out in early 2022, with flight tests expected to begin in the middle of next year. Walden said the first aircraft would undergo extensive ground tests between rollout and first flight, and the second aircraft would be a ground test vehicle.

Nahom said the combat capability of the 45 B-1s will be at least as good, if not better, than with the 62-airplane fleet.

By reducing the 17 most expensive to maintain and hardest-to-fix aircraft while keeping the same level of maintenance manpower until the B-21 arrives, “we think we can get the readiness level of [the B-1] actually higher,” Nahom said. “We can actually have more airplanes available for the combatant commander in the interim by getting rid of the oldest, most problem-prone aircraft in the fleet. We think that’s paying off,” he said.

The decision was made because the B-1s that are coming out of the inventory “cost more to sustain … than the benefit you get from them.” Nahom added that the Air Force “thought it was going to be more” than 17 aircraft that would be drawn down until a tail-by-tail analysis found the optimum number.

USAF Prepares for Over-the-Horizon Operations After Afghanistan Withdrawal

June 8, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

USAF is prioritizing an enduring presence across the Middle East as the U.S. prepares for “over-the-horizon” operations following the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth told members of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee on June 8 the Air Force’s direct war funding takes a hit in its 2022 budget request, reflecting the ongoing withdrawal from Afghanistan. Roth said funding for “day-to-day operations” decreases about a billion dollars in 2022, though the department still budgeted “about $10 billion” for an “enduring presence” in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

“We have a series of air bases, they will stay for the time being, that’s where your over-the-horizon capability will come from,” Roth said.

The Air Force’s enduring and direct war request of $10.07 billion is $2.3 billion less than the 2021 enacted amount. The service, in budget documents, said it is “taking risk in enduring missions, reducing the request amount to align with current assumptions.”

Unlike prior years, the 2022 budget eliminates the “overseas contingency operations” funds, pulling much of that money into the Pentagon’s $715 billion base budget.

Some areas, according to budget documents, where the Air Force is drawing down its spending, include:

A decrease in flying hours, funding just 160,613 total force flying hours in its direct war and enduring costs budget, down from 200,866 in the 2021 enacted budget.
A decrease in the number of Total Force Airmen supporting contingency operations from 22,779 in the 2021 budget to 19,889 in the 2022 request.

Some costs are growing, however. The Air Force is requesting $154.52 million for primary combat forces funding for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan, up from $108.84 million in 2021 as strike aircraft face longer missions. Continued operations will focus largely on locations such as Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, which is hosting B-52 bombers for long-distance strike operations in Afghanistan.

On June 8, CENTCOM announced that more than 50 percent of the entire retrograde process has been completed, with about 500 C-17 loads of material flown out of the country.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., appearing alongside Roth in the hearing, said the current capabilities in use in CENTCOM will largely remain in the Air Force in 2022, though he acknowledged the service’s priorities are shifting.

“I will tell you we are also making a transition to the future,” Brown said. “So, small levels of that divestment as we start to look towards the future, maintaining the capability that we’ve been using today, at the same time looking forward [to that] capability that will ensure that we are able to be connected, and be persistent, and be supportable, not only in a permissive environment, but in a highly contested environment as well.”