Lockheed To Buy Aeroject Rocketdyne for $5 Billion

Lockheed To Buy Aeroject Rocketdyne for $5 Billion

Dec. 21, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin is buying Aerojet Rocketdyne in a $5 billion deal that would give Lockheed in-house capability in solid rocket motors, expand its hypersonic portfolio, and complement the company’s work on ballistic missiles, space launch vehicles, and a number of munitions and tactical missile programs. Lockheed is already the largest defense contractor, and the acquisition may draw some challenge from other contractors and Congress who are concerned about diminishing competition.

Most of Aerojet Rocketdyne would be consolidated with Lockheed’s Space unit and Missiles and Fire Control unit. The acquisition is expected to be accomplished by late 2021, Lockheed CEO James D. Taiclet said on a Dec. 21 investor conference call.

Lockheed will follow the example set with Northrop Grumman’s acquisition of Orbital ATK, in which Northrop agreed as part of that deal to be a provider of solid rocket motors (SRMs) to other contractors, Taiclet said. Aerojet Rocketdyne is the only other supplier of SRMs, and Taiclet expects there will be little opposition from “our peer group,” adding that they will also enjoy “more access” to Lockheed products.

Boeing declined to bid on the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent ICBM program a year ago, claiming that vertical integration with Orbital ATK created an insurmountable pricing advantage for Northrop in that competition.

A Boeing spokesman declined comment on the Lockheed/Aerojet Rocketdyne deal.

“We’ve concluded internally, and from our outside advisors, that there’s full complementarity between the Lockheed Martin portfolio and … Aeroject Rocketdyne, meaning there’s no overlap … in a traditional antitrust sense,” Taiclet said. He said he “reached out” to 10 peer companies on Dec. 20 to “give them a heads up, … but I think they have the same understanding,” that Lockheed will be a “more efficient merchant supplier” during a period of expected flat defense budgets. He expects they will see “the industrial logic and the common sense” of the acquisition, and the “mutual benefits” of the arrangement, he added. 

“I don’t think there’s much convincing to do,” Taiclet said.

Lockheed Chief Operating Officer Frank A. St. John said that Northrop has committed to source SRMs for “upper stage work” on GBSD from Aerojet Rocketdyne, giving Lockheed a long-time role on that program, as well.

Asked about the timing of the announcement—in between presidential administrations, with uncertainty about the specific defense leaders that will decide whether the deal is allowable—Taiclet said it was in keeping with Lockheed’s strategy, the “availability” of Aerojet, advantageous credit rates, and the ability to “come to agreement on price and terms.” The timing is “part of our strategy … to be a more thorough and deep mission systems supplier.”

Aerospace business analyst Byron Callan of Capital Alpha Partners said he guesses that while the deal will “play out in slow motion” over the coming year and will likely get approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, “it’s not a slam dunk.” It remains to be seen, he said, who fills key jobs at the Pentagon that will have a big say in it. “We’ve got to see who [President-Elect Joe] Biden appoints to these positions; it’s not really a [Secretary of Defense] question, it will be the [undersecretary for] acquisition and sustainment, and then further down.”

Much will depend on how Boeing and Raytheon Technologies react, he said. Locking up rocket and hypersonic engine technology at Lockheed and Northrop “could create some concern: Are they really going to get access to the technology? Can that really be firewalled effectively?”

The Aerojet purchase doesn’t necessarily signal the beginning or end of a consolidation cycle, Callan said, noting there “just aren’t a lot of midsize contractors” left in the business.   

Rather, he sees the move more as “portfolio shaping.”

The major contractors are looking ahead to flatter defense budgets and to “shed businesses that don’t have a lot of growth” potential. He also noted Taiclet’s comment about Aerojet’s “availability” and observed that “maybe [it] was being shopped around … and he had to act with alacrity.”

Ken R. Possenriede, Lockheed chief financial officer, said the company has enough cash on hand to manage the deal without loans, if necessary. Taiclet has said the company will not “sit on” its large cash reserves, but is looking for ways to enhance shareholder value with stock buybacks and investing in new business.

Taiclet said the deal builds Lockheed’s space, hypersonic, and missile defense portfolio while “creating new opportunities.” Aerojet’s customers will benefit from Lockheed’s “engineering and manufacturing support to become a better … supplier of propulsion products in the space and defense domain.”

Lockheed platforms already account for about 35 percent of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s business. As far as new business, Aerojet is already on all three teams competing for the next-generation air defense interceptor system.

Aerojet’s space business includes the Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles, Vulcan Centaur and the Space Launch System for NASA. It makes bomb bodies and warheads for Air Force suppliers, motors for the Javelin, Griffin, TOW, ATACMS, and Stinger missiles for the Army, and the Navy’s Trident D-5 Sea-Launch Ballistic Missile and Tactical Tomahawk cruise missile.

10 Years After DADT Repeal, LGBTQ Airmen Say More Can Change

10 Years After DADT Repeal, LGBTQ Airmen Say More Can Change

Dec. 21, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Ten years after the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy began to phase out, gay and lesbian Airmen say there’s more the Department of the Air Force can do to support the LGBTQ community.

On Dec. 22, 2010, President Barack Obama signed legislation that led to the repeal of DADT, which for nearly two decades blocked openly gay personnel from serving in the military. The policy formally ended in September 2011 after months of preparation within the Pentagon.

“I became a better supervisor because I was able to live up to the core values of the Air Force at that time. It made me a better Airman because I was able to be open and transparent about my life,” said Jennifer Dane, an Air Force veteran who is now interim executive director of the Modern Military Association of America, the nation’s largest nonprofit advocating for LGBTQ service members and veterans.

“When you’re doing a mission together, you share a lot of yourself with your troops,” she said. “I wanted to show them I was a person just like they were.”

Several gay and lesbian Airmen who spoke to Air Force Magazine said they have become better wingmen since the fall of DADT, and are optimistic about a military where the LGBT community is better represented and accepted. All have served for more than a decade, including multiple deployments to the Middle East and elsewhere overseas.

Some wish the military health care system was better attuned to the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer personnel, ranging from HIV prevention and treatment to pregnancy issues. Mental health care professionals who specialize in LGBTQ issues are hard to find as well, for both Airmen and their families, they said.

Following the Air Force’s 2018 approval of the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment known as Truvada, health care workers sometimes aren’t familiar with the steps an Airman must take to refill their prescription for the HIV-prevention drug.

“When I had to go do the bloodwork, it was hard for the lady to understand what I was asking for,” said Tech. Sgt. Donald G. Goins Jr., an Airman with the 30th Space Communications Squadron’s cyber mission defense team at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. “There should be three vials; there should be three blood tests that you have to perform.”

The Air Force offers an annual multi-day seminar where Airmen can get specialized care for living with HIV, with information on topics from diet to safe sex. While one HIV-positive Airman said that is helpful, they wish the service would take a new look at other requirements and restrictions for people with the virus.

“Every time I change a unit, I am required by [Air Force instructions] to sit down with my commander, and we have to sign a letter together about my sexual activity,” the Airman said. “Very invasive. … No one wants to have that conversation.”

Airmen have fought HIV-related issues in the courts. In early 2020, a federal appeals court sided with two Airmen who faced military discharge after testing positive for the virus in 2017. The Pentagon bars personnel with HIV from deploying to the Middle East, making them a target for discharge under the Defense Department’s “deploy or get out” policy. The Airmen argued they could deploy with medication or a policy exception, or take different jobs in the service.

Another federal judge recently ruled that DOD has “no rational basis” for blocking HIV-positive service members from commissioning as officers, another hurdle that persists for some Airmen. That limits their ability to pursue certain career moves like becoming a pilot.

Others in the Air Force pointed to progress made around in vitro fertilization and other specialized care that affects LGBT members.

Master Sgt. Kate Huguenin, the additional duty first sergeant for U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade, Md., noted that TRICARE now covers more of the cost of infertility clinics for same-sex couples. But if two women want to have a baby, she said, they have to pay for the sperm out of pocket.

While U.S. society has grown steadily more accepting of LGBTQ Americans over time, Airmen remain wary of setbacks to equal rights.

Huguenin recounted the night the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September. Ginsburg, a liberal icon known for her work on gender equality, was replaced on the bench by the conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

“My phone started blowing up, … [with] younger Airmen saying, ‘hey, if they overturn [Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide] because they’re talking about it, what do I need to do? How do I protect myself?’” Huguenin said.

She wonders if the Air Force can continue to recognize same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ protections even if they are no longer the law of the land. The service should be prepared to look at state policies and educate Airmen on how to protect their families in places where marriage equality is not enshrined in law, she said.

“The reason I can [permanently relocate] with my spouse is because legally, the federal government says you cannot separate legally married couples. But we legally separate significant others all the time,” said Huguenin, whose wife is in the Coast Guard. “I have absolute faith that [Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.] have my best interests at heart. Whether or not they have the legal sufficiency to protect that, I don’t know.”

Under DADT, Airmen shied away from connecting with their colleagues for fear of sparking suspicion that could lead to discharge. The years since repeal have strengthened personal and professional relationships, in ways as simple as being able to display a photo of one’s partner at work or to discuss parenting.

“It’s exciting that I’m going to retire from the Air Force and I am going to have a husband that gets to be there, literally there, in person,” said Master Sgt. Michael Burd, who works with the Rapid Capabilities Office at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. “When I was an Airman [under DADT] and I was winning awards, my partner couldn’t go to the award ceremonies … like the heterosexual couples.”

People said they’ve felt empowered and understood by LGBTQ commanders, and used their own stories to teach and guide others as well. 

“It’s been a switch in focus away from the concept of political correctness. Now you’re not using inclusive terminology to be politically correct or, because you have to change something,” said Maj. John H. Nussbaum, an airfield assistant public works officer at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. “You’re using it to ensure that when you speak, you speak to everyone, that you’re setting the same rules for everyone, the same expectations for everyone.”

Other policies and language can shift toward being more “family-neutral,” people told Air Force Magazine. Master Sgt. Ashley N. Grady, who works in administration at the Air National Guard’s 190th Mission Support Group in Kansas, said she’d like to see things like fliers for spousal retreats acknowledge same-sex couples alongside “husband and wife.”

Some also wish the military’s legal offices took claims of LGBTQ discrimination more seriously, and call for a more diverse and LGBTQ-friendly chaplain corps. 

Many spoke of the need for broader education about the LGBTQ community, whether discussing its history during Pride Month activities each June or simply grabbing coffee with another Airman to dispel their misconceptions. Group conversations could also follow the same model some units have used to discuss racism this year.

Air Force culture will continue to evolve as leadership diversifies. DADT and other factors shrank the number of out Airmen now climbing the ladder, but some are optimistic that trend is being reversed.

Perhaps the most notable high-ranking gay military official in recent history is Eric Fanning, president and chief executive officer of the Aerospace Industries Association. Fanning, a former Army Secretary and Acting Air Force Secretary, is the only openly gay person to have held senior positions in the Army, Air Force, and Navy, as well as in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. That talent pool has to widen rather than rely on a few high-profile people, advocates said.

“You couldn’t get a clearance if you were gay until 1998,” said Luke Schleusener, president of the advocacy group Out in National Security and a former speechwriter to Defense Secretaries from 2012 to 2017. “There are people who could come over one way or the other, Hill staff, that sort of thing. But it’s hard, in part because the culture has to change.”

Airmen praised openly gay leadership at their local units but worried that Air Force efforts to embrace diversity in promotions will lead to tokenism.

“The person should be put there because they are the best person for that position,” Goins said. “To say that you’re just putting that person there because of ‘X’ demeans that position and demeans the community which they belong to.”

Other changes underway across the Defense Department can bolster the LGBTQ community as well. Hiding names and photos on candidates up for promotion—a move intended to avoid racial discrimination—can aid people across the sex and gender identity spectrum, too. Some noted that the Air Force’s recent decision to allow women to wear pants with their mess dress uniforms also helps those who aren’t comfortable in the typical long, feminine skirt.

Airmen are likewise encouraged by President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration and new Air Force leaders, which they believe will usher in more inclusive military personnel policies—starting with the so-called “transgender ban.”

When asked whether the Air Force is considering any policy changes related to the LGBTQ community, Department of the Air Force spokesperson Maj. Holly A. Hess referred Air Force Magazine back to the Pentagon’s guidance on transgender service.

Hess said the Air Force and Space Force follow DOD guidance and will comply if policies change in the future.

In April 2019, the Pentagon blocked employees from newly coming out as transgender, while allowing those already diagnosed with gender dysphoria to continue living in their preferred gender. Troops diagnosed after April 2019 must continue serving according to their birth sex and cannot receive transition-related care. Those with a gender dysphoria diagnosis cannot enlist or join a military academy. The Department of the Air Force does not tally its number of transgender troops.

In 2014, the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy at UCLA’s School of Law estimated as many as 15,500 transgender people were serving across the Pentagon’s Active-duty, Guard, and Reserve forces. A similar RAND Corp. study in 2016 estimated that more than 6,600 transgender troops were part of the Active-duty force, noting that not all of them would seek gender transition-related treatment.

RAND researchers found that allowing transgender personnel to access transition-related health care would increase Active-duty health costs by up to $8.4 million a year, an increase of less than 1 percent. They used private health insurance claims data to estimate military expenses.

“Even upper-bound estimates indicate that less than 0.1 percent of the total force would seek transition-related care that could disrupt their ability to deploy,” they said.

Anyone who is capable and qualified to serve should be allowed in, MMAA Interim Executive Director Jennifer Dane said.

“I think the biggest fear from ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was that we were going to be able to come out, and then have to go back in the closet because of a different policy,” she said. “The trans folks were able to come out one day, and the next day, they had to either go back in, or come really out and say, ‘Yes, I suffer from gender dysphoria.’”

The recent policy’s effects have trickled down to restrict care for service members’ children as well. “It really set back the progress we were making as an LGBTQ community,” Dane said.

The incoming Biden administration is expected to repeal restrictions on transgender service soon after taking office. Congress could go a step further and enshrine protections for transgender personnel in law.

Advocates urge DOD to roll back the ban in a way that doesn’t create further unintended consequences for military employees and their families. Intentional policymaking should carry over into other issues around gender identity and sexual orientation, they said.

For example, Generation Z—anyone born after 1997—appears set to break DOD’s male-female mold as the most gender-diverse group entering the military so far, Dane said. She knows of no policies or guidance addressing nonbinary service members and others in the queer community, but encouraged the Pentagon to be proactive.

“What do you do whenever you have recruits that don’t really fit into the standards that you have?” Dane said. “We’ve got to be ready for that, because there’s a lot of people that … do identify as such.”

Review Shows Widespread Racial Disparity in the Department of the Air Force

Review Shows Widespread Racial Disparity in the Department of the Air Force

Dec. 21, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

An extensive, 150-page report released Dec. 21 shows wide-spread racial disparities within the Air Force, with Black Airmen reporting distrust with their chain of command and military justice, and data showing Black Airmen are much more likely to face administrative and criminal punishment compared to white Airmen.

The Air Force Inspector General’s Independent Racial Disparity Review is based on more than 123,000 survey responses from Airmen, 138 in-person sessions at bases across the department, and 27,000 pages of responses. The review was launched in June following a nationwide reckoning on race relations in the country, and even those behind the effort were surprised at the response.

“The pent-up angst, … the volume was surprising,” USAF Inspector General Lt. Gen. Sami D. Said said in a briefing Dec. 21. “When we asked for feedback, I expected to get feedback. But we were just drowned with feedback. So, the Airmen were very eager to tell … their story. They wanted their voices heard. So glad we did that element of the review. And I was, at first, like ‘Wow.’ I realized the response would be high, but this was unprecedented, overwhelming.”

Broadly, the Airmen participating in the review shared how they personally have faced disparities. The survey responses reported that:

  • Two out of five Black enlisted, civilians, and officers do not trust their chain of command to address racism, bias, and unequal opportunities.
  • One out of every three Black service members said they believe the military discipline system is biased against them.
  • Three out of every five Black service members believe they do not and will not receive the same benefit of the doubt as their white peers if they get in trouble.
  • One out of every three Black officers do not believe the Air Force and Space Force provide them the same opportunities to advance as their white peers.
  • Two out of every five Black civilians have seen racial bias in the services’ promotion systems.
  • Half of all respondents said they experienced or witnessed racial discrimination from another Airman.

In addition to surveys, the IG report focused on data related to Article 15, courts martial, administrative, and other punishment. Data showed that enlisted Black Airmen are 72 percent more likely to receive Article 15s, and 57 percent more likely to face a courts martial. Young Black Airmen are twice as likely to be involuntarily discharged based on misconduct.

Black Airmen in the service are twice as likely to be stopped by Security Forces and 1.64 more likely to be suspects in Office of Special Investigations cases.

Outside of criminal justice, Black Airmen are underrepresented in operational career fields, and overrepresented in support career fields. Specifically, as of May 2020 there were only 305 Black pilots out of about 15,000 Active Duty pilots in the Air Force. As of July 2020, there were about 19,000 rated officers in the rank of O-5 and below, with Black officers making up just 3 percent of that.

Black Airmen are underrepresented in promotions to the ranks of E-5 through E-7 and O-4 through O-6, and while they are overrepresented in the percentage of Airmen receiving nominations to attend professional military education, they are underrepresented in the actual designations to attend.

Secretary of the Air Force Barbara M. Barrett, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond will assign stakeholders to review the report, conduct a root cause analysis, and develop recommendations to address the disparities. The IG plans to conduct a “vector check” every six months to evaluate progress.

Said said the IG Office itself also was called out in the report, with Airmen raising concerns about the effectiveness of equal employment offices and the IG system as it pertains to handling claims of bias. Specifically, Airmen are worried that IG investigations are not independent from the chain of command and in turn face influence from commanders, the claim is not taken seriously, or it is not handled in a timely manner. This is an issue the IG is aware of and was already moving on by changing regulations.

“If you get a complaint at the IG level at the installation that in any way shape or form compromises the local leadership in their ability in dealing with it, whether the complaint is about them or the system not reacting, which they own, the issue has to be elevated outside that organization,” Said said.

Other recommendations and efforts include:

  • For disparity in Security Forces apprehensions: The AF/A4S and Headquarters Air Force Security Forces Center should begin including disparity topics during leadership sessions and symposiums, along with funding a “deep dive” review and root causes analysis.
  • For disparities in promotions: Groups such as A1, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and leaders of major commands should take steps such as reworking enlisted evaluation systems to remove disparate testing outcomes, update officer evaluations with more emphasis on inclusive leadership, implement developmental categories to allow for more agility, implement bias training, and expand mentorship matches with emphasis for minorities, among others.
  • For the disparity in Air Force Specialty Codes: Air Education and Training Command and the A1 should review specialty selection criteria for minority barriers to entry and review rated officer selection processes and barriers to selection.
  • For disparity in Wing command and equivalent: A1 should strengthen minority representation and visibility throughout the command selection process, expand mentorship programs, and implement bias training.
  • For the disparity in undergraduate pilot training accession and graduation: AETC should work to inspire and attract talented and diverse youth and use multi-layered outreach to increase awareness of rated careers.

While the review found and confirmed several disparities in the experience of Black Airmen compared to other races, the report did not state that there is racism in the Air Force. Such a determination was not in its directive, Said said.

“Importantly, this review was not chartered to determine whether or not racial bias or discrimination is present,” the report states. “Such an examination would require considerable social sciences expertise, a broader look at American society in general, and was outside the defined scope.”

Brown said the review has opened the eyes of many leaders, and committed to continuing discussions and working toward “lasting change.”

Raymond echoed those comments, calling on Space Force leaders to continue having the tough decisions as the it builds up the new service around a culture of inclusion.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:28 a.m. to correct a quote from Lt. Gen. Said.

AFRICOM Operation to Withdraw from Somalia Begins

AFRICOM Operation to Withdraw from Somalia Begins

Dec. 21, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. Africa Command stood up a task force and began withdrawing forces from Somalia, while at the same time conducting a live-fire exercise to show that American airpower will remain active in the country despite the move.

AFRICOM activated Joint Task Force-Quartz on Dec. 19 to oversee the repositioning of troops from Somalia to other bases in the region—called Operation Octave Quartz. The task force, commanded by Special Operations Command-Africa boss USAF Maj. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, comes after the Dec. 4 order from President Donald J. Trump to move almost all personnel and assets from the East African nation.

“To be clear, the U.S. is not withdrawing or disengaging from East Africa,” AFRICOM boss Gen. Stephen J. Townsend said in a statement. “We remain committed to helping our African partners build a more secure future. We also remain capable of striking al-Shabab at the time and place of our choosing—they should not test us.”

To prove that point, an AC-130W Stinger II has been flying air operations over Somalia as part of the operation. Video posted of the operations show the aircraft firing on a live fire range in Somalia on Dec. 16.

“We will execute this mission swiftly, methodically, and with additional forces to protect both our partners and U.S. forces,” Anderson said in a release. “Enemies should expect continued pressure and swift retribution if they choose to attack.”

U.S. forces will operate from nearby bases outside the country, such as Manda Bay in Kenya and the expeditionary sea base USS Hershel Woody Williams, and will also conduct longer distance operations from the hub at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. There are between 650 and 800 troops stationed in the country.

The order to withdraw comes after a review of combatant commands across the globe, with the goal of bringing more forces back to the U.S. AFRICOM is also evaluating locations for its headquarters, following the announcement that it will be moved from Germany as part of a large-scale drawdown there.

355th Fighter Squadron Activated to Fly F-35s at Eielson

355th Fighter Squadron Activated to Fly F-35s at Eielson

Dec. 21, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, now has its second F-35A squadron.

The 355th Fighter Squadron officially stood up during a Dec. 18 ceremony at the base, joining the 356th Fighter Squadron that activated earlier this year. The base will eventually be the home to 54 of the aircraft, and with F-22s at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, will be the home to the highest concentration of fifth-generation fighters in the Defense Department.

“The 354th FW has been tasked with standing up two combat-coded F-35A squadrons for a total of 54 F-35As at Eielson AFB,” squadron commander Lt. Col. Samuel Chipman said in a release. “The 355th FS is the final addition to this tasking.”

The activation of the squadron is the latest move in a long lineage for the unit. The 355th FS inactivated at Eielson in 2007, when it flew A-10s. In October 2015, it reactivated as an active association to the Reserve 495th Fighter Group, flying with the Reserve 457th Fighter Squadron at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. There, it was redesignated as the 24th Fighter Squadron, allowing the 355th FS to reactivate at Eielson.

The squadron’s lineage dates back to 1942, when it was first activated at Hamilton Field in California and flew the P-39 Airacobra. It flew in World War II, including escorting bombers and ground attack in P-51s. During the Vietnam War it was the first A-7 Corsair II unit to fly in Southeast Asia, including flying more than 4,000 sorties during the Linebacker II campaign. In 1978, it became the Air Force’s second operational A-10 unit.

In 1956, the squadron received the nickname “Fightin’ Falcons”— a nickname that remains at Eielson, even though the unit will fly F-35 Lightning IIs and no longer the F-16 Fighting Falcons it flew in Texas.

The activation of the 355th FS at Eielson means the “Pioneer Mustang Group,” the 353rd, 355th, and 356th squadrons, will be based together again. The last time the three squadrons were collocated was in the early 1990s at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, according to an Eielson release. Some of the same personnel who served in the squadron at Eielson in 2007 are still at the base, Chipman said in the release.

“I have had the opportunity to serve with many of its former members and some are close friends,” he said. “They’re extremely excited to hear that the Falcons will be back at Eielson.”

Roper Says USAF’s Software Factories Need Inside Defense Against Hacking

Roper Says USAF’s Software Factories Need Inside Defense Against Hacking

Dec. 18, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force’s in-house software factories, as game-changing new tools in speeding capabilities to the force, need special protection against hacking attacks like the recent Solar Winds incursion that compromised numerous U.S. agencies, including the Pentagon, service acquisition executive Will Roper told defense reporters Dec. 18.

The key to dealing with such attacks will be to build defenses that can not only keep cyber enemies out, but deal with intruders who succeed in getting inside protected systems.

The Air Force’s cloudONE, platformONE, and dataONE systems, which enable the entire development community to access data and software from anywhere, has become a “new kind of target, … a new thing to attack,” Roper said, because they’re enabling the service to advance capabilities rapidly. They are the Air Force’s “crown jewels … and must be protected as such,” he said. The service is employing red teams to attempt to break the system and find vulnerabilities. “We’re pulling out all the stops … to ensure it’s as tough as it can be.”

But the Defense Department is behind in developing defenses “that allow you to deal with adversaries that have already gotten in,” he said. It needs to make everything a “zero-trust” technology, with continuous monitoring.

“We don’t do that in the Defense Department,” he noted. “We certify things are impregnable,” while the commercial industry “assumes everything’s pregnant.” That leaves DOD to deal with intrusions, such as the Solar Winds breach, after the fact.

“I’d love to keep adversaries out, but I’d like to have a plan if they get in,” Roper said. As an analogy, he noted there are “lots of burnt castles in Europe. There are also burnt keeps … that are still standing because the defenders had a plan in case the outer barriers were breached,” or “fallback positions and defense inside the perimeter … That tells me just having a single perimeter that your adversary’s never going to get through,” isn’t a good strategy. Zero-trust technology “allows you to deal with the potential for malware and other bad software getting inside your castle,” he added.

The Air Force anticipated this and “we built cloudONE and platformONE with zero trust as a foundational tool, but we have to keep up” with the technology and augment it, he said.

There are “no free lunches in defense procurement,” Roper said. “If you create a game-changing approach” to acquiring new capabilities, as he said the –ONE systems and software factories do, “that approach is likely the new thing your adversary targets.” He added, “Welcome to the digital age.”

Asked if the –ONE systems can be scaled up to cover the whole joint all-domain command and control networks, Roper said they could, but with the caveat that old, analog systems will have to be accommodated on a case-by-case basis.

“I’m very confident we can scale Cloud and Platform…They are very scaleable, commercially. And we’re following that commercial design model,” Roper said.

He then joked, “Fortunately, some of our systems are so old I don’t know that anyone knows the coding languages to hack them.” Nevertheless, older systems will have to interact with USAF systems digitally, to a degree.

Any new system must be “fully digital” from the outset, he asserted, like “Formula One racing cars.”

“Analog things [are] going to have to live in both worlds, and we have to be clear-eyed [about] what is worth digitizing?” Roper noted. A system nearing retirement won’t be worth creating a digital twin of, “But you should at least digitize the data coming off of it, so we can do predictive maintenance … The data should be working for us, even if the system isn’t digital.”

As examples, he said the B-52 will have a “fully analog wing” but fully digital engines, once the aircraft is re-engined. The A-10, he said, is “more digital than you think,” because the Air Force “lost the authoritative source of truth” when its builder, Fairchild Republic, went out of business, and “we shifted from vendor to vendor” to subsequently sustain and upgrade the jet. “They had to create that digitally,” he said.

Lakenheath Airman Recognized for Leading Through Combat and COVID-19

Lakenheath Airman Recognized for Leading Through Combat and COVID-19

Dec. 18, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Air Force Weapons School has recognized Capt. Woodruff “Thunder” Johnson, an F-15E weapons officer assigned to the 494th Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., with its 2019 Robbie Risner Award.

The annual award—whose namesake, Brig. Gen. James Robinson “Robbie” Risner, was the first living service member to receive the Air Force Cross—recognizes the Weapons School alumnus who makes the greatest contribution to USAF’s combat capability in the year following his or her graduation from the elite institution.

In this case, it recognized Johnson’s leadership from the time he departed Nellis in the pre-pandemic days of 2019 through June 2020.

Soon after transitioning from RAF Lakenheath’s 492nd Fighter Squadron to its 494th Fighter Squadron upon graduation from the Weapons School, he faced a whirlwind.

Johnson recalled that he had approximately two months’ worth of typical “day-to-day operations” before finding out his squadron was being activated as part of USAF’s Immediate Response Force, giving them just two weeks’ notice before heading to Al-Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, he said.

Once they arrived in the UAE, the squadron “immediately started flying eight to 10 combat lines a day along with everyone else in the area of responsibility, with a focus on the ex-fil[tration] of forces out of Syria as we started to retrograde U.S. forces,” he said. They also flew “a lot of convoy escort.”

The Lakenheath Airmen had no idea when their ETA back in the U.K. might be, but it didn’t take long until they found out they were being deployed again.

On Christmas 2019, the squadron got word that its Airmen and their 18 fighter jets would head to Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, where they’d be flying combat missions—a prospect that presented the squadron with “a lot of logistical aspects to work through.”

The deployment was meant to spread out forces more thinly throughout the Air Forces Central Command region in the midst of rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran after the killing of Quds Force Commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Johnson said.

“And then from there, we began flying combat missions in [Operation Inherent Resolve], as well as flying missions in the Arabian Gulf supporting our Navy brethen as they transited the Strait of Hormuz during a time of heightened tensions,” he added.

This deployment also left the squadron in the hot zone, so to speak, after Iran attacked al-Asad Air Base with missiles in retaliation for the military leader’s death.

“It’s honestly a credit to the squadron and a credit to all of the [Airmen], from the youngest lieutenant up to the commander, as far as just not being fazed by a no-notice deployment, not being phased by flying combat missions with two weeks of prep, not being phased with the swap, and not being phased with … tensions rising to the level of [potential] strikes against Iran,” he said.

And concluding such a hectic deployment might normally seem like a relief, but the squadron returned to Lakenheath in early March to find that the COVID-19 had also moved in, forcing him and his squadron to figure out how to readjust in the middle of a pandemic.

Lt. Col. Kenneth Juhl, who commanded Johnson when he was assigned to the 17th Weapons Squadron as a Weapons School Student, called him “a natural leader” who squirms at the prospect of discussing his own accomplishments but who jumps into quietly confident action as soon as he’s called upon to lead.

Juhl said Johnson’s grace and professionalism under the pressures of a high ops-tempo year that saw him deployed for 12 out of 15 months exemplified his suitability for the award.

“He could have been upset at the situation that they were placed in and said it wasn’t fair, but that’s not Thunder’s personality,” Juhl said in a Dec. 18 interview. “He said, ‘This is what we’re doing, so fellas, get behind me, and my brothers and sisters in arms, we’re … gonna go do the job,’ and that kind of attitude in our world is very infectious in a good way. … The people will rally around someone who knows what they’re doing and has the confidence to lead, and he was always that way and still is.”

Johnson made no bones about his discomfort with the spotlight, admitting that he was essentially voluntold to assemble bullet points for a Risner Award package.

“I don’t think I did anything special,” he told Air Force Magazine. “I think I just did what any other weapons officer would have done, and that’s just be the squadron patch for deployed squadron.”

But at the end of the day, Johnson bested 72 other nominees to take home the prestigious honor.

In the true spirit of the Weapons School’s unofficial maxim of “humble, approachable, credible,” Johnson said the award was a testament not to himself, but his squadron and his weapons platform.

“It not only shows their willingness to sacrifice for their country, but then also on a bigger level, just the relevance of the Strike Eagle, and how a CFAC … always wants the Strike Eagle in their arsenal,” he said.

Johnson is slated to head back to Nellis to join the 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron’s Strike Eagle Test Division in March 2021.

‘Guardians’ of the Galaxy: Space Force Members Get New Name

‘Guardians’ of the Galaxy: Space Force Members Get New Name

Dec. 18, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Space Force members will be known as “Guardians” from now on, Vice President Michael R. Pence announced Dec. 18.

“Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Guardians will be defending our nation for generations to come,” he said at a Dec. 18 White House ceremony celebrating the Space Force’s Dec. 20 birthday.

As the Space Force turns 1 year old, abandoning the moniker of “Airman” is one of the most prominent moves made so far to distinguish space personnel from the Air Force they came from. An effort to crowdsource options brought in more than 500 responses earlier this year, including “sentinel” and “vanguard.”

The decision will shape the ranks issued to members as well, ditching terms like “senior airman” that use the old name. Officials have also stressed the importance of picking a gender-neutral name as they shape the Space Force’s unique culture to be more inclusive.

“The opportunity to name a force is a momentous responsibility,” the Space Force said on Facebook. “Guardians is a name with a long history in space operations, tracing back to the original command motto of Air Force Space Command in 1983, ‘Guardians of the High Frontier.’”

“The name Guardians connects our proud heritage and culture to the important mission we execute 24/7, protecting the people and interest of the U.S. and its allies,” the service added.

The Space Force has rolled out multiple other features of its budding identity in the past several months, including a flag, a logo, a seal, and a motto: “Semper Supra,” or “Always Above.”

The new armed force was created last year under the Department of the Air Force to better focus on operating military satellites and radars, defend those assets from attack, and accompany NASA and the commercial sector on plans stretching to the moon and Mars. It’s slated to grow to around 16,000 employees as it begins transferring in members from the other military branches in the next few years.

“Our space professionals will be the ones fostering cutting-edge innovation that will protect our advantages across every domain in the decades ahead,” Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller said at the White House celebration.

In another birthday week event earlier in the day, Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond welcomed Col. Michael S. Hopkins, a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station, as the service’s newest transfer from the Air Force.

Pence also presided over a Dec. 9 ceremony to rename two historic Air Force installations as part of the Space Force: Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base, Fla. Those are the first two military facilities to receive the Space Force moniker.

“It’s imperative that we invest the resources and the personnel and the technology to defend our nation and defend our values in the outer reaches of space,” Pence said at the White House.

Here’s How ‘Vanguard’ Programs Could Stay for Good

Here’s How ‘Vanguard’ Programs Could Stay for Good

Dec. 18, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force’s science advisers say the service needs to make its approach to cutting-edge “Vanguard” programs more concrete and repeatable—and to ditch them when things don’t work out.

USAF leaders asked the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board to grade how the Vanguard concept is doing so far in a brief study earlier this year. The panel published its findings this month. Three of the six recommendations are aimed at improving the initiative now, while the rest are intended to enshrine Vanguards in the Air Force science and technology world over time.

Vanguards are high-profile research projects the Department of the Air Force sees as some of the most promising ventures. Rather than move them through the traditional development process, the service fast-tracks Vanguards with targeted funding, frequent demonstrations, and early discussions about shifting them into combat.

The Air Force announced its first three Vanguards last year: the artificially intelligent Skyborg “wingman” drone program, the Golden Horde weapon swarming initiative, and the Navigation Technology Satellite 3. 

USAF requested $157.6 million to fund their early development in 2021, though it may not earn the full amount. Senate appropriators want to spend just over $100 million on the programs, saying $20 million is “unjustified” while shifting $36 million elsewhere to speed Golden Horde’s combat debut. House appropriators shuffled nearly the entire amount into other uses but added $20 million to advance Skyborg.

The Vanguard process should take four years or less from idea-hunting to prototype testing, the board said. Research needs the backing of the Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability planning group and top department officials.

“All-calls for ‘good ideas’ are too broad; AFWIC must provide a more specific ‘wish list’ for Vanguard calls, but be open to additional ideas” from the S&T, acquisition, and operations communities, the advisory board added.

The best ideas should be aggressive but achievable, reflect the needs of air commanders around the world, and be refined like a “Shark Tank”-like pitch would. Properly exploring and choosing ideas is the “single most important” part of the process, the science advisers said. It “requires clear articulation of disruptive needs and opportunities” and the signoff of an independent panel as well as the high-level Capability Development Council, which includes the Air Force vice chief of staff.

The panel suggested choosing only one or two new Vanguard initiatives each year.

However, the advisory board noted the idea of what a Vanguard should accomplish once picked has changed.

Focusing on getting new technology onto the battlefield may be “incompatible with the inherently high-risk nature of developing ‘leap-ahead capabilities,’” the board said. They urged the Air Force to consider other directions a successful Vanguard could go, besides moving into a formal program of record.

Tech could move straight into combat use without first having a program. It could also continue experiments or be handed off for commercial development. That’s in line with the Air Force’s other efforts to ramp up commercial investment and fuel the private sector through groups like AFWERX and AFVentures.

To make those efforts successful in the long run, advisers urge the Air Force to use its new Transformational Capabilities Office like a venture capital firm to manage the Vanguard portfolio. They also call for that office to lead a board of directors that runs each vanguard. Program teams should embrace the try-anything, freeform startup culture that encourages innovation, the board said.

The board also encourages the Air Force to scale back its efforts for programs that hit insurmountable problems or when better options become possible, instead of continuing to spend time and money on them. The decision to “de-Vanguard” an initiative would come from the Capability Development Council.

If the Air Force does abandon a Vanguard, it could still spin off aspects of that program to use elsewhere or start new research efforts altogether. The service should not equate that with failure, AFSAB said.

“The Vanguard initiative will not succeed in delivering game-changing capabilities unless it has strong, visible, and sustained commitment at the [Department of the Air Force] level,” the advisors added.