Air Force, Navy Pitched Trump to Keep Their NGAD Programs Intact

Air Force, Navy Pitched Trump to Keep Their NGAD Programs Intact

March 19, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force and Navy have briefed President Donald Trump on their respective Next-Generation Air Dominance programs, asking that the projects proceed largely as they now stand, government and industry sources told Air & Space Forces Magazine. It’s not clear whether the services came away with firm decisions about the future of the aircraft.

The White House requested the briefings, sources said. Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin presented the Air Force case, while Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. James Kilby gave the Navy brief.  

In its 2025 budget request, the Air Force outlined $19.6 billion in NGAD spending in the next five years, making it the most expensive program in the service’s research and development budget.

While the Navy intends to award a contract of its version of a sixth-generation fighter—called the F/A-XX—in the coming months, the Air Force NGAD has been on a “pause” since last summer, when former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall ordered a review of the program. He wanted to know if NGAD as structured was still necessary, or whether air superiority can be achieved in a less costly way. Kendall has quoted a figure of “multiple hundreds of millions” per NGAD fighter, which would succeed the F-22 as the Air Force’s most advanced air superiority aircraft.

Kendall later said another option looked at was a more “multirole” aircraft, along the lines of the F-35, but designed to control many autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft. The CCA effort is on the same budget line as NGAD.

Since then, an internal Air Force review, as well as one from a blue-ribbon commission of stealth experts, has concluded the capabilities of NGAD are still required, despite its high cost, especially in the event of war with China. The NGAD is usually described as a “family of systems,” with a crewed sixth-gen fighter—known as the Penetrating Combat Aircraft—at the center of a formation which includes autonomous escorts and other off-board systems. Service leaders in recent weeks have said it’s important to get right the “mix” of NGAD and CCAs.

Kendall, who was on the verge of announcing a winner in the NGAD competition in December, opted to leave the decision on how to proceed to the incoming Trump administration because, he said, it would have to live with the choice. The Air Force has since given the two remaining NGAD competitors contracts of an undisclosed value for Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR). An industry source said the TMRR contracts, which extend through the end of the fiscal year, will allow refinement of their proposals, but more importantly, keep the two design teams together and “momentum” going until a way forward is decided, he said.   

Allvin, speaking March 18 at the McAleese annual Defense Program Conference, said “the family-of-systems does need a high-end penetrating capability.” As to whether the new administration will greenlight the project, he said “with regard to the overall package” of proposed air superiority solutions, “I think this administration will be making that decision, and we’re going to move out on that. But you do need the ability to maintain air superiority and penetrate contested environments.”

At the AFA Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colo., earlier this month, Allvin said the U.S. is in a particularly “dangerous and dynamic” period, and he wants to be able to “give the president as many options as we possibly can.” That means “yes, NGAD.”

In the months since Kendall’s pause on the NGAD program, service leaders have emphatically denied they are ceding the stand-in air battle to adversaries and shifting toward a stand-off force.

“The fight looks fundamentally different with NGAD than without NGAD,” Maj. Gen. Joseph D. Kunkel, the Air Force’s director of force design, integration and wargaming, said at the Hudson Institute in February.

The fight “looks much better when NGAD is in it,” he said. It “remains an important part of our force design, and it fundamentally changes the character of the fight in a really, really good way for the Joint Force.” With the NGAD, the fight “is easier,” he said. Without it, “we may not be able to pursue or achieve all of our policy objectives.”

Either way, what the Air Force must have, Kunkel said, is a mixture of stand-in, stand-off, and “asymmetric” capabilities to achieve air superiority where and when the Air Force most needs. He also noted that NGAD is a “package deal” and requires an advanced, stealth tanker and the success of the CCA concept to work.

The Navy and the Air Force are not pursuing a joint NGAD program as they did with the F-35; each NGAD is optimized to the respective services’ needs. However, each branch is observing the other’s effort and the two services have agreed to share, as much as possible, enabling capabilities such as propulsion, avionics, sensors, and weapons.

Industry officials have said that Lockheed Martin recently withdrew from the Navy program, leaving Boeing and Northrop Grumman as the likely contenders; Northrop CEO Kathy Warden has said her company is pursuing the project. She also reported Northrop is not seeking the Air Force contract, which is therefore likely a contest between Boeing and Lockheed.

Lt. Gen. Dale R. White, the Air Force’s senior uniformed acquisition official, said at the McAleese conference that while the NGAD decision was paused, “we did not pause the approach and strategy and the things we’re doing to make sure we have the technology.”

White, who said he was in on the “ground floor” of the NGAD program, said it was created with “an acquisition strategy that allows you to make real-time decisions.”

The strategy requires that “you maximize competition. And you define all off-ramps. You define trades. …As what we call ‘real life happenings’ occur, we can make real-time adjustments.”

He also said the program has proved to be a pathfinder in three areas that will govern all future Air Force programs: “digital engineering, open architectures and modern software practices.” This approach ensures that the “government [has] greater control” in steering upgrades and modernization of the system. He likened the NGAD to a smartphone, with many apps that can be added and deleted as needed without restructuring the platform. This “common architecture that multiple platforms and systems subscribe to … that’s going to drive a level of interoperability that we’ve never seen.”

Pentagon Editor Chris Gordon contributed to this report.

Air Force Fighters Use New Laser-Guided Rockets to Shoot Down Houthi Drones

Air Force Fighters Use New Laser-Guided Rockets to Shoot Down Houthi Drones

March 19, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

U.S. Air Force fighters have been using laser-guided rockets to down Houthi drones that are attacking ships in the Red Sea, as the U.S. military seeks to drive down the cost of defeating cheap uncrewed systems, officials said.

The system is the AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS)—Hydra-70 rockets that have been converted with a laser guidance kit to turn them into precision-guided munitions. It was designed for air-to-ground use but has now been used to shoot down drones, U.S. officials said.

Those rockets cost less than $40,000, the officials say, a significant advancement in driving down the cost of defeating the hundreds of drone attacks launched by the Houthis, as well as Iranian-aligned militants in Iraq and Syria. Iran has also launched drones at Israel that the Air Force has shot down, though the only confirmed use of rocket systems has been against the Houthis.

To shoot down drones, the Air Force has previously used AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range radar-guided missiles, which cost roughly $1 million each, or short-range AIM-9 Sidewinders, which carry a price tag of hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the variant. The most capable and latest model, which is often seen on Air Force fighters, is the AIM-9X, which costs around half a million dollars. The rockets offer a cheaper option in some situations.

On March 19, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released a video on the social media site X of U.S. fighter aircraft downing Houthi one-way attack drones with APKWS rockets.

The video was of engagement by Air Force fighters of Houthi drones over the Red Sea within the past two days, a U.S. defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin confirmed the service’s involvement in a post on X. “I love watching our Airmen at work!” Allvin wrote in response to the video released by CENTCOM. “The APKWS (~$35K each) is a fraction of the cost of missiles like the AMRAAM (~$1M each) or AIM-9 (~$500K each). More savings. More lethality. More Air Force.”

On March 16, Air Force fighters helped defeat a Houthi drone attack on Navy warships, though the systems that were used in that episode have not been disclosed.

President Donald Trump began a military campaign on March 15 against the Iranian-backed Houthis, who have waged war against shipping in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Bab El-Mandeb Strait for over a year, launching hundreds of attacks on shipping. The Houthis control much of Yemen.

“Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians, and watch how it will get progressively worse,” Trump wrote on March 19 on his social media platform Truth Social. “It’s not even a fair fight, and never will be. They will be completely annihilated.”

Trump also wrote that Tehran was still sending military support to Yemen, though less than in the past, and urged it to stop immediately. 

U.S. forces have launched several large-scale attacks on Houthi facilities during that time, including under the Biden administration. But the Trump administration has expanded the target set to include Houthi leaders and is involved in what appears to be open-ended operations. 

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which is in the Red Sea, has launched airstrikes. The U.S. has also used Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles launched by nearby U.S. Navy ships in the Truman’s carrier strike group.

The U.S. military is expected to send additional aircraft to the Middle East, U.S. officials previously told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Officials declined to specify which type of fighter shot down the drones with the rockets in the latest engagement, but U.S. Air Force F-16s have been observed carrying rocket pods in recent months, including in the Middle East. The War Zone reported in January that the system had been used to engage drones in the Middle East.

Some Air Force F-16s in the region have been seen fitted with LITENING infrared targeting pods and one or two Hydra rocket pods, as well as AMRAAMs and AIM-9s. To guide an APKWS rocket, the target must be laser-designated or “lazed,” unlike more expensive “fire-and-forget” missiles. This means air-to-air use of the rocket pods is most suited to defeating slow-flying targets such as one-way attack drones.

The Air Force first demonstrated the ability to use APKWS rockets in an air-to-air role in 2019 in what officials said at the time was a “proof of concept,” but the system had not been used operationally until last year.

The Houthis have launched missiles and drones at U.S. ships more than 170 times and commercial vessels more than 145 times since they began their campaign in late 2023, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on March 17.

The Houthis have said they have targeted the Truman and other Navy ships in response to the latest U.S. military action, but the carrier was never in danger. 

“The Houthis claim to have tried to attack the Harry S. Truman. Quite frankly, it’s hard to tell. Because while we’re executing precision strikes, they missed by over 100 miles,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, Director of Operations for the Joint Staff, told reporters. “There’s also been a number of other attempts to interdict vessels in the Red Sea using UAVs and some cruise missiles as well. All of those have been easily defeated by our fighter aircraft that are there.”

The Houthis have vowed to retaliate against the U.S. for its attacks and to continue to attack shipping. The group, which was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department earlier this month, has said its actions are motivated by Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas.

The Houthis have launched drones and missiles at Israel, though most of the commercial ships targeted have no affiliation with Israel. The Houthis resumed their attacks on shipping earlier this month after the collapse of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

U.S. strikes “will continue in the coming days until we achieve the president’s objectives,” Grynkewich said.

F-35s, Air Task Force Deploy to Korea for ACE Exercise

F-35s, Air Task Force Deploy to Korea for ACE Exercise

March 19, 2025 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The U.S. Air Force is testing some of major capabilities and concepts—F-35s, Air Task Forces, and Agile Combat Employment—in South Korea this month for the latest iteration of Freedom Shield exercise.

The joint exercise, which started March 10 and lasts until March 21, also includes U.S. Navy and Republic of Korea Air Force assets, including their own F-35s.

The U.S. Air Force deployed its F-35s from Kadena Air Base, Japan, to Cheongju Air Base in South Korea, ahead of the 11-day exercise. The fighters belong to the Vermont Air National Guard and have been stationed at Kadena since January as part of the Air Force’s ongoing fighter rotation there.

Early in the exercise, USAF and ROKAF F-35s practiced dynamic targeting and aerial refueling. The same day, Navy F-35Cs joined the mix, flying alongside the F-35As over the USS Carl Vinson, which docked in Korea early this month.

“Rehearsing combat operations with ROKAF, USAF, and United States Navy fifth-generation aircraft demonstrates the unmatched, high level of readiness and capability of our forces,” Lt. Gen. David Iverson, Seventh Air Force commander, said in a release.

North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea on the first day of the exercise, just hours after it began, calling the annual training “nuclear war rehearsals” through its state-run media.

“The DPRK presents a formidable threat—one that the Republic of Korea is well accustomed to countering,” Lt. Col. Brian Wagner, 134th EFS director of operations, said in a release. “However, when you factor in the broader geopolitical landscape, including shifting relationships and strategic competition with regional powers, it becomes even more critical for us to adapt as a combined force.”

In a release before the exercise, U.S. Forces Korea spokesperson Army Col. Ryan Donald said the event would “reflect” realistic threats, “including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s military strategy, tactics, and capabilities.”

USAF said it is also testing its Agile Combat Employment concept across multiple areas for the exercise. ACE entails small teams of Airmen dispersing from large central bases to operate from remote or austere locations, complicating an adversary’s targeting. Elements of the exercise included quickly repositioning F-35s from Japan to Korea and integrating fourth- and fifth-gen fighters including its F-16s and A-10s, with the South Korean air force.

“Executing ACE in this region presents unique challenges,” said 1st Lt. Benjamin Meyer, an F-35 pilot assigned to the 134th EFS. “A key part of FS is identifying what we can accomplish together, where we may fall short, and refining our execution plan so we’re ready if the time comes.”

Osan Air Base in Korea, home of the 7th Air Force, now hosts 31 F-16s after nine were relocated from Kunsan Air Base last summer. The move is part of a yearlong test to look at a stronger fighter presence at the 36th Fighter Squadron, closer to the North Korean border. This “Super Squadron” experiment has been a part of Freedom Shield by “engaging in combat training missions focused on air interdiction, close air support, static and dynamic targeting, and combat air patrols,” the 7th Air Force spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“Several 36th Fighter Squadron aircraft also participated in an Agile Combat Employment, or ACE, movement to an alternate base to rehearse the unit’s ability to quickly maneuver forces around the region while maintaining combat flying operations,” the spokesperson added.

The 11th Air Task Force from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., also deployed to Korea to provide a command-and-control hub, ensuring force sustainment across contested areas.

This is the first deployment for the Air Task Force, which only stood up in October. The Air Force is reinventing how it organizes troops for deployments and created six ATFs to establish a system where Airmen deploy as units, having already trained and worked together. Exercises like Freedom Shield will help them refine their skills.

A 7th Air Force spokesperson declined to provide the number of each aircraft involved in the exercise, citing operational security, but added that the unit is conducting a “full-scale rehearsal of our capabilities at the tactical and operational levels.”

Aircraft in Freedom Shield 25

U.S. Air Force: F-35, F-16, A-10, MQ-9, MC-130J, CV-22

U.S. Navy: F-35C

Republic of Korea Air Force: F-35A, F-15K, (K)F-16, FA-50, KC-330, C-130, CASA CN-235, HH-60, CH-47, HH-32

Is Traffic Getting onto Base a Readiness Issue?

Is Traffic Getting onto Base a Readiness Issue?

March 19, 2025 | By David Roza

At the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field in Florida, hundreds of Air Commandos have to be able to get to base to launch a mission at a moment’s notice.

But what happens if they get called in and race over, only to face a line of cars a mile long waiting to get through the gate?

Heavy traffic getting onto bases have afflicted many military bases across the country before. But the end of remote work and telework for most federal employees, coupled with issues specific to different bases, means the problem is getting renewed attention across the Air Force.

Last month, officials at Hill Air Force Base in Utah told local media they saw a bump in traffic as employees returned to in-person work. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio put out a release saying the same thing and adjusting their gate hours to accommodate the heavy flow.

“On top of executing projects stemming from an increased focus on our gates over the last few years, we now have been working to mitigate rapidly developed congestion problems caused by recent events,” said Brady Klein, a civil engineer with the 88th Civil Engineer Group.

An Air Force official told Air & Space Forces Magazine anecdotally that there was a large traffic increase at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Earlier this month, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona got its own influx of traffic as extra troops arrived there to assist with the Pentagon’s growing mission at the southern border.

“I understand that increased traffic and wait times can be frustrating as we navigate an influx of personnel on our installation,” Col. Scott Mills, 355th Wing commander, said in a March 13 statement. “Please extend patience and understanding to our fellow Airmen and Army guests as each of us plays a vital role in showcasing our commitment to excellence and executing this mission.”

The popular unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco is full of posts from Airmen at those bases and others describing hourslong delays at gates in recent weeks.

The increase in congestion comes on top of traffic problems that have frustrated Airmen and Guardians for years now—and drawn the attention of leadership including Col. Patrick Dierig, commander of the 1st SOW at Hurlburt.

“I never want to be in the position of calling the Air Force Special Operations Command commander and saying the mission failed because of a traffic jam,” Dierig said, according to a March 14 press release.

Fixing these issues often takes close cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies. Peterson Space Force Base, Colo. and Fort Cavazos, Texas, received about $10 million each last year from the federal Defense Community Infrastructure Program to help with gate access and reduce traffic congestion. Some states such as Florida also offer military infrastructure improvement grants.

Last year, then-Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James C. Slife highlighted that cooperation at an Association of Defense Communities conference.

“This relationship between the local installations and the state and local governments can be really really powerful and do good things to improve the safety and resilience and the mission readiness, frankly, of our installations,” Slife said.

Dierig is trying to tap into that partnership. Last week, he met with Florida state lawmakers to improve the infrastructure surrounding Hurlburt.

Located on the Florida panhandle, Highway 98 is the only major road to Hurlburt, so when an accident or road construction happens, it can take hours to get to and from the base, an Air Force official told Air & Space Forces Magazine. That is a headache for day-to-day commuting, but is also a security risk for responding to the national defense equivalent of a 9-1-1 call.

“Highway 98 traffic is not a matter of convenience for the 1st SOW,” Dierig told lawmakers. “The traffic is a readiness issue.” 

That specific issue dates back years—at the conference last year, Slife recalled his own time leading the 1st SOW from 2011 and 2013 and described the intersection in front of Hurlburt’s front gate as “the most dangerous intersection in the state of Florida.” To win support for building an overpass, he even timed a visit from then-Governor Rick Scott so that Scott had to drive through the intersection at the most busy time of day.

“He sat in traffic for 30 minutes trying to get onto Hurlburt Field,” Slife said. “The money flowed rather quickly right afterwards.”

Officials broke ground on the overpass in 2013, but traffic remains a challenge, and the congestion has gotten somewhat worse since the end of remote work, an Air Force official said.

There could be hope for service members stationed at Hurlburt or Eglin at least. Last month, President Donald Trump nominated Dale Marks, executive director of Eglin’s 96th Test Wing, to serve as assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations, and the environment. Having served in his current post since 2022, Marks is likely well-acquainted with traffic struggles in the region.

China Practicing ‘Dogfighting in Space,’ US Space Force Says

China Practicing ‘Dogfighting in Space,’ US Space Force Says

March 18, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

China has been using experimental satellites to practice “dogfighting” in space, the U.S. Space Force’s No. 2 officer said March 18, the latest in a series of revelations as to how America’s adversaries may seek to disrupt U.S. space operations in the future.

The Chinese maneuvers include a series of what the Space Force calls “proximity operations” that were conducted in low-Earth orbit last year.

Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael A. Guetlein said the operations involved “five different objects in space maneuvering in and out and around each other in synchronicity, and in control.”

“That’s what we call dogfighting in space,” he said at the McAleese and Associates annual Defense Programs Conference. “They are practicing tactics, techniques, and procedures to do on-orbit space operations from one satellite to another.”

Though Guetlein did not identify the country that conducted the maneuvers at the conference, a Space Force spokesperson later said that he was referencing Chinese activities which were documented in commercially available information.

“China conducted a series of proximity operations in 2024 involving three Shiyan-24C experimental satellites and two Chinese experimental space objects, the Shijian-6 05A/B. These maneuvers were observed in low earth orbit,” the spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Guetlein said these activities by U.S. adversaries explain why the Space Force needs to transform itself into a service that no longer treats space as a benign environment and are validation for its existence and funding, which at $30 billion a year is the lowest budget among the DOD’s military services. 

At the AFA Warfare Symposium on March 3, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said “space superiority” was now a “core function” for the service.

“Space superiority is the reason that we exist as a service, and the vagaries of warfighting must inform everything we do if we are going to succeed,” Saltzman said.

But what worries Guetlein the most is what might be to come.

“Unfortunately, our current adversaries are willing to go against international norms of behavior, go against that gentleman’s agreement, and they’re willing to do it in very unsafe and unprofessional manners,” Guetlein said. “The new norms of behavior in space, unfortunately, within the past three years: jamming, spoofing, dazzling … cyber hacks are happening all around us on a day-to-day basis.”

China is rapidly expanding its counterspace capabilities, including ground-launched anti-satellite missiles, as shown in this illustration. Mike Tsukamoto/staff and Pixabay

The new capabilities adversaries are seeking include Russia’s effort to deploy a nuclear anti-satellite weapon, for example. Adversaries already have the “ability to laze our current … intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance satellites,” Guetlein said.

“We’ve got to change our culture. We’ve got to change our training. We got to change our [tactics, techniques, and procedures], our [concept of operations]. We’ve got to change our kit going forward. Because this is the most complex and challenging strategic environment that we have seen in a long time—if not ever.” Guetlein said. “We need a credible fighting force, and we need the capability to deter and, if necessary, defeat aggression. That is the inflection point that you’re seeing today.”

STRATCOM Chief: Air Force Needs 145 B-21s and More New Strategic Systems

STRATCOM Chief: Air Force Needs 145 B-21s and More New Strategic Systems

March 18, 2025 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force should buy 145 stealth B-21 bombers to cope with the increased threats to U.S. security since that program came into being, Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, head of U.S. Strategic Command, said at the McAleese and Associates annual Defense Programs Conference.

Cotton also said the Air Force should reassess the planned number of AGM-181 Long Range Stand-Off weapons and “pay attention” to the progress of the B-52J upgrade program. The Navy probably needs to up the number of ballistic missile subs it is planning for as well, he added.

“I, as a customer, want to see increased rates” of B-21 production, Cotton said, noting that the program’s low production rate was set “when the geopolitical environment was a little bit different than what we face today.”

While Cotton said the current plan of 100 B-21s should be the absolute minimum, he favors a figure of 145, which he said was the sense of Air Force Global Strike Command when he commanded that organization—his last assignment before taking the helm at STRATCOM.

This is not the first time Cotton has indicated he would like more Raiders. Last year, he told lawmakers that he would “love” to have more than 100 of the bombers, but he did not offer the 145 figure he presented now.

“That gives us 220 bombers when the BUFFs (B-52s) are included,” Cotton said at McAleese. Cotton also said he’s “really happy with the work Northrop Grumman is doing” with development and testing of the B-21.

He also praised Raytheon for its “amazing” work on the LRSO, the new nuclear missile the Air Force is working on to succeed the AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile. Like the B-21, though, he suggested the program needs to grow.

“Again, we have to question now, what are we looking for, as far as capacity [and] sufficiency, there,” Cotton said, due to the evolving security situation, without specifying how many additional LRSOs he thinks should be acquired. He’s ready to “move out” with that program, he said.

The Air Force plans to buy 1,087 LRSOs, 67 of which would be used for development and test. That figure was set in the early 2010s and was largely based on the nuclear capabilities of Russia, before China embarked on an aggressive campaign of building strategic weapons and developing new hypersonic missiles. The LRSO is highly classified and is set to enter operational service in the late 2020s.

Cotton also said that the Navy’s new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine also likely needs to be built in greater numbers than were originally envisioned, for all the same reasons.  The threat is “significantly greater” than it was in an earlier era, and “this is not ‘Cold War 2.0,’” he said.

While Cotton was pleased with progress on the B-21 and LRSO, he said he is “a little worried” about the B-52J upgrade, which comprises new engines, navigation, radars and other improvements that will extend that bomber’s service life to 2050 or beyond.

“It is my LRSO carrier,” he said, “so I need to make sure the Air Force is paying attention to that—to the acquisition strategy—and gets the B-52J out on the ramp as soon as we can.” He did not explain why he is concerned about the upgrade’s progress, or why the Air Force might not be giving the program the attention it deserves. The program has experienced some delays and cost increases as it has transitioned from a fast-tracked prototyping program to a major acquisition program.

The final leg of the new nuclear triad, the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, is also struggling with delays and cost concerns. Cotton said that when he was at Global Strike Command, he predicted the program would be a “mega project,” with breathtaking scope and cost—including a new missile, launch silos, civil engineering, and upgraded command, control, and communication.

Still, “that doesn’t mean it’s a project that does not need to be accomplished,” given the rising importance of deterrence programs as the U.S. faces not one but two peer nuclear competitors, he said.

Noting that he will retire in the coming months, Cotton said he regrets that the U.S. did not tackle the various strategic modernization programs in a staged, sequential fashion—“one a decade”—instead of all at once. There “is no margin” left and no time left to get these projects accomplished, he said, warning that the zeal to contain costs should not result in the delay or cancelation of any of them.

F-15E Strike Eagle Crew Unhurt After Emergency Landing

F-15E Strike Eagle Crew Unhurt After Emergency Landing

March 18, 2025 | By David Roza

Crew members on an F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing were uninjured after making an emergency landing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., on March 18.

The crew was flying a training sortie when they declared an in-flight emergency and made an emergency landing at about 11:15 a.m., a base spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

No other aircraft were damaged in the incident, which is currently under investigation, the spokesperson added.

A photo of what appeared to be a Strike Eagle resting on its belly was posted to the popular unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco on March 18, but the base spokesperson could not confirm if the photo was of the mishap aircraft.

The incident comes about seven months after a KC-46 tanker suffered a mishap while refueling a pair of Strike Eagles over California, damaging one of the fighters. Roughly a year ago, a T-6 trainer aircraft performed a “belly landing” with its gear up at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.

The Air Force has 218 F-15Es with an average age of 31 years, according to 2024 data. The jet’s latest mission capable rate stood at 55.44 percent, up slightly from 55 percent in 2023. An aircraft is “mission capable” when it is able to perform at least one of its several core missions. The Air Force does not disclose full-mission capable rates, which measure aircraft types’ readiness to conduct all assigned missions.

According to the service’s most recent flight statistics, the entire F-15 fleet, including C and D models, has averaged 1.6 Class A mishaps and 3.1 Class B mishaps per year over the last decades. Class A mishaps are ones that result in either $2.5 million in damages, death, or the destruction of an aircraft. Class B mishaps are ones that result in anywhere from $600,000 to $2.5 million in damages, permanent disabilities, or hospitalizations for three or more individuals.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more details become available.

Air Force Sending Teams to Make Sure Bases Are Following Executive Orders

Air Force Sending Teams to Make Sure Bases Are Following Executive Orders

March 18, 2025 | By Greg Hadley

The Department of the Air Force will send small teams to “validate” compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive orders. The groups will visit nine bases before the end of the month following direction from a Pentagon task force.

Since the beginning of his second term in January, Trump has issued a series of executive orders aimed at eliminating initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion; “gender ideology,” and Critical Race Theory. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth established a “Restoring America’s Fighting Force” task force “to ensure compliance” with Trump’s orders, he wrote in a Jan. 29 memorandum. That task force has directed the military departments to confirm that they are implementing the orders. 

The Air Force is sending “validation teams” with fewer than 10 members to visit bases between March 17-28, a department spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine. While there, they will review documents, analyze programs, conduct focus groups, audit classes, and interview personnel. 

Specifically, the teams will focus on making sure the Air Force is: 

  • Not considering factors such as sex, race, and ethnicity during promotion and selection processes 
  • Not trying to meet any quota, objectives, or goals based on sex, race, or ethnicity 
  • Not providing any training or instruction on diversity and inclusion, “gender ideology,” and Critical Race Theory 
  • Not sponsoring any boards, councils, or working groups that “incorporate” those topics 
  • Providing instruction focused on a lethal force; Hegseth’s memo specifies that institutions “shall teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history.” 

The Air Force has already taken steps to follow those guidelines, such as revoking officer applicant pool goals based on race and gender; disbanding working groups that sought to remove barriers for minority groups; and revising training material. 

However, the process has not been without controversy. Some have objected to the removal of media and training curriculum about Air Force trailblazers and argued the working groups were focused on promoting readiness, not diversity and inclusion. Others have suggested service officials have gone too far in acts of “malicious compliance,” or obeying the directive in a way intended to undermine the order’s intent.   

The “validation teams” will monitor progress on implementing the orders by visiting nine Air Force and Space Force installations meant to be a “representative sampling” of the department, an official said. The tentative list includes:

  • Peterson Space Force Base, home of the Space Force’s Officer Training Course, Space Operations Command, and Space Training and Readiness Command
  • U.S. Air Force Academy
  • Buckley Space Force Base, home of the Air Reserve Personnel Center
  • Randolph Air Force Base, home of the Air Force Personnel Center and Air Force Recruiting Service
  • Joint Base San Antonio (Lackland), home of Basic Military Training and the 149th Fighter Wing
  • Keesler Air Force Base, home of the Technical Training School
  • Hurlburt Field, home of Air Force Special Operations Command
  • Maxwell Air Force Base, home of Air University and Officer Training School
  • Robins Air Force Base, home of Air Force Reserve Command

Once the teams are finished, the department will continue to conduct “in-depth reviews” to ensure compliance, a release stated. 

Civilian Employees 

While the Air Force makes sure it is following Trump’s orders on diversity, race, and gender, it is also working to implement a directive from Secretary Pete Hegseth to cut down on its civilian workforce. 

Hegseth has said his goal is to trim five to eight percent from the Pentagon’s 800,000 or so civilian employees. 

On March 18, a defense official told reporters that DOD has tried working toward that goal by: 

  • Implementing the “deferred resignation program” spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency 
  • Instituting a civilian hiring freeze 
  • Firing several thousand probationary employees, who have fewer job protections 

The last effort has been hampered by litigation, but the official said nearly 21,000 people have taken the deferred resignation, while around 6,000 jobs per month are going unfilled due to the hiring freeze. 

The official could not provide a breakdown between the military departments but did say “certainly the numbers are going to be somewhat similar across the services.” 

The Air Force did not immediately reply to a query about how many of its civilian workers are involved in the reductions. 

Exemptions are allowed based on national security needs, and the official did note that “any critical area that the Secretary and the services have identified is going to be weighed heavily when determining which portions of the workforce and what skill sets need to be retained.” 

Last month, Hegseth exempted 17 critical areas from his budget review to identify five to eight percent in potential “offsets,” including Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, nuclear modernization, and homeland missile defense—all important Air Force and Space Force missions. Those areas may be shielded from personnel cuts as well. 

The Air Force officially started its deferred resignations Feb. 28, allowing participating employees to stop working but still get paid through September 2025. It implemented its hiring freeze March 1. 

Allvin: Air Force Needs ‘High-End Penetrating Capability’ in Future Combat

Allvin: Air Force Needs ‘High-End Penetrating Capability’ in Future Combat

March 18, 2025 | By Chris Gordon

The Air Force needs a high-end aircraft that can operate in contested environments and work with new Collaborative Combat Aircraft semi-autonomous drones, the service’s top officer said March 18—requirements that still yet may be met by the Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter.

“Instead of going all high-end and then breaking the bank and not being able to sustain it, we need to have that balanced capability mix. But we do need to have high-end,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said at the McAleese and Associates annual Defense Programs Conference.

Allvin’s comments come as the Pentagon has yet to decide how to proceed with the NGAD fighter, a costly program to develop a sixth-generation piloted aircraft that the Air Force had previously cast as a high priority before it was paused for review at the tail end of the Biden administration.

“The family of systems does need high-end penetrating capability,” Allvin said. “With respect to the overall package and what gets put forward, I think this administration will be making that decision [on whether to proceed with a crewed NGAD fighter], and we’re going to move out on that. But you do need the ability to maintain air superiority and penetrate contested environments, and that’s what our Air Force does.”

The coming months will be decisive for the Air Force’s fighter fleet. The service’s first CAAs—General Atomics’ YFQ-42A and Andruil Industries’ YFQ-44A—will fly this summer, service officials say. The Trump administration is also poised to make a decision on what to do about the NGAD crewed fighter. CCAs are considered part of a broader NGAD “family of systems.”

Initially envisioned as a replacement for the F-22 Raptor, officials had suggested that NGAD crewed fighter would cost perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars per jet.

A decision is expected to look at the crewed fighter’s prospective capabilities compared to its high price tag, as well as how well that aircraft can operate with Collaborate Combat Aircraft. CCA flight testing will inform how the Air Force balances crewed and uncrewed platforms.

The XQ-67A collaborative combat aircraft, top, and the Anduril Fury CCA is displayed at the Tech Expo at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference on September 17, 2024.
Photos by H. Darr Beiser and Mike Tsukamoto/Air & Space Forces Association

“We’re going to be on a learning curve with them understanding just what [CCAs] can do,” Allvin said. “That will determine the capability mix between that and our high-end platforms that they will be integrated with and aligned within the human-machine team. What exactly that looks like, the proportion, we don’t know yet. And to be able to or to try and drive towards a single solution right now is probably not responsible.”

The service has made clear it does not see future conflicts as fully autonomous—at least for the foreseeable future.

“I think we’re a ways away from fully putting combat in the hands of just unmanned systems,” said Lt. Gen. Dale R. White, the service’s senior uniformed acquisitions official. “I believe we will get there. We will iterate to that, and we will have mixed systems until we get comfortable as a function of time. … We have to get to a place where comfortable knowing that the system can act and do the unthinkable. We’re still going to need systems and capabilities in the fight. … We’re still going to need that Marine or that Soldier to jump on the grenade to save the platoon. We’re still going to need that function. We’re still going to be a human on the loop to do the unthinkable things that we have to do. And so there’s going to be a period of time of transition that we’re going to have to work through.”

The review of Air Force programs will also be influenced by other new service initiatives: the USAF’s evolving Force Design and its provisional Integrated Capabilities Command, which are designed to focus the Air Force’s thinking on which platforms it wants to develop and why.

The Force Design covers different “mission areas” in which the Air Force will sketch out a variety of capabilities to match a range of threats. 

Integrated Capabilities Command, which is currently operating in a provisional status pending a review by the Trump administration, is focused on problem-solving for the service and the joint force rather than just the priorities of major commands.

“This is probably not comfortable for industry, but this particular environment does not favor long-term, big bets because we think we know what the future is going to be for the next 25 years,” Allvin said. “Because if you’re wrong, you’re really wrong. The ability to reinvest is sometimes tough.”

In addition to high-end platforms, Allvin said the Air Force is exploring what he called “asymmetric” capabilities “that are disruptive early on” in a conflict. This a new concept, he said, which seeks to confront adversaries with a dilemma so that the U.S. doesn’t “have to use all of your high-end kit from the very beginning.”

“We absolutely have to have air superiority. … What we need to break away from intellectually is we have to have our superiority the way we always have had it,” Allvin added. “Air superiority also does not necessarily have to be for days and weeks on end where the skies are clear. … Air superiority is designed to enable other things, so when you have air superiority, it might be temporal, it might be regional, but as long as it’s synchronized to the joint force objectives, we are still accomplishing what the joint force needs and what the nation needs out of its Air Force.”