PHOTOS: B-1 Lancers Make Rare Landing in Sweden to Kick Off Bomber Task Force

PHOTOS: B-1 Lancers Make Rare Landing in Sweden to Kick Off Bomber Task Force

Feb. 23, 2024 | By David Roza

A pair of B-1 Lancers flew from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., to Luleå-Kallax Air Base, Sweden, to start a Bomber Task Force deployment on Feb. 23, marking the latest stop in the Air Force’s effort to showcase the reach of U.S. airpower and strengthen ties with allies and partners. 

The missions provide “strategic predictability and assurance for Allies and partners while contributing to deterrence by introducing greater operational unpredictability for potential adversaries,” U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa wrote in a press release. 

“During the deployment, the bomber crews and support personnel will integrate with the Swedish Armed Forces, NATO Allies and other international partners to synchronize capabilities and assure security commitments across the U.S. European Command area of responsibility,” the release added.

Ellsworth’s B-1s have had a busy month. On Jan. 25, several bombers relocated to Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, to continue training and operations while the wreck of a B-1 that crashed was investigated. Then on Feb. 2, some of those B-1s dropped more than 125 precision-guided munitions on Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq and Syria in a nonstop trip from Texas to the Middle East and back. The strikes were in response to the Jan. 28 drone attack on Tower 22, a U.S. outpost in northeast Jordan near the border with Syria. Three U.S. Army reservists were killed and at least 47 other troops injured.

The B-1s returned to Ellsworth a few days later when the base’s runway reopened.

This latest movement to Sweden marks the second time ever U.S. bombers have landed in that country—the first occasion took place in June 2023, when B-1s from Dyess also landed at Luleå-Kallax Air Base.

In January, Lancers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, deployed to Singapore for joint exercises with the Republic of Singapore Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Last year, B-1s, B-52s, or B-2 bombers made appearances in the Middle East, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Iceland, and other locations around the world.

“It seems as though everyone likes to have a bomber in their region,” U.S. Strategic Command boss Gen. Anthony J. Cotton told reporters in August. “It shows our resolve in showing that extended deterrence is alive and well when it comes to the United States.”

The B-1 in particular has a history of speedy globe-trotting. In 1995, two Lancers from Dyess set a world speed record for circumnavigating the globe without stopping in 36 hours and 13 minutes. Along the way, the jets aerial refueled six times and dropped bombs on training ranges in three continents: Europe, Asia, and North America. Then-Lt. Col. Douglas Raaberg—now a retired major general and the executive vice president of the Air & Space Forces Association—commanded the four B-1s involved, and piloted one of the two aircraft that pulled off the exercise, which was called ‘Coronet Bat.’

Potential F-35 Cuts in 2025 Won’t Be Made up by FMS, May Drive Costs Higher

Potential F-35 Cuts in 2025 Won’t Be Made up by FMS, May Drive Costs Higher

Feb. 22, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

Rumored cuts to the Pentagon’s F-35 buy in its fiscal year 2025 budget request would not be mitigated by recent Foreign Military Sales and are likely to drive prices higher, DOD and industry sources told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The Department of Defense outlined plans to buy 83 F-35s in 2025 in its latest future years defense plan, but now the Air Force expects to cut six F-35As and the Navy eight F-35Cs, sources said.

If the proposed cuts go through, the Air Force would buy 42 F-35As; the Marine Corps would buy 16 F-35Bs, and the Navy would buy just 11 F-35Cs. However, sources cautioned that those numbers stem from leaked documents that may not be the final word on what the Pentagon will submit in its 2025 budget proposal next month.

Reuters previously reported on the possible cuts.

The Navy reduction would be hard to compensate for on Lockheed Martin’s production line, as those aircraft are already in work and there are no FMS customers for that variant to which the aircraft could be shifted. And while the Air Force “A-model” jets have more in common with many FMS customers, there are still dissimilarities among A-model users, such as drag chutes, which would cause churn on the assembly line and disrupt efficiencies.

Cutting the buy “drives a ton of inefficiency throughout the … whole production system,” an industry source said. “And then also drives that uncertainty amongst the suppliers. And they can re-price” parts, materials and assemblies “if the numbers aren’t the same. It’s just … a lot of turbulence and none of that turbulence helps price, schedule, or anything else.”

For the C-model aircraft there would have to be a “termination for convenience” of the government on a number of long-lead items already in work, an industry source said, which would likely drive overall prices higher.

Lockheed Martin designed its F-35 production facilities so that all variants move down the same assembly line, and an A model may be followed by two Cs and then a B, for example. The company has consistently rejected the idea of building large numbers of a single variant at a time, to maintain a learning curve with all variants and preserve some flexibility of manufacture.  

While it might be possible to push some of the C-model long-lead parts into another contracted lot, generally, “a change in the quantities for a lot would have an impact on price,” the source said.

A Pentagon official acknowledged that cutting the buy “now, while we are in the middle of negotiations” on Lots 18 and 19 “sends the wrong demand signal” to suppliers, who will thus have to be cautious in quoting materials and component prices, given uncertainty about future work.

An industry source said 67 percent of Lockheed’s prices are set by the suppliers.

“It would be a fundamental change to the Lot 18-19 negotiation construct if they pull those jets out,” he said.

While the Navy may be able to put the cut F-35Cs on its Unfunded Priorities List, the Air Force may be enjoined within the DOD from taking that approach with its F-35As, sources said.

It’s wrong to assume that the unfunded aircraft can simply be transitioned to FMS customers, one observed. Even though the FMS customers may want their jets faster, “These countries … have very defined buy profiles that they have worked their national budgets for,” said one.

“They have the cashflow planned. And while it may be nice to pull it ahead a couple of years or a year to get a plane sooner, that may not have been what they were budgeted for. And most countries don’t have the budget flexibility to just decide to spend … a billion dollars earlier than planned,” he said.

Most customers also have a delivery profile tailored to the retirement of their existing equipment and the rate at which they can introduce the new airplanes, predicated on training pilots and maintainers and acquiring new ground equipment and weapons.

The Czech Republic, South Korea, and Israel have recently either made a deal to buy a collective 60 new F-35s or declared their desire to do so.

Cutting into the F-35 buy has become a convenient place to go for cuts, one industry source said, because it’s the largest aircraft program with thousands of units planned.

“People think they can shave some of it off and fix other problems,” he noted. “It’s not as straightforward as it seems.”

Lockheed Martin is storing some 60 F-35s, waiting for the Tech Refresh-3 upgrade to be tested before the jets can be delivered to the government. The rate at which those jets could be absorbed once the TR-3 is cleared isn’t likely to be a factor in the cuts contemplated. The reductions would affect Lot 19, and many of that lot’s aircraft won’t be delivered until 2027. One source familiar with the timing of the program said the TR-3 issue “hopefully, is long since in the rear-view mirror” by that point.  

The F-35 is not the only area where cuts are being made in the 2025 budget, sources agreed. “There’s plenty of pain to go around,” noted one.

USSF Ends Record-Breaking ‘Victus Nox,’ Plans Faster Satellite Launches

USSF Ends Record-Breaking ‘Victus Nox,’ Plans Faster Satellite Launches

Feb. 22, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Five months after the Space Force made history by launching a satellite just 27 hours after receiving orders, the mission is over and the spacecraft is out of orbit, the service announced this week. 

The effort, dubbed Victus Nox, broke records when the Space Force built, delivered, launched, and operationalized a satellite faster than ever before—part of the service’s push for tactically responsive space. Now, attention shifts to a follow-on mission, Victus Haze, with contracts for that demonstration expected in the next few weeks, according to a new press release. 

The Space Force awarded contracts for Victus Nox in October 2022, tasking Millennium Space Systems with building the satellite and Firefly Space Transport Services with launching it. By August 2023, the two companies entered a ‘hot standby phase’ where they awaited an alert notification from the Space Force that would give them 60 hours to transport the payload from the Millennium facility in El Segundo, Calif., to Vandenberg Space Force Base 165 miles away, then test, fuel, and mate it to Firefly’s Alpha launch vehicle.  

They accomplished that task in 57 hours, then waited for final launch orders that came Sept. 13. Within 27 hours, the launch vehicle took off.

Once the satellite was in orbit, it took just 37 hours for the operations team to complete its initialization phase, the Space Force explained. From there, the satellite was operated by members of Space Delta 2, which keeps track of objects orbiting the Earth, Space Safari, an office that aims to quickly stand up missions in response to urgent military needs, and other elements of Space Force, Millenium Space Systems, and the Aerospace Corporation.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the test and operational support the entire Space Delta 2 team provided for this game-changing mission,” Col. Raj Agrawal, commander of Space Delta 2, said in a statement. “We quickly rose to the challenge and demonstrated that Tactically Responsive Space missions like Victus Nox are capable of meeting urgent combatant commander needs on tactically relevant timelines during Great Power Competition.” 

After the mission’s on-orbit objectives were complete, the team took the satellite out of orbit. Space Force missions are “purposely designed to include end-of-life disposal for satellites, in order to reduce orbital debris and keep space accessible for all,” the service noted in its release. 

Victus Nox was fast, but Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman wants to go even faster in Victus Haze, a follow-on demonstration first announced in August 2023. The general said at last week’s AFA Warfare Symposium that he expects the mission to launch in 2025, and the Space Force said in its release that the contract is expected to be awarded in the coming weeks.

“Five days from warehouse to on-orbit operations is pretty fast,” Saltzman said Feb. 13 about Victus Nox. “But in the grand scheme of things, when you’re moving at 17,500 miles per hour, five days is still a long time, and a lot can happen in five days. And so I’m going to be pressing the team to continue to reduce that critical path down to hours and hours and hours, rather than days.”

Space Force, NRO Will Fly Targeting Satellites ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’

Space Force, NRO Will Fly Targeting Satellites ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’

Feb. 22, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

AURORA, Colo.—The Space Force is making progress on its plan with the National Reconnaissance Office to enable space-based targeting and replace legacy Air Force aircraft, multiple senior leaders said at the AFA Warfare Symposium. 

For several years now, the Pentagon has explored the idea of space-based moving target indication (MTI). Older Air Force platforms like the E-3 AWACS and E-8 JSTARS are considered unlikely to survive long in a potential conflict with China. 

“The ultimate goal of this program is to replace legacy air-breathing platforms with more survivable space assets that can perform targeting activities needed to close long-range kill chains on a global scale,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said during his keynote address Feb. 13. 

The U.S. already has intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets in space, but those have traditionally been controlled by the intelligence community and are frequently unavailable when military operators need them.

To fill that gap, “the Space Force was able to build on the efforts of the Air Force, analyze options, and select a way ahead in less than a year,” Saltzman said. The future could involve Space Force Guardians working side-by-side with the National Reconnaissance Office. Brig. Gen. Devin Pepper, vice commander of Space Operations Command, later told reporters that his command is leading the analysis for how to field, sustain, train, operate, and more for space-based targeting, while the NRO remains in charge of acquiring the satellites.

Lt. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt, deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber, and nuclear, said Guardians will work alongside the NRO to provide targeting data to combatant commanders, who will have the authority to task the satellites to gather information. 

“Guardians will work the tasking of that system with the combatant command on what they are allocated when the capability is available to them, working on the joint staffs’ allocations and priorities that are given,” Burt said during a panel discussion. “So that will be tasked, worked with the COCOM through the service components at each of the COCOMs back to Guardians who will fly that satellite shoulder to shoulder with the National Reconnaissance Office every day to provide those capabilities.” 

Chief Master Sergeant Caleb M. Lloyd, senior enlisted leader for Space Operations Command, compared the arrangement to operations in the traditional JSTARS aircraft: “the NRO is kind of being in the cockpit, and our Guardians would be in the back, in terms of the actual battle management and being able to actually talk down to the tactical level.” 

Though NRO would be in the metaphorical cockpit, the military would direct the taskings, a key arrangement given that experts have noted the NRO’s priorities are not always the same as the operational commander’s. Burt emphasized that the combatant commands, not the NRO or another intelligence community agency, would have the authority and priority to task the targeting satellites. 

“Ultimately, [the combatant command] would own the collection over their theater and what gets tasked,” said Burt.

Both Burt and Pepper said the data collected by these satellites will be available to the entire intelligence community, but ultimately “it’s the warfighter that we’re building this for,” Pepper said. 

In its 2024 budget request, the Space Force outlined plans to spend $243 million on moving target indication this year and more than $1.2 billion over the next five years, describing it as “an evolved weapon system” not a “one-for-one swap” for aircraft like JSTARS. Many details about the program, however, remain shrouded in secrecy. 

More broadly, Saltzman, Burt, and Pepper all agreed that targeting isn’t likely to be the only mission that migrates to space in the coming years.

“We’re going to see many phenomenologies go to the space domain, not just MTI,” Burt said. “So this is laying the groundwork for where we go from the future.”

Top Lawmakers Cite Pay Gap, ‘Particularly for Junior Enlisted,’ as Issue to Address

Top Lawmakers Cite Pay Gap, ‘Particularly for Junior Enlisted,’ as Issue to Address

Feb. 22, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Top lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee indicated they will make pay for junior enlisted service members a key part of their work on the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act—echoing and strengthening a push from service enlisted leaders like Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass for a targeted pay raise.

HASC chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and Quality of Life Panel leaders Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.) mentioned the pay issue in a letter to President Joe Biden this week arguing for more resources in the fiscal 2025 budget to enhance service members’ quality of life.

Bacon and Houlahan, both Air Force veterans, have held hearings and visited bases over the last eight months as their parties’ leaders on the quality of life panel. Just last month, they hosted a hearing in which the military’s top enlisted leaders urged lawmakers to address pay issues and upgrade dorms, among other issues.

Issues with compensation and housing were both cited in the lawmakers’ letter as top findings by the quality of life panel.

“Military compensation, particularly for junior enlisted, continues to grow incongruent with civilian and officer pay, resulting in food insecurity economic insecurity with escalating negative impacts on recruiting and retention expected,” the representatives wrote.

The focus on pay for junior enlisted is one shared by Bass, who has made Airmen’s compensation one of her top priorities during her last few weeks in the seat. At the AFA Warfare Symposium last week, she called for a targeted pay raise instead of the standard, across-the-board raise. Her counterpart in the Space Force, Chief Master Sergeant John F. Bentivegna has also stressed the need to reevaluate the compensation model.

Compensation problems are further compounded by inflation, as highlighted by the Military Officers Association of America last year. The MOAA pointed out that with the rising cost of living in recent years, many service members are “finding it increasingly difficult to afford housing, food, and other basic necessities.”

In 2007, pay grades E-5 through E-8 and warrant officers got a targeted pay raise. There was another targeted pay raise for midgrade and senior enlisted in 2004. The junior enlisted ranks have not had a targeted pay raise in that time.

In addition to asking for more resources in the President’s 2025 budget request, the lawmakers also noted in their letter that they “plan to place renewed focus on caring for our service members and their families” in the 2025 NDAA, which sets policy and authorizes funding

The letter also addressed concerns regarding aging and poorly maintained barracks and single-family housing, where many junior enlisted members are required to reside. This issue was underscored by a Government Accountability Office report in September, which revealed degraded living conditions in military housing with issues such as mold, pest, water quality problems, and overcrowded rooms, affecting troops’ mental and physical health. Earlier this month, the Air Force announced it was investing $1.1 Billion in dorm upgrades.

Challenges in accessing medical care, particularly behavioral health services, is another problem highlighted in the letter. A National Institutes of Health publication cited a research revealing that depression accounts for up to 9 percent of all ambulatory military health network appointments.

In December, the GAO outlined its recommendations regarding TRICARE’s behavioral health coverage for mental health and substance use disorders. GAO found that the Defense Health Agency had not comprehensively assessed whether the services were meeting their goals for the past seven years, and recommended DHA regularly measure its progress towards improving behavioral health coverage and address any discrepancies.

The lawmakers also highlighted the issue of child care, particularly a shortage of child care workers, which they said “detracts from readiness,” as well as continued licensure problems affecting military spouses’ job prospects, worsening their economic stability and overall well-being.

While acknowledging the substantial cost involved, the lawmakers underscored the need to prioritize the welfare of the troops and their families, framing it as both a moral obligation and crucial for national security. The representatives highlighted “an alarming erosion of military quality of life,” warning of risks to the all-volunteer force if the issues are not promptly addressed.

military quality of life
Reps. Don Bacon, left, and Chrissy Houlahan, the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the new House Armed Services Committee quality of life panel. U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Eliezer Meléndez and U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian Bolin Jr.
Changes Coming This Year For Distance Learning Enlisted PME

Changes Coming This Year For Distance Learning Enlisted PME

Feb. 21, 2024 | By David Roza

Changes are coming this year for Airmen taking professional military education (PME) distance learning courses. Closer interactions with facilitators, a revised capstone course, and more feedback on test performance are meant to improve the overall experience for distance learning students, who often include members of the Air National Guard.

“We want the outcomes to be the same as if you physically went in-residence to a course,” Command Chief Master Sgt. of the Air National Guard Maurice Williams told Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

Enlisted Airmen take PME classes as they advance through the ranks. Senior airmen complete Airman Leadership School before they promote to staff sergeant; technical sergeants take the noncommissioned officer academy (NCOA); and master sergeants complete the Senior NCOA.

The vast majority of enlisted Air Guardsmen can’t attend PME in-residence, so instead they take self-paced distance learning classes similar to many online college classes. The changes are meant to bring distance learning PME up to the same quality as in-residence, Williams said. 

One change is to significantly increase the availability of human facilitators who can answer students’ questions about the class and provide feedback, especially during the capstone portion where Airmen apply their newfound leadership knowledge to a final project. 

That change will take effect first for Airman Leadership School (ALS) Distance Learning 2.0, which is due to roll out this summer. In the 2.0 model, students will receive feedback on incorrect test answers and can reattempt tests for a 70 percent passing score, though they will not be disenrolled for a test failure. The new course also does away with capstone group projects in favor of individual papers and a video.

“In the enhanced Capstone ALS 2.0, facilitators will be able to assign and grade individual assignments and provide feedback,” National Guard Bureau spokesperson Tech Sgt. Sarah McClanahan said. “Facilitators will also be able to promote more in-depth conversations on the discussion posts.” 

The current ALS capstone is three weeks long, but the 2.0 version will be four weeks. Students in the NCOA and SNCOA distance learning classes can expect similar changes this fall and winter, respectively, though the exact nature of those changes are still in development. The ALS 2.0 course is also extending from 60 hours to 85 hours to allow for more interaction with facilitators and “a more robust curriculum,” according to a brochure for the new course.

Current ALS students “will be flowed into the new program as they register for courses” this summer, the brochure states. Tech support for distance learners will also increase.

The timeline to completing ALS Distance Learning 2.0 will be the same as the current iteration: 12 months from program enrollment with two additional six-month extensions if necessary. 

Other Changes

The upcoming distance learning upgrades are just some of several recent changes to enlisted Air Force PME. In recent years, the service also rolled out five-day foundational courses, which focus on supervisory and managerial skills, Williams explained. In February 2023, the Air National Guard also started a First Sergeant 2.0 course where first sergeants midway through their four-year term take a refresher course on the skills unique to maintaining the health, morale, and welfare of enlisted Air Guardsmen.

“If it’s a first sergeant that’s been in the seat for two years, they come to this course and we get more specific to the Air National Guard and try to get them a little re-blued at the midterm point,” Williams said. “We see how they’re operating and get them some ways to adjust and carry out those last two years in their position.”

Besides the First Sergeants 2.0 course, in 2021 the Air National Guard also started up a Senior NCO Enhancement Course, where master sergeants and senior master sergeants take refresher training in leadership skills during the long break in promotions which often occurs before reaching the rank of chief master sergeant.

“An Airman could make E-7 in as quick as nine years and not do any more professional development for another 10 years if they make chief,” Williams said. “I wanted to provide some development in between.”

More changes could be on the way as an enlisted grades review is due to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025. Such reviews evaluate the number of enlisted Airmen at each rank, and while the standard is to conduct a review every two years, the Air National Guard has not performed one since 2015, Williams said. In the meantime, the force has become top-heavy with senior NCOs, and the number of Airmen assigned to each airframe may not be equitable across the Guard.

“We need to make sure that we have a template for each airframe,” the chief said. “So if we get a new C-130 unit, they automatically know what the enlisted grades are going to be.”

All of these changes mark a busy tenure for Williams, who took up his current post in October 2020. He said some of his proudest accomplishments include working with the Air Force Aid Society to increase access for Air National Guardsmen, establishing the Senior NCO Enhancement and 1st Sergeant 2.0 courses, and negotiating for more funding for distance learning PME.

“I think this big overhaul is going to make a big difference for their experience,” he said about the PME changes. “COVID forced us to do things differently, but we’re still not where we need to be.”

B-52 Flies with Philippine Fighters over the South China Sea

B-52 Flies with Philippine Fighters over the South China Sea

Feb. 21, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew alongside three Philippine FA-50 fighters during a patrol over the South China Sea in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on Feb. 19.

The Philippine Air Force announced the patrol as part of an ongoing Maritime Cooperative Activity between the Philippines and the U.S. The U.S. Navy previously announced its participation in the activity, but the Air Force has not publicly noted the B-52’s involvement.

The South China Sea is a heavily-trafficked, heavily-contested area. International law states that the EEZ grants the Philippines exclusive rights to exploit natural resources within the 200-nautical-mile zone. China, however, claims sovereignty over much of the waters, including areas claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. 

The People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command released a statement following the bomber patrol, accusing the Philippines of collaborating with outside countries “to stir up trouble in the South China Sea.”

The statement added that the PLA’s Southern Theater Command dispatched its frontline air and naval forces to closely monitor the region, emphasizing that the troops remain on high alert.

However, PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said in a statement that the patrol “is in no way directed towards any country and the activity is in accordance with the international rules-based order, as we were operating within our territory and within the Philippines’ EEZ,” according to local media reports.

Armed Force of the Philippines’ spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad added that the aerial patrol “demonstrates the commitment of both Armed Forces to enhancing interoperability and advancing regional peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.”

The B-52 that led the patrol with Philippine fighters was from the 5th Bomb Wing of Minot Air Force Base, N.D., which deployed to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, in late January. A total of four Stratofortresses arrived in the region, in part to support Cope North 24, a multilateral air exercise involving Japan, Australia, France, South Korea, and Canada. The three-week exercise extends to the islands of Tinian and Saipan, about 120 miles north of Guam, and is set to conclude on Feb. 23.

The nuclear-capable bombers have kept a low profile in the contested South China Sea in recent years, but back in October, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command disclosed that Chinese fighter jet closed within 10 feet of a B-52 in a nighttime intercept in the region, deeming the incident “unsafe and unprofessional.”

INDOPACOM has also noted B-52 flights over the South China Sea in 2020, 2019 and 2018.

More broadly, the U.S. continues to operate in the region—earlier this month, the USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) and an MH-60S Sea Hawk from the U.S. exercised in the region with the Philippine Navy, according to INDOPACOM.

This comes even as Chinese vessels and aircraft increase their “dangerous” and “unlawful” behavior, Pentagon officials have said. U.S. President Joe Biden has stressed that Washington’s defense commitment to the Philippines is “ironclad,” and any attack on Filipino aircraft, vessels, or armed forces will invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines.

The Philippines’ FA-50 fighter is an upgraded version of South Korea’s supersonic T-50 trainer jet, manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries with development support from Lockheed Martin.

‘Connectivity Is the Only Way’: In Final Months at AMC, Minihan Presses to Modernize

‘Connectivity Is the Only Way’: In Final Months at AMC, Minihan Presses to Modernize

Feb. 21, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

AURORA, Colo.—Gen. Mike Minihan has had an eventful tour as head of Air Mobility Command. Taking over in the fall of 2021, soon after over 250 AMC aircraft and 500 crews were pressed into service to evacuate Afghans and others from Kabul as part of Operation Allies Refuge, the former deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command turned his attention to China and the ancient state of America’s cargo and refueling fleet, sometimes making waves with his blunt language.

Now, as he closes out his term, Minihan is laser-focused on the connectivity of his aircraft.

During his first “Mobility Manifesto,” released during the AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in September 2022, Minihan declared that the U.S. was unprepared to fight and win inside the first island chain, American military jargon for the string of islands closest to mainland China. That has changed, he says.

“I say we absolutely are ready,” Minihan said in a recent interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine at the AFA Warfare Symposium. However, there are caveats, he noted in grading his work.

“Where we were to where we are: an A-plus; where we are to where we need to be: C-minus,” Minihan said.

Air Mobility Command hasn’t been able to take it easy after the evacuation from Afghanistan. A few months later, after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, AMC began transporting millions of dollars worth of military aid to Kyiv. Over the summer, AMC conducted its massive Mobility Guardian 23 exercise. And since Oct. 7, the Air Force has airlifted humanitarian assistance to Gaza and helped beef up the U.S. air defense posture in the Middle East as U.S. troops have come under attack. At one point in early November, AMC had more C-17s tasked globally on a single day than at any point during the Afghanistan evacuation, according to a spokesperson for the command.

U.S. Airmen and Soldiers work together to unload Avenger Air Defense Systems from a C-17 III Globemaster at an undisclosed location Oct. 28, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Lauren Jacoby

“I’ll be the first to admit that those things on the scale of what would happen in the Pacific are fractional,” Minihan said of a potential conflict. “I’m always worried about capacity and reliability.”

The fleet size is only so big, and there is no plan to grow it significantly. So AMC is making the most of what it has, at least while Minihan is still in charge. His major initiative coming out of Mobility Guardian was the so-called 25 by 25 plan—to have 25 percent of the fleet connected by 2025, aimed at tackling the problem of situational awareness for his crews, a key issue highlighted by the exercise and a real-world concern among Airmen.

“The solution right now is we operate the airplane in the same way our grandparents did,” Minihan said. “Those are highly integrated plans, and everybody knows what everybody else is going to do. But it’s not the most efficient use of airpower. And it’s not the type of thing that you can sustain over long lines of communication and have the effects that this nation needs.”

A better-connected fleet—between ground crews, other aircraft, and AMC’s Air Operations Center—will be crucial to integration with the joint force and allies in the future, he said, and serve as a relay and provider of information, something Minihan refers to as “maneuver battle management.”

“I can have situational awareness of where the good guys and the bad guys are,” Minihan said. “I can just look at a tablet or a screen and I can see it. … I can know which airfields have been bombed or damaged. Then I don’t have to just show up, look at the runway, and say that one’s not for me today. These things are all essential. This is what’s getting after this maneuver battle management: how do I do the 1,000 decisions so that I can put the Stryker team in a position where they can go be lethal? You know, how can I do that? Connectivity is the only way.”

Utah Air National Guard real-time information in the cockpit (RTIC) of a modified KC-135 showing fused data from multiple air and ground sources over Tactical Targeting Networked Technology (TTNT) at different simulated classification levels. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Colton Elliott

The benefits of better connectivity are more efficient operations, which save blood and treasure, Minihan said. And for a cost cost-conscious service, which still operates many planes from the 1950s—such as the KC-135 Stratotanker—an upgraded but still old fleet that plugs into better technology would help bridge the gap between the KC-135 and the troubled KC-46 Pegasus while the USAF waits for the stealthy Next-Generation Aerial Refueling System (NGAS) concept to mature.

“The bottom line is line of sight, beyond line of sight, secure communication in the unclassified and unclassified arena—this is stuff that exists now,” Minihan said. “They have an enormous return on investment for a very modest amount of money. So we’re not talking billions here.”

Minihan routinely reiterates how proud he is of Airmen who find a way to execute their mission even when conditions are not ideal and they have to make decisions on the fly. But the ability of AMC to do its job may mask some of the pitfalls it would face in a near-peer conflict—or in the large-scale exercises the Air Force wants to introduce in the near future.

“I won’t be satisfied until the resourcing follows that understanding,” Minihan said. “I’m not looking for pats on the back here. I’m trying to be a good steward of the mission that this command has been given. It has to be the most relied-upon force in the history of warfare.”

Houthis Shoot Down Second Air Force MQ-9 in Three Months

Houthis Shoot Down Second Air Force MQ-9 in Three Months

Feb. 20, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi fighters, defense officials said Feb. 20.

“Initial indications are that it was shot down by a Houthi surface-to-air missile,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters. 

The U.S. military believes the drone crashed into the Red Sea in the early morning hours of Feb. 19 local time. Footage circulating on social media shows the wreckage of a drone that was recovered by the Houthis, as well as video of the purported engagement released by the group.

It was the second time that an Air Force MQ-9 was downed by the Houthis since November as the Iranian-backed Houthis pursue a months-long campaign against commercial shipping and naval vessels in the region with drones, cruise missiles, and anti-ship ballistic missiles. Reapers cost roughly $30 million apiece.

Forces under U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) have been taking out Houthi targets in Yemen since mid-January as the U.S. and its allies seek to deter attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Singh said that she did not know if the MQ-9 that was shot down earlier this week was armed. 

“These are multimillion-dollar platforms,” said Singh. “The commander’s using them to keep commercial mariners safe, to keep our U.S. service members safe in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. So, of course, there’s a risk incurred, but it’s something that we’re going to continue to do to ensure that freedom of navigation can continue to be upheld, the rule of law can be upheld, and that commercial shipping can continue, whether it be in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden.”

Following the shoot-down of the MQ-9 on the morning of Feb. 19, a surface-to-air missile launcher was located and destroyed by U.S. forces in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at approximately 5 p.m., CENTCOM said in a Feb. 20 statement. CENTCOM did not say if that strike was related to the downing of the MQ-9.

In addition to the drone shot down near Yemen in November 2023, the Houthis have also shot down U.S. drones in 2019 and 2017. The U.S. has lost two more MQ-9s in the past year when one was shot down over Iraq in January, and another was forced to crash into the Black Sea after being run into by a Russian fighter in March 2023.

Despite daily strikes by U.S. forces, the Houthis appear determined to keep up their attacks. 

“We know that Iran is continuing to supply them with what they are continuing to launch at U.S. vessels and commercial mariners,” Singh said. “Every single day, I think our dynamic strikes or coalition strikes absolutely have an impact. But we at no point said that we’re wiping all of their capabilities off the map. We know that they have a large inventory, a large warehouse, and they’re going to continue to use it.”