B-1 Drops JASSM from External Pylon, Expanding Bomber Firepower

B-1 Drops JASSM from External Pylon, Expanding Bomber Firepower

Dec. 9, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

A B-1B bomber dropped an inert AGM-158 missile from an external pylon on Dec. 4, marking the first time the bomber has demonstrated such a capability. The test paves the way for the B-1 to carry many such weapons on external hardpoints, potentially expanding its capacity and ability to launch new munitions like hypersonic missiles.

The test was carried out by a B-1B with the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and the pylon used is usually occupied by a Sniper targeting pod. The B-1B was designed for external carriage of weapons, but this capability was deleted under the START arms control agreements with Russia. The last B-1 had its external hardpoints disabled in 2011.


Video: 412th Test Wing

Arming “a limited number of B-1s with more weapons externally” could enable Air Force Global Strike Command to give regional combatant commanders more weapon-shooting capacity “while putting fewer aircraft and aircrew in harm’s way,” AFGSC commander Gen. Timothy M. Ray said in a release.

“Planned implementation, if any, of the B-1’s expanded carriage demonstration would … not alter plans for the 17 Lancers already requested for retirement,” according to a press statement from Edwards.   

The pylon in question was modified with different connectors and its internal wiring was replaced with harnesses that would support its new role. The modification required reassigning “one of the internal weapon stations to the external location,” special instrumentation flight chief N. Keith Maynard of the 812th Airborne Instrumentation Test Squadron said.

The test concludes a series of expanded carriage demonstrations begun in 2019 with an internal bomb bay modification. The external-release capability was tested on the ground in October, and a captive-carry test was conducted in November.

The Air Force’s Seek Eagle office modeled the separation characteristics, and concluded that the JASSM would fall and open its wings in a manner similar to how it performs when released from a B-52H’s left pylon, the Edwards release said. The captive carry test verified that the B-1 was passing information correctly to the missile, as well as that it would pitch nose-down after release.

The aircraft previously tested the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM, which is a variant of JASSM intended to find and destroy maritime targets.

Draft NDAA Refuses to Fund Armed Overwatch Program

Draft NDAA Refuses to Fund Armed Overwatch Program

Dec. 9, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Lawmakers want to quash the prospect of buying new armed overwatch planes for special operations troops or the Air Force in the next few years, as part of the final draft of the 2021 defense policy bill released this month.

For the past few years, USAF has toyed with the idea of purchasing light attack aircraft to assist with counterterrorism operations and to bolster foreign air forces. It launched experiments that brought in multiple competitors for flight tests but ultimately fell short of a large squadron-building effort.

U.S. Special Operations Command also began its own inquiry into a possible armed overwatch fleet that vetted designs from Sierra Nevada Corp., Textron Aviation, Air Tractor, and Leidos. The organization said earlier this year it wants 75 aircraft over the next several years for close air support, precision strike, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions in the austere regions where SOCOM works.

But Congress is less enamored of that plan than it was with the Air Force’s initial bid.

Lawmakers want to block SOCOM from buying armed overwatch aircraft in fiscal 2021, as well as the Air Force through fiscal 2023. The bill zeroes out the “armed overwatch/targeting” funding line, which had asked for $101 million and five planes.

Members pointed out that they have asked SOCOM for a “comprehensive analysis” of their requirements for the program, including whether manned or unmanned aircraft could do the job. Lawmakers “stressed the necessity of a thorough analysis of the future threat environment and impacts to concept survivability, potential changes to future doctrine, force employment, and the associated impacts to aircrew training and retention,” according to the defense policy package.

Earlier versions of the House and Senate’s respective National Defense Authorization Act drafts also called for further analysis of the special operations program before they are allowed to spend money on new planes. The Senate had wanted the Chief of Staff of the Air Force to certify that the service lacked the means to provide armed overwatch and close air support in combat. USAF currently fulfills the mission using platforms like the A-10 attack plane and fighter jets.

A Senate staffer told reporters that Capitol Hill will wait for the results of the study that is still ongoing before approving any procurement money. Alternative options or concerns could arise from that analysis that have not come up in the military’s search for the planes so far.

“There was no pushback as to the need for the capability, it was just the implementation” in question, the staffer said.

Reviews have delayed SOCOM’s plans for test flights from November to summer 2021, Aviation Week recently reported.

Not everyone on the Hill has been on board with slowing light attack and armed overwatch procurement.

“Whether it’s Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South America, we are going to be engaged with our local partners on the ground in low-intensity conflict, I think, for the foreseeable future,” Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) said in 2019. “We are in a generational war against extremism. To that end, we can’t shift too far away from our counterterrorism mission toward near-peer competition.”

The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House with a veto-proof majority, 335-78, on Dec. 8. It is expected to pass in the Senate as well. President Donald J. Trump must still approve the bill for it to become law, but has threatened to oppose it.

Cape Canaveral, Patrick Named First Space Force Installations

Cape Canaveral, Patrick Named First Space Force Installations

Dec. 9, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Historic Air Force installations on Florida’s Space Coast marked a modern milestone on Dec. 9 as they were redesignated Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station—the first facilities named as part of the new service.

“Today, we start a new era at both Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base, aligning the installations’ names with their critical missions,” Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond said at a ceremony to mark the occasion.

Cape Canaveral has served as America’s premiere space launch facility since the 1950s, and is now transforming to meet the needs of a modern space age defined by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. The Air Force for years has managed launch operations at the Cape via the 45th Space Wing at Patrick, which itself is taking on more responsibilities as military space begins a new chapter.

Several high-ranking military officials attended the event, including Raymond, Deputy Defense Secretary David L. Norquist, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett, and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John E. Hyten. They praised the navigation, missile warning, communications, and other missions the Space Force looks to expand in support of terrestrial troops.

Vice President Michael R. Pence unveiled new signs bearing the service’s delta logo and the fresh names on a black background, with Air Force Two looming in the background.

“We will always seek peace through strength. … We will be prepared to defend our nation and defend our freedom in space,” Pence said. “Stay on mission. Be vigilant. Take care of your people.”

While the names will switch over, a more formal transfer is yet to come. The Space Force said in a release that jurisdiction and command of the installations “will remain under the Air Force until officially transferred at a future date to be determined” as the Pentagon makes final decisions on Space Force facilities.

The Florida installations were supposed to be renamed earlier this year, but the military said it would hold off amid the coronavirus pandemic until it was safer to convene for a celebration. This week’s event abuts the Space Force’s first birthday on Dec. 20.

Defense One reported Dec. 7 that the Pentagon would move forward with redesignating Patrick and Cape Canaveral despite a “gentleman’s agreement” with congressional staffers that the executive branch would hold off until after the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill is signed into law.

The final draft of the legislation, released earlier this month, includes a provision stating that military installations “may not be transferred to the jurisdiction or command of the Space Force” until the Air Force Secretary briefs lawmakers on the costs associated with bringing those facilities under the new service. The Secretary has to hold that briefing no later than 15 days after finishing the business-case analysis.

That language stemmed from the Senate’s version of the bill earlier this year.

Other bases expected to fall under the Space Force include Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.; Peterson, Schriever, and Buckley Air Force Bases, Colo.; and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colo.

A Senate Armed Services Committee staffer did not respond to questions about base renaming, and the Department of the Air Force declined to comment. It’s unclear if the Secretary will need to include Patrick and the Cape in the analysis of base transfers, or how it will affect the timing of further ceremonies.

The Department of the Air Force will continue to oversee all installations in the Air Force and Space Force, and offer services like base security to Space Force facilities.

“The new designation will not affect current base operating support, funding, or current agreements at Patrick Space Force Station or Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,” according to a USSF release.

President Donald J. Trump also wants to dedicate a Space Force base to Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, the iconic test pilot and retired Air Force brigadier general who died Dec. 7.

“I spoke to the President this morning,” Pence said. “He directed me to begin immediately to identify future Space Force bases that can be renamed in the honor of the service and character and leadership of General Chuck Yeager, and so we will do.”

When reached for comment about a potential Yeager base, Space Force spokeswoman Lynn Kirby said the service has “nothing on this topic.”

Later the same day, the Trump administration released a new policy document directing the U.S. to exercise “the inherent right of self-defense” in space. The National Space Policy lays out several points directing the Defense Department to work with the Intelligence Community, NASA, the Commerce Department, and others to deconflict rules and responsibilities across the federal government while pursuing new space capabilities.

“The United States considers the space systems of all nations to have the right to pass through and conduct operations in space without interference. Purposeful interference with space systems, including supporting infrastructure, will be considered an infringement of a nation’s rights,” the document said.

“The United States will seek to deter, counter, and defeat threats in the space domain that are hostile to the national interests of the United States and its allies. Any purposeful interference with or an attack upon the space systems of the United States or its allies that directly affects national rights will be met with a deliberate response at a time, place, manner, and domain of our choosing.”

Editor’s Note: The story was updated at 8:25 p.m. on Dec. 9 with additional basing information from the Department of the Air Force.

How Air Force Global Strike Command Is Cultivating Diversity & Inclusion

How Air Force Global Strike Command Is Cultivating Diversity & Inclusion

Dec. 9, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

As the public awaits the findings of the Department of the Air Force’s recent diversity and inclusion survey, major commands across USAF are launching their own efforts to make these departmental priorities the norm.

In the case of Air Force Global Strike Command, these efforts are divided between its component numbered Air Forces: 8th Air Force and 20th Air Force.

Eighth Air Force, which calls Barksdale Air Force Base, La., home and handles the bomber side of AFGSC’s wheelhouse, has been primarily tackling diversity and inclusion through dialogue and education, Command Chief Master Sgt. Melvina A. Smith told Air Force Magazine in a September interview.

In response to the civil unrest that gripped the country after George Floyd’s Memorial Day death in police custody, the NAF’s headquarters “engaged in some very intimate discussions about dialoguing with diversity, inclusion, and even racial unrest,” Smith said.

The optional conversations included mental health, equal opportunity, military family life, chaplaincy, and AFGSC experts. The feedback, she said, was overwhelmingly positive. The talks led to tangible results, including both so-called “speed mentoring,” in which racially and professionally diverse leaders mentored Headquarters 8th Air Force team members, and “open-door mentorship,” where the NAF’s “senior leaders, civilian officers, and enlisted pick days of the month” they literally open their doors for one-on-one mentoring meetings.

“These have been very popular on both sides—not just the member, the mentee, but the mentor, as well,” Smith said.

The NAF’s efforts have also extended beyond 8th AF’s home base.

According to Smith, “cross talk” and information sharing between commanders, superintendents, and wing commanders has been happening across 8th AF installations.

“They’ve not only had small talks and dialogues, but they’ve also launched out some of the things that their team members have said—these are the things that we would like to see happen, of course—and so I’ve heard nothing but a lot of goodness in that,” she said.

While these conversations don’t mean the NAF’s work is finished—“our job is to roll up our sleeves and get that work done,” she noted—these conversations are bringing more diverse Airman and USAF civilian viewpoints to the drawing board and shining a light on issues that impact young officers and enlisted, she said.

Smith added that she and her boss have also conducted Zoom-based check-ins from “five to seven leaders from each” of the NAF’s installations who comprise “his Junior Advisory Council.”

“When it comes to a diverse set, it’s really about engaging with our team members, making sure every voice is heard, acknowledging … that we can always reach out and make sure that we have every perspective at the table and every voice is heard, and every voice is considered when we go forward,” she said.

While a substantial part of 8th Air Force diversity and inclusion efforts focused on issues of race and civil unrest, their scope has also extended to issues of gender and of ensuring that the NAF’s approach to discipline is equitable, she said.

That discussion has touched on USAF-wide statistics and where 8th Air Force stands in comparison, as well as ways leaders within the NAF can ensure its practices are “fair and equitable.”

The latter set of considerations includes “really taking the time” to speak with 8th AF Airmen to understand their backstories, their perceptions of punishment, “and how they respond to authority,” since understanding the entirety of Airmen’s experiences and letting them know that the service is dedicated to helping them overcome their obstacles is crucial, she said.

“Team members need to know that they can recover, right?” she said. “We’re not a one mistake Air Force. We may be a one crime, but not one mistake.”

Grassroots diversity and inclusion efforts are also underway within 20th Air Force, the numbered Air Force that handles the missile side of the house at Air Force Global Strike Command and calls F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., home.

The 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren, the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., have each set up in-house Diversity and Inclusion Committees to help bridge D&I gaps and foster conversations about these issues, 20th Air Force spokesperson Capt. Ieva Bytautaite told Air Force Magazine in a Dec. 3 email.

The committees assemble events to empower Airmen to sound off on their personal diversity and inclusion challenges and “open the dialogue on discussions about race and culture and overall to help Airmen feel welcome and included in their communities on and off base,” she wrote. The groups also collaborate with local institutions to talk about how they might “make their local communities more inclusive and accepting of diversity,” she added.

And in June, Malmstrom’s command chief and equal opportunity Airmen debuted a form the base community can use to sound off on diversity and inclusion within the wing, either anonymously or with their names attached.

20th Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Michael J. Lutton called D&I “fundamental to the fabric of our core values as Airmen,” and said that the ability to have candid, but respectful, conversations on these often hot-button issues ultimately makes the numbered Air Force stronger.

“A command climate where tough conversations on diversity and inclusion can occur, in a professional manner, make us a more lethal, ready team,” he said in a statement provided to Air Force Magazine. 

AFGSC also hosted a virtual Women’s Leadership Symposium at Barksdale in September.

“I’ve been in the military for 28 years, [and] I have never sat on a panel and discussed mitigating biases with leaders across the command, with the command watching, in that forum,” Smith recalled of this year’s event. “That alone tells us that we’re moving forward in some of the concerns that they had.”

Smith said the event gave leaders an opportunity to discuss how they each overcame their conscious biases to become better, fairer, and equitable leaders.

Mentorship, networking, and cultivating personal connections among AFGSC personnel were among the event’s other major takeaways, she noted.

“I believe finding harmony is something that we all try to leverage and we try to stop and reprioritize in our life, whether we’re male or female—the dynamics of the family are different today—and so, everyone is trying to figure that out, and they need to hear from others saying, ‘This is how, you know, I’ve been able to find some harmony in my life. … This is how I put my mask on first, before I’m able to take care of others,’” she said.

What Other MAJCOMs Are Doing

Air Force Materiel Command launched its own survey on Nov. 30 to “gather information on perceptions of policy, practices, and procedures impacting diversity and inclusion through the lens of race and ethnicity” and to help gauge the command’s climate surrounding these issues, according to an AFMC release.

“Our goal is simple: We want to create an environment where every Airman feels accepted, valued, and has the opportunity to achieve their full potential,” said AFMC Commander Gen. Arnold W. Bunch, Jr., in the release. “This survey is one tool that will help us identify areas where we can do better.”

The command will use the survey’s findings to figure out where its AFMC diversity and inclusion program is succeeding and falling short, and to “shape future sensing sessions across the command,” AFMC wrote.

Command Airmen and civilians may take the optional Survey Monkey-based questionnaire until Dec. 21, and responses will be kept anonymous, the command wrote. 

Air Combat Command recently hired a diversity and inclusion officer for the first time, command spokesperson 1st Lt. Paige Skinner told Air Force Magazine.

Additionally, the command’s Manpower, Personnel, and Services Directorate is developing “a diversity and inclusion strategic plan that will integrate with” ACC Commander Gen. Mark D. Kelly’s priorities.

“As always, we will continue to foster healthy and professional conversations to build inclusive and cohesive teams,” she added.

Air Education and Training Command, on the other hand, recently updated its Strategic Action Plan to include a greater focus on diversity and inclusion, calling on Airmen to “drive a culture of Air Force core values, diversity, and inclusion,” according to a Nov. 3 release.

“Leaders in AETC need to remove barriers, promote mutual respect, and encourage tough conversations in safe spaces,” said AETC Commander Lt. Gen. Marshall B. “Brad” Webb in the release. “These conversations are about national security, about readiness, about teamwork, but more importantly are about unity, and at the end of the day, humanity. We should be talking about this every day in the First Command because we set the foundation for the entire Department of the Air Force.”

Are you part of an Air Force or Space Force unit or organization that’s doing remarkable things in the pursuit of diversity and inclusion? If so, send a note to joprihory@afa.org.

T-6A Fleet Saw Fewer—But More Frequent—Physiological Episodes in Fiscal 2020

T-6A Fleet Saw Fewer—But More Frequent—Physiological Episodes in Fiscal 2020

Dec. 9, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Air Force saw a total of 33 hypoxia-like events in its T-6A Texan II trainer fleet in fiscal 2020—a nearly 20 percent decrease from fiscal 2019—Air Force Safety Center data obtained by Air Force Magazine shows.

However, the rate of these events—defined as the number of incidents per 100,000 flying hours—within the T-6A fleet increased slightly over fiscal 2019.

And while the T-6A fleet generally saw three or fewer physiological episodes per month in fiscal 2020, the data showed event spikes in November 2019 (six events) and April 2020 (seven events).

Monthly Physiological Episode Totals in Fiscal 2020
Number of Physiological Episodes
October 20193
November 20196
December 20191
January 20202
February 20202
March 20201
April 20207
May 20202
June 20201
July 20203
August 20203
September 20202
SOURCE: Air Force Safety Center data

The Air Force recently made progress on its quest to determine the cause of hypoxia-like events in its T-6A fleet—including ruling out contaminated air as the culprit and putting a greater focus on the potential role of rapid fluctuations in in-flight oxygen levels—but the puzzle has yet to be solved.

How Other Fleets Fared in Fiscal 2020

While the Air Force didn’t provide other fleet-specific physiological episode totals for fiscal 2020, the Air Force Safety Center data showed that the rates observed in the F-22A, F-15C/D, and F-16C/D all decreased from fiscal 2019.

Rates of Hypoxia-Like Events Across USAF Fleets
Per 100,000 Flying Hours, Fiscal 2009-2020
F-22AF-15C/DF-16C/DA-10CF-35AT-6A
Fiscal 20099.530.003.113.24N/A1.89
Fiscal 20108.115.081.631.03N/A2.76
Fiscal 201165.412.762.670.00N/A1.05
Fiscal 201256.594.724.831.97N/A3.38
Fiscal 201319.147.673.682.12N/A0.60
Fiscal 20146.684.925.623.5937.541.19
Fiscal 20156.2529.286.164.5913.392.48
Fiscal 201616.1949.465.772.4917.631.74
Fiscal 20172.9612.547.897.2567.643.98
Fiscal 201810.4117.918.626.5223.8455.83
Fiscal 201914.5724.174.172.5615.4323.77
Fiscal 20203.688.243.704.0722.5023.83
SOURCE: Air Force Safety Center data

The service’s F-22A and F-15C/D fleets saw the most dramatic drops from fiscal 2019, with the F-22A fleet’s rate of physiological episodes decreasing by nearly 75 percent and the F-15C/D fleet’s rate down about 65 percent.

However, the Air Force’s A-10C and F-35A fleets saw their rates of hypoxia-like events rise in fiscal 2020, the data showed.

The Thunderbolt fleet saw an approximately 59 percent uptick in its physiological episode rate over fiscal 2019, while the F-35A fleet saw an increase of about 46 percent.

An Air Force investigation published Sept. 30 found that an onboard oxygen issue contributed to an F-35A crash at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., on May 19.

“For the A-10 and F-35 fleet, an increase of one or two physiological episodes per 100,000 hours does make a statistical impact, but the number of episodes in each aircraft remains low,” wrote Air Force spokesperson Lt. Col. Malinda Singleton in a Dec. 10 email to Air Force Magazine. “Our goal is to drive the number to zero episodes per 100,000.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Dec. 10 at 6:12 p.m. EST to include new information from the Air Force.

Pilot Missing After Wisconsin ANG F-16 Crashes

Pilot Missing After Wisconsin ANG F-16 Crashes

Dec. 9, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

An F-16 from the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing crashed around 8 p.m. on Dec. 8, and the pilot’s status was not known as of early Dec. 9.

The jet, based out of Truax Field Air National Guard Base in Madison, was flying a routine training mission with one pilot on board when it crashed in Delta County. Military safety and security personnel are on site. A ground, air, and water search effort continues, including with U.S. Coast Guard vessels.

“We are a close knit family and when an incident like this occurs, every member in our organization feels it,” said Col. Bart Van Roo, 115th Fighter Wing commander, in a release. “The safety of our pilot along with search and rescue efforts are our top priority, and we will continue to pray for the pilot’s safe return.”

The cause of the crash is unknown and the incident remains under investigation. 

The base announced it was conducting night flying operations as part of regular training from Dec. 7-10.

The wing flies 21 F-16s, serving as part of Operation Noble Eagle. It also has repeatedly deployed to the Middle East, including a 2019 deployment to Afghanistan. The Air Force announced in April the unit would receive 18 F-35As starting in 2023.

The incident is the latest F-16 crash this year, including a June fatal mishap at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., and a July crash at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. In November 2019, the Air Force Safety Center and F-16 Program Office said it did not see any systemic safety issues with the jet despite a series of crashes in recent years.

Editor’s Note: The story was updated at 9:14 a.m. on Dec. 9 with additional information about the search.

How the Air Force’s Tiny Tech Shop Ended Up Being at the Heart of the Nation’s COVID-19 Response

How the Air Force’s Tiny Tech Shop Ended Up Being at the Heart of the Nation’s COVID-19 Response

Dec. 8, 2020 | By Shaun Waterman

In mid-March, as the new coronavirus swept across America causing much of the nation to lock down, personnel at AFWERX, the Air Force technology incubator, swung into action to support the national response.

Companies working on AFWERX Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) contracts, and others in the organization’s network started “reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got some ideas that we think could maybe help this COVID crisis thing,’” recalled K. Austin DeLorme, who was then an Air Force captain working for the service’s acquisition chief, Will Roper.

DeLorme, who has since left the service for a private sector role, gave a presentation at the AFWERX Accelerate event Dec. 8, on the organization’s role in the DOD’s COVID-19 response, revealing new details of how the effort to build a portal that could accept proposals from start ups and other tech companies nearly suffocated in its crib.

As it became clear there were no effective treatments for the new disease and that the country faced enormous and crippling shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) for essential workers, AFWERX personnel quickly realized that they already had available contracting dollars, and an infrastructure designed to fast track good ideas and novel technology into full-scale government production contracts.

“Oh, and by the way, we also had a ton of incredible companies suggesting ideas that could potentially help our Air Force, and maybe our nation, respond to this crisis,” she said, adding that she compiled a lot of these suggestions into an email she sent Roper one Friday evening shortly after the lockdown.

“About an hour or so later, we got an email back from Dr. Roper that said, ‘Great, come up with a plan.’”

By Tuesday or Wednesday, AFWERX personnel had pulled together a plan, centered on the AFWERX portal. “We had an incredible team that was able to put together the website very, very quickly, and brand it, and get it disseminated through all of our social media channels and other avenues,” DeLorme said. The power of the AFWERX response, she said, came from the “previous work and infrastructure we already had,” and because it already had a back end designed for rapid procurement. “Our system was already really well connected and was based off of a model that is, at core, a fast-track acquisition capability,” she said.

But then, despite its quick ramp up, it looked like the AFWERX response would be shuttered just as fast.

“Maybe a week and a few days after we started this process, we saw a note come out from the Department of Defense that said, ‘Hey, if you’re doing anything [to respond to the pandemic], stop, because we’re going to get a DOD-level response in coordination with FEMA and the National Response Team’ [at the White House.]”

Rather than just shut up shop, DeLorme said, the AFWERX team wrote a proposal that the DOD-wide response use the infrastructure they were pulling together. That evening, they demonstrated it to senior Pentagon officials, and within hours, the DOD response team adopted it. The following day it was pitched up the chain to FEMA and the White House and adopted as the national response portal.

DeLorme attributes AFWERX’s success to hard work, a “forward-leaning team,” and the fact that they had significant experience when it came to buying things quickly for the government.

“We already had all of the controls in place to make sure [the portal] was properly auditable, that it was following all of the regulations of the federal acquisition guidelines, and that it moved very quickly, because that is what we needed, working with small businesses and working with startups and working with the investment community,” she said.

“That setup, both scaled and was adopted all the way up to the DOD and even national level in different parts and places. And it has also endured. And so it is still today supporting the COVID-19 response effort, as that has transitioned to more of a long term solution.”

During those first few weeks, she said, AFWERX was “able to support the procurement of $640 million worth of PPE items, so we could close that gap for the nation.”

Guastella: Base Defense is the ‘Tax’ Other Services Should Pay for Airpower

Guastella: Base Defense is the ‘Tax’ Other Services Should Pay for Airpower

Dec. 8, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

The other military services should pick up the role of air base defense in order to preserve the many benefits that Air Force airpower provides for them, Lt. Gen. Joseph T. Guastella Jr., deputy chief of staff for operations, said Dec. 8.

Appearing on a streaming Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, Guastella said air and space power “overlays” everything the Joint Force does, from providing air protection and close air support to airlift, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, command and control, navigation, and communications, and the other services need to step up and protect that contribution, particularly against modern threats.

Video: Mitchell Institute on YouTube

“We have to invest in technologies that will allow us a defense from the lowest-end threats,” such as small unmanned aerial systems, “to a more robust UAS that can fly a thousand kilometers, to regional ballistic missile or even an intercontinental ballistic missile. There are ways to defend against those things, but we have to pursue that as a Joint Force,” Guastella said.

“And I would argue, that’s the ‘tax.’ If you want airpower, if you want space power, then you have to be able to defend it.”

The Air Force is oversubscribed with missions because, whether ground and naval forces are engaged in an action or not, airpower always plays a role. Airpower is “disproportionately in demand for the full range of operations,” he said. This is not news to the other services, Guastella added, noting that the Joint Force is “the best advocate” for Air Force airpower, always saying “they want more, not less.”

The commitment of air forces tends not to be as scaleable as surface forces, he added. “It doesn’t matter if you have 1,000 troops or 100,000, … they need to be protected” Guastella said.

He specifically waved off saying the Air Force should get a bigger share of the defense budget because of its universal application across the spectrum of conflict, but argued, “We should allow demand to drive where the resources go.” The Air Force “needs to be resourced; we need to be right-sized” for the scope of missions it’s asked to do. The final version of the 2021 defense policy bill, which still must pass the Senate and be signed by the President, acknowledges the Air Force is too small.

“The conferees agree that the current quantity of Air Force combat-coded aircraft incurs a level of risk beyond moderate, and is not aligned with the National Defense Strategy,” according to language released by House and Senate conferees.

Guastella said he has waited in vain for any “relief” from the missions USAF performs—“anywhere we can do less, … but there’s nowhere we can take risk to reduce our size.” There are no opportunities for the Air Force to quit a mission, because the demand is so strong.

And though Guastella argued that field commanders welcome all kinds of fires that can be directed at an enemy, he said those fires have to be “cost-effective” for the Defense Department, and that may not be the case if the other services are attempting to duplicate capability in providing long-range fires.

“… The Air Force has a fantastic opportunity with our bomber fleet, with our robust fighter fleet, to provide a variety of platforms that long-range fires can be employed from. We have the infrastructure, the airfields, the munitions, the storage facilities. We already have the launchers, the airplanes, … that can hold any target at risk, with low observables and hypersonics for the full spectrum of fires,” Guastella said. “We’re the service of choice for that.”

Retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute, offered that major wars with potentially 100,000 aimpoints can’t be prosecuted with standoff missiles costing upwards of $1 million a shot, and must be fought with lower-cost munitions delivered by “re-usable” airplanes, such as bombers. The military must always use an “effects-based” approach to combat, Deptula said.

He added that the Air Force needs to advocate for the capabilities it brings, observing that the Navy “has no problem” arguing for a doubling of its size to fulfill the National Defense Strategy.

Guastella said the physical footprint is one area the Air Force can downsize, saying too many bases and facilities cost the service money that it could apply to buying next-generation capabilities. Deptula pushed “slightly back” on that assertion, saying if the Air Force is indeed undersized by 25 percent, “if we need to grow, where would we grow to?”

Although the Air Force wants to cut its MQ-9 Reaper killer scout fleet, Guastella said the real goal is to achieve a “balance” of non-stealthy MQ-9s with a capability that can operate within contested airspace. The Air Force recently requested information from industry on low-observable unmanned aircraft for this role.

The Air Force needs resources to modernize, he added. “We cannot continue to fly airplanes that are the equivalent of 80-year-olds on a football field. We need to be able to modernize, and put 20-year-old athletes out there that are capable against the high-end threats,” said Guastella.

In answering the question of “what is it that we need to actually accomplish the National Defense Strategy,” Deptula said the Air Force’s 386 combat squadrons goal is “the planning force” and not an “arbitrary, budget-driven” force.

Draft NDAA Offers More Money, Oversight to Air Force Tech Priorities

Draft NDAA Offers More Money, Oversight to Air Force Tech Priorities

Dec. 8, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Lawmakers weighed in on three of the Air Force’s top-priority technology development efforts in the final draft of the fiscal 2021 defense policy bill, offering more money and more oversight as the programs mature.

The Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology initiative earned another $50 million to speed up progress toward designing unmanned aircraft that can assist fighters and other fleets in combat. The Air Force wants essentially disposable drones that are relatively inexpensive to replace and can perform missions that might be too risky for a human pilot or more valuable airframe.

LCAAT has so far produced prototype aircraft like the XQ-58A Valkyrie, a Kratos-built system that is part of the Air Force’s Skyborg AI-powered wingman drone program.

If the bill is signed into law, Congress by March 1 wants the Air Force’s acquisition boss to report back on “an executable plan for the operational test and utility evaluation” for systems in the LCAAT portfolio and brief lawmakers on that plan.

“Combined application of commercial technology, autonomy, and artificial intelligence could be an innovative solution to meet the operational demands of the combatant commanders in support of the National Defense Strategy,” the legislation notes.

For hypersonic weapons, lawmakers call for a more concerted look at the military’s ability to test the newly speedy, flexible designs. They offer $381.9 million for Air Force hypersonic weapons prototyping in 2021, including programs like the Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon and the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile.

“The Secretary of Defense shall take such actions as may be necessary to improve ground-based test facilities used for the research, development, test, and evaluation of hypersonic capabilities,” the bill states. The secretary should also “increase the rate at which hypersonic capabilities are flight-tested to expedite the maturation and fielding of such capabilities.”

Within 60 days of the law’s enactment, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Pentagon research chief are directed to send the congressional defense committees a plan for fielding air-launched and air-breathing hypersonic weapons in the next three years. That must be accompanied by a report on whether related testing capabilities and infrastructure is sufficient, and how it could be improved.

“The conferees direct the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the congressional defense committees, not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this act, on the costs and benefits of the use and potential refurbishment of existing active and inactive federal and university research and testing facilities to support hypersonics activities of the Department of Defense,” Capitol Hill added.

Lawmakers also called for the Pentagon’s independent cost-assessment office to review the Air Force and Navy’s next-generation air dominance programs that aim to field cutting-edge systems that would follow the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. They similarly want that office to review the cost and viability of the Air Force’s “digital Century Series” initiative, which looks to rapidly pump out small batches of new aircraft every few years.

The legislation authorizes $974 million for NGAD, $70 million lower than requested because that money was used sooner than expected. Defense News reported in September that the Air Force secretly built and flew at least one full-scale prototype aircraft, surprising aviation watchers who thought that milestone was far off.

The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House 335-78 on Dec. 8, and is expected to pass in the Senate as well. President Donald J. Trump must still approve the bill for it to become law, but has promised a veto over priorities that did not land in the final version.