USAFE’s ABMS On-Ramp Included Partner Nations, Base Defense Scenario

March 1, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. Air Forces in Europe last week wrapped its Advanced Battle Management System demonstration, bringing together dozens of aircraft from U.S. military services and multiple countries to find new ways to share data and operate together.

The USAFE “on ramp” demonstration was the first to have non-U.S. military participants, with the Royal Netherlands Air Force, Polish Air Force, and United Kingdom Royal Air Force flying. It was also the first ABMS event to occur after Congress limited some of the funding in the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.

USAFE boss Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian told reporters during the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium that budget restrictions had “minimal impacts,” because the command added some of its own funding “because I thought it was important enough to contribute to this while we worked with the team back in the Pentagon to find ways to get to where we needed to go.”

For the event, the large airborne scenario focused on F-15Cs and F-15Es from RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, practicing the employment of the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles over the Baltic Sea, using targeting and command and control through U.S. and United Kingdom assets, according to a USAFE release. These included the 603rd Air Operations Center and the Deployable Ground System, along with U.S. Navy P-8, KC-135s from RAF Mildenhall, and a USAF C-17.

Simultaneously at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, USAF assets and Dutch F-35s participated in a mission aimed at base defense. This included joint and combined teams targeting unmanned aerial systems and simulated cruise missile attacks. The F-35s served as a communication link between the defense and the U.S. Army’s 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command, according to the release.

The U.S. Space Force helped with a Multiband Assessment of the Communication Environment from the 16th Space Control Squadron. Harrigian said the exercise included SpaceX’s Starlink broadband system.

Additionally, the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., helped with communication. Kessel Run with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Detachment 12 also supported the event.

“There were minimal impacts from a budget perspective in terms of what we wanted to do, we were able to execute both the find, fix, and target piece of the demo and do our base defense, as well,” Harrigian said.

The event took about eight months to plan, Harrigian said. Through the demonstration, USAFE expected to see “foundational improvements on some of our infrastructure. I had expected to see an improvement on some of the tools that we were putting in the hands of our Airmen. And then, ultimately, to see how we holistically pulled this all together, to continue connecting different sensors,” he said.

This is the fourth in the series of ABMS onramps, which focus on testing and developing new technologies to link sensors and shooters. The effort started out as a way to replace the service’s aging E-8C Joint STARS and has morphed into a massive new look at how the service can communicate and target across aircraft and other joint assets.

CAE to Buy L3Harris Technologies’ Military Training Business for $1B

March 1, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

Canadian-based CAE announced plans to buy L3Harris Technologies’ Military Training business for $1.05 billion, saying the acquisition broadens its training and simulation portfolio and doubles its U.S. defense presence.

The proposed acquisition, which is slated to close in the second half of 2021, “accelerates our growth strategy in defense and security and is highly complementary to our core military training business, broadening our position in the United States,” said Marc Parent, CAE’s president and chief executive officer, in a March 1 release. “We are adding new customers, experience on new platforms, and building our depth of expertise to address all domains—air, land, sea, space, and cyber—as well as expanding into adjacent markets such as mission and operations support.”

It is the fourth-announced acquisition for CAE in last four months—part of what the company calls its “reinvigorated defense growth strategy,” Parent said.

Arlington, Texas-based L3Harris Technologies’ Military Training is the sole provider of USAF initial flight training services, provides “nearly all F-16 simulators currently in use,” and also is the prime contractor for B-2 training systems, Parent said. It consists of Link Simulation & Training, Doss Aviation, and AMI.

Parent argues the acquisition gives CAE a “leg up” when it comes to future acquisition programs, such as the Next Generation Air Dominance platform and the B-21 bomber.

CAE also expects the U.S. military to rely more on virtual training as it shifts its focus from decades of counterinsurgency operations to great power competition, while also facing flattening or declining budgets.

“This brings with it the added complexities of having to plan and train for scenarios that involve the integration of multiple domains at once, which is something that’s generally either too costly or just not feasible to do outside of a virtual environment,” Parent said. “… This has created a significant opportunity for CAE in the United States and around the world as NATO and allied nations also adapt to these new realities.”

1 Killed, 2 Injured in Feb. 25 Strike on Iranian-Backed Militias

March 1, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

One militia member was killed and two injured in the Feb. 25 U.S. strike on Iranian-backed fighters in Syria, which President Joe Biden told Congress was carried out to “protect and defend our personnel and our partners” from future attacks.

The Pentagon’s initial battle damage assessment included the casualty figures, and noted that nine buildings were damaged or destroyed, Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said in a March 1 briefing. The strikes targeted border crossing facilities used by the groups to take weapons into Iraq. The mission was to “remove the compound from their utilization” and send a signal to the militias, Kirby said.

Two USAF F-15Es conducted the strikes, employing seven precision-guided munitions on the complex, which was used by the Iranian-backed militias Kata’ib Hezbollah and Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, according to a Pentagon statement.

The strikes came in response to a rocket attack on U.S. and coalition personnel on Feb. 15 in Erbil, Iraq. The 107mm rocket attack killed one Filipino contractor and wounded one U.S. service member and four U.S. contractors.

Biden, in a Feb. 27 letter to Congress, said the strike was consistent with his responsibility to protect U.S. citizens and pursuant to the U.S.’s right of self defense as outlined in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

“The United States always stands ready to take necessary and proportionate action in self-defense, including when, as is the case here, the government of the state where the threat is located is unwilling or unable to prevent the use of its territory by non-state militia groups responsible for such attacks,” Biden wrote.

30 Years After Desert Storm: Feb. 27-28

Feb. 28, 2021

In commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, Air Force Magazine is posting daily recollections from the six-week war, which expelled Iraq from occupied Kuwait.

Feb. 27:

The coalition liberates Kuwait City, and envelops Iraqi forces.
Coalition and Iraqi units fight the largest tank battle since the World War II Battle of Kursk between the Germans and the Soviets: Two Army divisions decimate two Republican Guard divisions.
Two specially made 4,700-pound GBU-28 bombs destroy an “impregnable” Iraqi command bunker at Al Taji.
Coalition attack sorties reach a one-day record of 3,500.
Bush announces that coalition forces would suspend offensive operations the next day at 8 a.m. local time.
President George H.W. Bush says Iraq must end military action; free all prisoners of war, third-country nationals, and Kuwaiti hostages; release the remains of coalition forces killed in action; agree to comply with all UN resolutions; and reveal the location of land and sea mines.

Feb. 28:

The fighting stops.
Iraq agrees to observe the cease-fire, and attend military-to-military talks on cessation of hostilities.
Coalition air forces fly 3,500 sorties, for a total of 110,000.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz notifies the UN Security Council that Iraq accepts 12 United Nations resolutions dealing with the invasion of Kuwait.
The Defense Department says coalition forces destroyed or rendered ineffective 42 Iraqi divisions, captured more than 50,000 Iraqi prisoners, destroyed or captured 3,000 of 4,030 tanks in southern Iraq and Kuwait, and destroyed or captured 962 of 2,870 armored vehicles, 1,005 of 3,110 artillery pieces, and 103 of 639 aircraft (with another 100 or so in quarantine in Iran).
Coalition forces continue to destroy captured and abandoned Iraqi armor and artillery.
Coalition airplanes flew 110,000 sorties over Iraq and Kuwait, one-half of which were combat and one-half support (reconnaissance, air refueling, search and rescue, etc.)
U.S. casualties are reported as 79 killed in action, 212 wounded in action, 45 missing in action, and nine POWs. (Casualties were later revised to 613.)

Check out our complete chronology of the Gulf War, starting with Iraq’s July 1990 invasion of Kuwait and running through Iraq’s April 1991 acceptance of peace terms.

WATCH: The 2021 vAWS Day 3 Highlight Report

Feb. 26, 2021

Video: Air Force Association on YouTube

Acting Secretary of the Air Force Roth, NORAD’s Gen. VanHerck, U.S. Space Command’s Gen. Dickinson, Spark Tank, and more from Day 3 of the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium.

Spark Tank-Winning Idea Saves Time, Money

Feb. 26, 2021 | By Amanda Miller

A crew chief and production superintendent from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., took home the 3D-printed trophy in the Department of the Air Force’s Spark Tank innovation contest for a simple idea he predicts could “solve a lot of issues across the aircraft community.”

Master Sgt. Justin Bauer pitched his idea, “Innovative Approach to C-130 Wheel Repair,” at the 2021 Spark Tank finals during the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium on Feb. 26.

AFWERX and Air Force Deputy Chief Management Officer Rich Lombardi co-produce Spark Tank; the 2021 contest received more than 300 submissions.

Bauer was one of five finalists, up against teams with ideas to prevent service-connected hearing loss, to incorporate augmented reality into briefings, to streamline workflows with a ticketing app, and to cut out the need for refueling trucks when refueling aircraft with engines running.

Bauer’s idea grabbed the votes of all but one celebrity judge. The premise:

C-130 aircraft wheels have to be heated up before maintainers can work on them, and not all facilities can do the heating. Bauer described the process as moving a 200-pound chunk of aluminum that’s been heated to 150 degrees in and out of a big oven. Instead, Bauer realized a handheld heating element—which only costs about $100—can be applied to a wheel to warm it up.

In his 5-minute Q-and-A with judges, Bauer confirmed the device will work overseas and can be adapted to other aircraft wheels.

In response to a question from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Bauer said the biggest challenge of the project was balancing the device’s heating requirements and power demands.

“It’s really easy to heat up a chunk of metal, as long as you’re willing to use an unlimited amount of electricity,” Bauer said, “but … we really wanted to keep it under 115 volts so facilities across the globe could power the device.”

Bauer got Brown’s vote:

“It’s so much simpler; it’s ready to go; and that’s why I put up the C-130 wheel prep,” said Brown, brandishing the paper sign judges held up to signal their votes.

Acting Secretary of the Air Force John P. Roth, another celebrity judge, pondered how to spread the idea to other countries that fly C-130 variants:

“Could we shop it around with a multinational workshop of one sort or the other?”

He was on the right track.

“That’s one of the most exciting things about this device, is that through small changes in the dimensions and heating abilities, we can flex this device to multiple airframes, multiple services and multiple nationalities,” Bauer said. “Through small changes in design, we can adapt the device to solve a lot of issues across the aircraft community.”

Roth cast the lone dissenting vote among celebrity judges, instead picking the idea “Inner Ear Bone Conduction Communication” by a team from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. Their idea is to switch to noise canceling earbuds in place of the foam plugs and bulky ear protection worn on the flight line. The bone conduction technology lets some sound through. It would protect hearing while also letting people communicate with each other without exposing the sensitive parts of their ears, the team said.

Roth said he voted for the idea because it addresses “a very fundamental problem that will scale across the force.”

Meanwhile, fans had voted online, choosing the audience favorite “Viper Hot Refuel Kit” by a team from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. The team designed a sled to serve in place of refueling trucks that may have to be transported by aircraft in advance at a cost of $6,000 one way. The team instead put off-the-shelf petroleum oil and lubricant components into a much smaller package.

A team from the 56th Fighter Wing at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., got a noticeable nod from celebrity judge Matt Booty, corporate vice president of Xbox Game Studios. Their idea, “NextGen Debrief—Augmented Reality Debrief Environment,” would incorporate virtual reality into pilot training.

The judges wondered whether an app pitched by a team from the Air Force Academy might have more utility across the military. The idea, “Improving Commander’s Support Staff Workflow with Office 365,” introduces a digital means for submission and tracking of command-related workflow items.

Air Force About to Make First Hypersonic Missile Flight, After Recent Failure

Feb. 26, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

The AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon will make its first all-up flight within the next seven days, following a recent failure of the system, hypersonics experts revealed at AFA’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium. The system will go into production within a year.

“We actually have hardware built and are getting ready for our first booster flight test next week,” Brig. Gen. Heath A. Collins, program executive officer for weapons and director of the Air Force’s armament directorate, said in a panel discussion.

“So, there’s real hardware coming,” he said. “We’re also getting ready to transition into production in about a year on that program, so it will be the first air-launched hypersonic weapon that the Air Force has.”

Maj. Gen. Andrew Gebara, Global Strike Command director of strategic plans, programs and requirements, confirmed Collins’ remark, saying the ARRW test will happen “imminently,” and that “we’ll have operational capability … by ’22, or two AFA Orlandos from now.”

Collins said that “earlier this year … we had a slight bump on the road in test,” but the integrated government-industry team “focused, found the flaw, fixed the flaw, [and] got a corrective action in the air in less than 30 days … That just tells you that the team is really tight.”

Lockheed Martin is “part of that open transparency … But getting the right people at the right time on the program, to solve this failure and not miss a beat as we move forward … is a good example of how to get after” hypersonic development.

Sources reported an ARRW failure in late December, chalking it up to “dumb mistakes;” one reported that a technician failed to follow a checklist and another reported an improperly fastened control surface. Michael White, the principal deputy for hypersonics in the Pentagon’s directorate of research and engineering, seemed to confirm these reports in his panel remarks.

“We need to get it right the first time,” White said. “We have this mindset that we want to fail early and often so we can accelerate learning and actually develop quicker. But that’s only valid if your failures are because you’re learning about [technological] discoveries and the ability to do hypersonic flight. If our failures are that we forgot how to do a checklist, and tighten a pin on a fin, and we lose a flight vehicle because a fin falls off, that’s not acceptable failure.”

Adding engineering rigor to flights to make sure that everything is in readiness “is absolutely imperative,” he said.

Gebara also offered some new insight into how many hypersonic weapons GSC’s bombers will be able to carry.

Speaking about the ARRW and a follow-on air-breathing system, the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile, Gebara said: “I can put four ARRWs on a bomber, but I can put 20 HACMs on a bomber, if done right. Maybe more, if I have different pylon.”

He said GSC sees hypersonics as “being an evolutionary approach over time. What we don’t want to do is spend 20 years on one capability, and that’s all we get. We started ARRW. One of the advantages of ARRW … [is] it’s available, it’s good capability, it’s quick. We also want to get to that cruise missile capability.”

It would be “a shame,” he said, if the Air Force became “content with just one thing and that’s all we did. I think those days are behind us, and we need to work toward that evolutionary approach.”

Collins echoed the comment, saying it’s essential to build the infrastructure for continuous hypersonic weapon development.

“We need to start planning today for what comes next. We’ve got to keep that pump primed, keep our subject matter experts primed and focused on our challenges, not filtering off to pursue something else that they find more exciting.” The Air Force should “continue a solid stream of funding on the technological base to keep hypersonics moving forward, and then, the PEO and the program office, we need to … move with the speed of relevance, given maturing threats.”

He added that the best way to keep costs down on hypersonics is “not to start a huge, massive development every time you want a new capability. I think you develop the capability pipeline … agilely throughout the life cycle of a weapon system.”

ACC Moving Forward with ‘Reforge’ Experiment Amid Funding Concerns

Feb. 26, 2021 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Air Combat Command is trying to move forward with an experiment it hopes will pave the way for a larger overhaul of fighter pilot training, despite pandemic-era complications.

Last year, ACC signed off on a concept called “Rebuilding the Forge,” or Reforge, which would shorten training by at least a year by consolidating certain training phases and keeping student pilots at one base longer. Air Force Magazine previously reported the new T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet would be a centerpiece of that educational fleet to reduce the strain on the operational combat force.

But the coronavirus pandemic intervened, slowing ACC’s plans for getting Reforge off the ground, ACC boss Gen. Mark D. Kelly told reporters Feb. 26 at AFA’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium.

“COVID has been the sand in the gears of a whole lot of things we’ve been trying to do,” Kelly said. “Before we can do Reforge as an established program, we need to do our … experiment.”

The command is working through the contracting process for the resources it needs to test the Reforge idea, he said.

Last year, the Air Force started looking at leasing Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries T-50 or Leonardo M346 training planes as part of the project. Renting eight airplanes had won support at the highest echelon of the Air Force, Air Force Magazine previously reported, but the service had yet to get on contract.

Reforge will also rely on augmented and virtual reality simulation to give students extra practice on maneuvers where they need more help, and offer students more stability through fewer moves between bases. ACC hopes that, if successful, the program will also help reverse a yearslong pilot shortage.

Kelly believes the Air Force will include funding for Reforge in the fiscal 2022 budget request, but did not say how much money the program might need.

“I’d like to start it as soon as possible,” he said.

That 2022 money could be enough to get off to a good start, but Kelly says he needs five years’ worth of funding that he doesn’t have right now.

“It’s a continual discussion I have with the Air Force team that has to balance a whole lot of budget pressure,” he said. “I think we’re going to have money to do our experiment, and our experiment needs to … get follow-on funding.”

Hopefully, Reforge will prove to be a solid solution to giving pilots a fuller education between fighter jet fundamentals in the T-38 trainer and high-end qualification on a platform like the F-35 or F-22.

“We’ve got a long way to go in terms of getting the program up and going,” Kelly said.

ANG Helps Texas Recover from Winter Storm Uri

Feb. 26, 2021 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Nearly 140 Air National Guard personnel from Texas and Kentucky have responded to parts of Texas that were devastated by Winter Storm Uri, ANG Director Lt. Gen. Michael A. Loh told reporters Feb. 26.

The polar vortex ravaged Texas’ power grid and deprived many citizens of running water.

ANG’s efforts in the Lone Star State have primarily consisted of working with Texas citizens “on commodities and points of distribution,” and figuring out how to care for the state’s population in the immediate term “to save lives, minimize suffering, [and] get Texas back on its feet,” Loh said during a media roundtable held during the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium.

Additionally, he said, C-130Hs from the Texas and Kentucky ANGs conducted water delivery missions.

As of Feb. 24, the Texas ANG’s Fort Worth-based 136th Airlift Wing had flown over 26 such missions, moving “nearly 1,300 tons of bottled water” provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to afflicted areas throughout the state, a wing release said.

“Other aircraft, such as C-130Js, C-17s, and various rotary craft, augmented the deliveries,” the release said.

And from Feb. 22-26, the Kentucky ANG’s Louisville-based 123rd Airlift Wing flew 12 C-130H airlift missions, transporting more than 10 tons of food, water, and other supplies to multiple locations in Texas, the wing wrote in a release.

Fourteen Kentucky Air National Guard Airmen took part, it added.

“We’re honored to have had this opportunity to serve the people of Texas,” Maj. Gen. Jason Craig, an aircraft commander with the 123rd AW, said in the release. “We’ve also been humbled by the reception and appreciation that’s been shown to us. This group of Guardsmen performed admirably, showing great dedication to completion of the mission.”