AFMC: Air Force Not Bound to 144 F-15EXs

AFMC: Air Force Not Bound to 144 F-15EXs

Aug. 21, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force doesn’t have to buy all 144 Boeing F-15EX aircraft covered by last month’s major contract award and can terminate the program simply by not ordering any more of the jets, according to Air Force Materiel Command.

In response to a series of email queries from Air Force Magazine about whether USAF has any off ramps to buying 144 F-15EXs over the next 15 years—especially given that the service is also buying fifth-generation F-35s and will soon start buying the even more advanced Next-Generation Air Dominance airplane—AFMC noted that the nearly $23 billion contract awarded to Boeing is of the “indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity” type. It said USAF has not entered into an agreement to buy all the planes the contract could potentially cover. The $1.2 billion actually spent in the July 13 contract covers just the first eight test aircraft and development.

The contract is “structured to accommodate annual delivery orders for each aircraft lot and required product support elements,” an Air Force Life Cycle Management Center spokesman said. “Until the orders for each lot are awarded, the government has no financial liability for those aircraft” and supporting materiel.

“Thus, the most straightforward way for the Air Force to reduce the total procurement quantity is simply to stop placing new delivery orders,” the spokesman said.

If the Air Force wanted to quit the contract in the middle of a delivery cycle, it would be at the government’s convenience, and Boeing could recover “allowable costs and reasonable profit on work performed under the contract.”

The deal provides up to $22.89 billion for F-15EX work, but the dollar figure was described by a USAF spokeswoman as an “upper limit.” The contract actually allows up to 200 airplanes to be bought, with deliveries through 2035. The jets are supposed to replace aging F-15C/Ds, but the Air Force recently revealed that it hasn’t decided whether it will also tap the F-15EX to replace its fleet of F-15Es, which age out in about 2030.

In documents recently released by USAF justifying the sole-source contract to Boeing, the Air Force said the F-15C/D fleet is rapidly aging beyond its planned service life, and retiring the jet without a replacement in hand would leave the service short of the capacity it needs to fulfill the National Defense Strategy.

The Pentagon has been criticized for not simply buying more F-35s instead of buying “new-old” F-15s, as the Air Force has described such a move for the last 20 years.    

Outgoing head of Air Combat Command Gen. James M. “Mike” Holmes, in an Aug. 14 AFA live-streaming event, said the F-15EX program is the result of the Office of the Secretary of Defense trying to fix a near-term shortage of USAF fighter capacity.

The Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation shop (CAPE) examined the mix of fourth- and fifth- generation fighters for all the services, and decided USAF needed at least 48 fifth-gen F-35s per year to “compete” with China, Holmes said. But at that rate, the USAF fighter inventory’s average age still continued to increase. The Air Force calculated that it needed 72 fighters a year to really drive down the average age of the fleet, which would in turn reduce the cost of sustaining it.  

“They came back and said, ‘Okay, we understand that math, but we still have our fourth-/fifth-gen mix equation, so if you’re going to buy additional airplanes, we want to buy fourth-gen,” Holmes said. The advantages for USAF, he added, are that new F-15EXs can make use of facilities, training, and ground support gear very similar to that of the F-15C/D, and USAF can field it up to three years faster than if it was buying all F-35s, Holmes said

 “So, … Congress has given us some of both,” Holmes said, buying some F-35s “and then buying some F-15EXs.”

In addition to the F-35 and NGAD, the Air Force is also planning to acquire Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft in the coming decade, along with service life extensions and capability upgrades for the A-10 and F-16. The NGAD will likely be the product of USAF acquisition chief Will Roper’s “Digital Century Series” idea, which will field a number of advanced aircraft types in quantities of less than 100 each. It isn’t clear when the first of those might become available, but USAF has said it needs to field new platforms by around 2030 to assure control of the air. Holmes has said USAF will likely need two types of air dominance airplanes in the 2030s: One with long range for the Indo-Pacific theater, and one with shorter range more suited to the distances in Europe and the Middle East.

The Air Force has allowed that with flatter budgets anticipated in the coming years, the full range of air dominance platforms now planned may not all be affordable.

    

For C-130 Crews Fighting California Fires, the Mission Can Be Personal

For C-130 Crews Fighting California Fires, the Mission Can Be Personal

Aug. 21, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

Specially equipped Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve C-130s, outfitted with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems, are back on duty fighting wildfires rampaging across California after a year off because of a slow season.

Four USAF airlift wings carry MAFFS—a roll-on, roll-off system with a massive 3,000-gallon tank that shoots fire retardant out of the rear parachute door of the Hercules. As of Aug. 21, four of those aircraft are flying daily, fighting more than 360 fires across California. Two C-130s from the California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station are fighting fires within the unit’s own backyard in Southern California, while two C-130s from the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing are deployed to Sacramento to fight a series of complex fires in Northern California. Seventy-nine personnel are activated in total. Within the next week, C-130s from both the Nevada Air National Guard’s 152nd Airlift Wing and the Air Force Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing will rotate in to provide relief for the crews.

“It’s ramped up in intensity within the last week,” said Col. Gregory Berry, commander of the 302nd Air Expeditionary Group, who is coordinating the response.

On Aug. 19, C-130s flew 23 sorties, totaling 21 drops, focusing on the massive LNU Lightning Complex fire near Vacaville. Just six or seven days before, all MAFFS aircraft were focusing on Southern California, before a massive lightning storm moved through Northern California, sparking a large number of fires. “If you asked me last week what we’d do, I would’ve guessed SoCal,” Berry said. “The need has moved.”

According to CalFire, over seven days ending Aug. 21 fires burned more than 1,200 square miles in the state. There were 560 total fires burning, with more than 10,000 firefighters on duty. As of Aug. 20, six people were killed and more than 30 injured, and more than 50,000 structures were threatened with 175 destroyed, according to the agency.

Since deploying in mid-July, the C-130s have flown a total of 156 sorties totaling 194.9 hours. They have conducted 144 drops of 394,666 gallons or 3,540,154.6 pounds of retardant as of Aug. 20.

The C-130s are activated by 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern) in response to Defense Department approval of a U.S. Forest Service request—the agency that actually owns the firefighting system. The rest of the year, the C-130s are regular Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve planes.

Every day, an incident commander on the ground fighting the fires calls for aviation assistance, and that request goes into an area coordination center that tasks out aircraft—similar to how a combined air operations center builds an air tasking order for combat operations. The MAFFS C-130s are “one piece of the air puzzle,” with other aircraft such as CalFire’s own fleet or contractor aircraft also available.

“It’s a very organized system, a mix of different assets,” Berry said.

For example, on Aug. 22 two aircraft were exclusively targeting the LNU fire. Once they arrived on sight, they worked with a lead plane and crews on the ground for where to drop the retardant.

The liquid, a pink chemical “slurry” instead of water, is dropped not on the fire itself, but instead ahead of the fire line so the flames don’t have fuel to move further and give those on the ground space to work. The aircraft are able to drop into terrain that ground crews can’t move to and get hard to reach areas, Berry said.

MAFFS units bring in “extremely experienced” aircrews to fly the missions, since dropping on fires is difficult. For example, a C-130 might have to fly 120 knots at 150 feet off the ground, “slow and very heavy,” on the leading edge of a fire with smoke and heat turbulence, and poor visibility to boot, Berry said. Pilots need to be formation air dropped qualified, and usually have years of experience before entering the program.

The crews train every spring with other firefighting crews in mountainous areas to prepare for fire season.

The California units fly the newer J-models, and deploy with a crew of four. This season, it is personal for this wing because the fires are so close, Berry said.

“It is literally their back yard,” he said. “It’s 100 percent personal. We are all passionate about it.” Flying in your own town “brings on a personal element” and a drive to “get that thing to bed,” he said.

The other units fly the older H-model, and deploy with an aircrew of six plus the maintenance element. For Berry’s home unit, the 302nd Airlift Wing, the unit had their major personal fight with the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire that burned more than 18,000 acres near their home base.

“That one was absolutely personal. We’re honored to be part of the solution again and get that thing to bed,” Berry said, “We want to help Americans, period.”

Flying MAFFS airdrops can be instantly gratifying for crews, seeing the retardant save a house or make things easier for ground crews in “horrific conditions,” Berry said.

“We’re passionate about this mission,” he said. “Arguably the most rewarding thing we can do is to help fellow Americans in their time of need.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 9:12 a.m. on Aug. 24 to reflect the Reserve affiliation of the 302nd Airlift Wing.

Gulf Coast Air Bases Prepare for Possible Twin Hurricanes

Gulf Coast Air Bases Prepare for Possible Twin Hurricanes

Aug. 21, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Air Force bases along the Gulf of Mexico are preparing for twin tropical storm systems that are expected to make landfall as hurricanes within the next several days.

Tropical Storm Laura, as well as a tropical depression likely to strengthen into Tropical Storm Marco, could grow into a rare case of two tropical cyclones to barrel through the Gulf of Mexico at the same time, according to the National Weather Service. They are slated to strike Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and Puerto Rico during the week of Aug. 23.

Wind and water could smack communities in the Florida Panhandle that have barely started rebuilding from other recent storms. Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., was decimated by Category 5 Hurricane Michael in 2018 and is now staring down new potential threats.

Tyndall declared HURCON 5 on Aug. 21, meaning the weather systems could bring destructive winds within four days. The HURCON scale ranges from 5 to 1E—when sustained winds of 58 mph or gusts of at least 69 mph are occurring—then 1R when the storm is over and safe zones are being cleared.

A base spokesman said Tyndall is preparing to remove as many planes as it can if needed, but as of Friday evening evacuations haven’t started yet. The base will evacuate everything that can be moved, but other systems, like planes that are undergoing maintenance, will shelter in place.

Tyndall is in charge of F-22 fighter jets, T-38 trainers, QF-16 target drones, and other contractor assets. Nearby Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., which houses Tyndall-owned F-22s, can move those jets in collaboration with Tyndall officials.

Tyndall employees and their families should monitor weather reports as well as Tyndall’s website and its social media; review their family, personal, and pet emergency plans; ready their shelter or evacuation kits; and ensure their vehicles, generators, prescriptions, and food supplies are gassed up and fully stocked, the base’s Facebook page said.

A hard hit would slow the base’s nearly $5 billion effort to rebuild from Hurricane Michael as well.

Eglin may enter HURCON 5 on Aug. 21, a base spokeswoman said that afternoon. The key aircraft test hub and fighter jet base has not announced any aircraft evacuations. Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., a major training hub, has entered HURCON 5 as well. Air Force Magazine could not reach Keesler officials the same day.

A spokesman at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., home to a tanker wing, U.S. Special Operations Command, and U.S. Central Command, said Aug. 22 that the base was not evacuating any aircraft.

Hurlburt Field, Fla., where Air Force Special Operations Command is headquartered, said it is closely watching Tropical Storm Laura but did not discuss further precautions. Barksdale Air Force Base, La., home to Air Force Global Strike Command, has not announced any storm preparations.

Air Force Magazine could not reach officials at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, by press time Aug. 21.

The two storms are the latest in a string of natural disasters that have battered the Air Force over the last few years, from hurricanes to California wildfires to a historic flood at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. The service is studying how to make its installations more resilient as the climate changes and severe weather events threaten military readiness.

The coronavirus pandemic will complicate matters further in the hard-hit South if homes are destroyed and people need to seek shelter elsewhere.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season could include up to 19 named storms and 10 hurricanes through Nov. 30. Six of those may cause major damage.

The East Coast is expected to see a busier-than-usual hurricane season, but Hawaii and the Central Pacific could get two to six tropical depressions, named storms, and hurricanes this year. That’s about average or fewer than normal, according to NOAA.

Travis AFB Lifts Evacuation Order; Aircraft to Return Within Days

Travis AFB Lifts Evacuation Order; Aircraft to Return Within Days

Aug. 21, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

60th Air Mobility Wing Commander Col. Corey A. Simmons gave non-essential Airmen and their families the all-clear to return to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., as of 10 a.m. PDT on Aug. 21, following a wildfire-induced evacuation on Aug. 19.

Simmons issued the order as a preventative measure amid the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, which purportedly got within 2 miles of the base in recent days, as similar evacuations were underway in nearby communities, Air Force Magazine previously reported. 

“Base housing and dorm residents may return to base immediately after 10 a.m.,” the base wrote in an Aug. 21 Facebook post. “Westwind Inn guests with existing reservations, who had to evacuate the inn, may also return to lodging. Those returning to base should use the Main, North, and Hospital Gates to re-enter the base.”

Further, it noted, non-mission-essential Airmen aren’t required to go right back to work, since the base wanted to give families impacted by the evacuation enough time to head home safely, the post said. The base also shuttered most services to make evacuees’ return to base easier, it noted.

“However, the gas station and Monarch Dining facility are open,” it noted.

While Travis is still in mission-essential mode, the post advised Airmen to check in with their chains of command to figure out their duty status, as well as to find out how to get lodging or per diem costs reimbursed if they were forced to evacuate from their homes.

The wing also expects the C-5s, C-17s, and KC-10 aircraft it sent out of state as a precaution to be back on base within “the next few days,” according to the post.

As of the morning of Aug. 21, the fire hadn’t damaged the base or any Defense Department assets, the post said.

“Fires remain a local threat to some areas outside the base perimeter,” it noted.

COVID Delays F-35 Full-Rate Production as Pentagon Debates 6th-Gen Capability

COVID Delays F-35 Full-Rate Production as Pentagon Debates 6th-Gen Capability

Aug. 20, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak

The end of F-35 operational testing and declaration of full-rate production will likely come in March 2021—three months past the extension Pentagon acquisition and logistics czar Ellen M. Lord gave the program last year.

Lord extended operational testing of the F-35 last October from December 2019 to January 2021, in order to incorporate the fighter into the Joint Simulation Environment, which virtually pits various combinations of U.S. capabilities against foreign militaries. The system is designed to find the optimum numbers of various systems to acquire and deploy.

“I am confident that we are going to meet the March date,” Lord told reporters on Aug. 20. “We have the entire government/industry team focused on that.” However, she acknowledged there “have been setbacks within the JSE from COVID,” because it requires “a very close working environment.”

Lord said she will visit the Joint Simulation Environment at Naval Air Station Patuxent River next week with Robert F. Behler, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, to ensure the team “has all the resources they need,” Lord said. Lord said the JSE team is complying with all Centers for Disease Control guidelines for safe working conditions. “They readjusted. They have operations there at least six days a week, if not seven, … and almost 24 hours” per day.

Pentagon officials said the necessary virtual wargames with the JSE intended to validate F-35 performance are expected to begin and end in December; some 64 virtual engagements are planned. It will take until March to analyze the results and send a report to Congress that the F-35 has met all conditions necessary to declare it ready for full-rate production.

Most other planned testing required for IOT&E is finished, such as live-fly two- and four-ship missions. Still incomplete are a cybersecurity test and two more weapons tests, which are supposed to be finished by the end of the year.

The F-35 has been operational since 2016, and has engaged in numerous combat missions flown by the U.S. and allies equipped with the jet, but the JSE will pit it against the toughest air defenses and aerial adversaries flown by “peer adversaries,” such as China and Russia.

The full-rate decision would signal a formal end to the F-35’s initial development and clear the way for the Pentagon to ask Congress for permission to buy the F-35 in multi-year lots, which would allow further price reductions. Multi-year contracts are prohibited until a major weapon system is deemed mature.   

Lord also said the Pentagon is “in the midst of developing our budget request right now” for fiscal 2022, noting “the question of the mix of fourth-, fifth- and sixth-gen aircraft is one that is being debated right now.” Her comments marked the first time the Pentagon referred to development fighters beyond the F-22 and F-35 as “sixth-generation” aircraft.

Lord was responding to a question of how much money the Pentagon could save if the F-35 was terminated. That, she said, “is an impossible question to answer at this moment,” because the F-35 figures into all operational plans. “We have a tacair mix” to fulfill combat requirements, “so if you canceled the F-35, the question is, what backfills for that capability? That costs something as well.”

Artificial Intelligence Easily Beats Human Fighter Pilot in DARPA Trial

Artificial Intelligence Easily Beats Human Fighter Pilot in DARPA Trial

Aug. 20, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

In the battle of artificial intelligence versus a human fighter pilot, it wasn’t even close.

The artificial intelligence algorithm, developed by Heron Systems, swept a human F-16 pilot in a simulated dogfight 5-0 in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s AlphaDogfight Trials on Aug. 20. The company beat out seven other companies before going head to head with “Banger,” a pilot from the District of Columbia Air National Guard and a recent graduate of the Air Force Weapons School’s F-16 Weapons Instructor Course. The pilot, whose full name was not provided, is an operational fighter pilot with more than 2,000 hours in the F-16.

Banger and Heron Systems’ AI fought in five different basic fighter maneuver scenarios with the simulated fight only using the Fighting Falcon’s guns, and each time the AI was able to out maneuver and take out Banger. The algorithm operated within the limits of the F-16—meaning it did not pull Gs beyond what a real-world aircraft could do. However, Banger said after the event that the jet was not limited by the training and thinking that is engrained in an Air Force pilot.

For example, Air Force Instructions outline how an F-16 pilot performs basic fighter maneuvers and establishes some limits such as not passing within 500 feet or a limit on the angle of attack when firing the gun. The AI did not need to follow these instructions, which helped it gain an advantage. Pilots habits are built based on procedures and adhering to training rules, and the AI exploited that.

The AI also is able to make adjustments on a “nanosecond level” where the human “OODA loop”—observe, orient, decide, and act—takes longer, giving the algorithm another advantage.

Banger survived longer in each successive round, though he was not able to hit the AI’s F-16, which was “flying” with the callsign “Falco.” He started the contest following the basic rules, and in following rounds tried to learn the methods of the algorithm, which flew more aggressively.

Col. Daniel Javorsek, the program manager of DARPA’s Air Combat Evolution Program, which includes the AlphaDogfight, said the goal of the event was to increase the confidence of the feasibility of using artificial intelligence in combat aircraft. If the event was able to convince just a couple pilots, “then I’m considering it a success. That’s the first steps I need to create a trust in these sorts of agents.”

Heron prevailed in a “round robin” tournament over the other entrants: Aurora Flight Sciences, EpiSys Science, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Lockheed Martin, Perspecta Labs, PhysicsAI, and SoarTech. The companies honed their algorithms through scrimmages in November 2019 and July 2020. This week’s three-day event started with tests against five other AI systems from Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory.  

The Air Combat Evolution program seeks to automate air-to-air combat, eventually moving on to subscale aircraft, including one that is propeller driven and another that is a miniature jet, to learn to differentiate the abilities of the two types. This phase is scheduled to wrap by 2021. DARPA then plans to move on to larger aircraft before potentially giving the program to the Air Force in 2024.

Javorsek said Aug. 20 that if DARPA had a perfect, ready-to-go system today it would take about 10 years to actually put it in a combat fighter jet like an F-15 or F-16. Most likely, it will end up in an unmanned system with the initial “stronghold” for the capability being more advanced tactical “autopilots.”

“A fully autonomous Heron flying the entire airplane (system) is still quite a ways off,” he said, adding the goal is to see “if this is even feasible right now.”

Pentagon Nears Decision on Transferring Army, Navy Systems to Space Force

Pentagon Nears Decision on Transferring Army, Navy Systems to Space Force

Aug. 20, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

The Space Force is nearing an agreement with the Army and Navy about which of their technologies and organizations will transfer into the new space service, a top Space Force official said Aug. 20.

It’s a critical decision that could make or break how well the Space Force can manage the military’s space-based communication, missile warning, surveillance, and more. The service was created as part of a Pentagon-wide push to streamline and better wield space policies and capabilities.

“Early this year, we began the process with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, with leaders in the Army and the Navy, to go through a deliberate process of identifying … space-related organizations and activities in those services, in OSD,” Space Force Vice Commander Lt. Gen. David D. Thompson said during an online National Defense Industrial Association conference. “To the 90th percentile, we have agreed on most of those transfers and most of those capabilities.”

Those Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines that manage space assets like satellites, ground control systems, and radars will join the Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The new command will oversee development, purchase, maintenance, and upgrades of space hardware and software.

The military has a few more details to work out about a couple of units, Thompson said. Service leadership will discuss those last transfer decisions in a meeting with OSD later this month.

“Expectation is that we will come to agreement in the next few weeks and then begin to work on the details to transfer those in the next fiscal year,” Thompson said.

The Space Force will start formally transferring in personnel from the other services in the next two years as well.

Thompson added that the Department of the Air Force has approved the move of nearly all of the 23 USAF organizations that were tapped to join the Space Force.

“Two of those elements, two intelligence squadrons associated with the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, require more complex coordination throughout the Intelligence Community. It wasn’t just a matter of the Air Force itself taking action,” Thompson said. “We’re in the final stages of coordinating exactly what that transfer of function and responsibility look [like] for those last two organizations.”

The rest of the 23 units encompass other intelligence, test, and training squadrons, parts of the Air Force Research Laboratory, and several more space-related missions.

New Bosses at SPACECOM, NORTHCOM

New Bosses at SPACECOM, NORTHCOM

Aug. 20, 2020 | By Amy Hudson

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper oversaw leadership changes for two combatant commands—U.S. Space Command and U.S. Northern Command—during back-to-back ceremonies at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., on Aug. 20.

Army Gen. James H. Dickinson assumed command of SPACECOM from USAF Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, who will remain the head of the U.S. Space Force, the Defense Department’s newest military service.

USAF Gen. Glen D. VanHerck succeeded Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy as commander of NORTHCOM, becoming North American Aerospace Defense Command’s boss as well. O’Shaughnessy, who has led the combatant command since May 2018, retired after 34 years in uniform.

SPACECOM’s handoff from Department of the Air Force to the Army leadership marks a new chapter in military space history. The Senate in June 2019 confirmed Raymond to re-establish and lead SPACECOM, while continuing to lead what was then Air Force Space Command. From the time SPACECOM officially stood up just two months later, Raymond said “it was clear after a tremendous amount of hard work, that we were just getting started. It was time to sprint—our national security demanded it.”

U.S. Space Command is “purpose-built to meet the demands of the National Security Strategy and the National Defense Strategy, to compete and to deter from a position of strength,” said Raymond. “But if deterrence fails, this command is tailor-made to focus on enhancing our ability to conduct offensive and defensive operations in space, to further strengthen our partnerships with the Intelligence Community and with our allies, and finally, to enhance global warfighting and integrate it more seamlessly with our combatant command partners.”  

Dickinson, who received his fourth star during the ceremony, served as Raymond’s deputy at SPACECOM. He came on board in December 2019, four months after the command was revived.

“In the past year, we’ve installed an Air Force officer who became the first space member as the head of Space Command, and I’m thrilled to welcome its first truly joint leader, an Army officer, at the helm, Gen. James Dickinson,” Esper said. “Dickinson takes charge during an important time in our nation’s space enterprise, and I know that he possesses the expertise, the character, and the leadership to guide that command into the future.”

U.S. adversaries have turned the once-peaceful space domain into a warfighting domain by developing, testing, and deploying counter-space capabilities and planning for conflicts that might extend into the space domain, Dickinson said. SPACECOM’s mission is to deter such conflicts from taking place, and to enable the United States to continue to compete in space.

“However, should deterrence fail, our imperative is clear: We will win,” Dickinson emphasized.

“I believe our experiences make us who we are, and my career as an Army air defense artillery man has shaped my warfighting perspective … The warfighting mindset is inculcated into every member of the Army combat arms branches. … It is baked into our culture,” he said. “I pledge to you, that my focus as a commander will be on developing, nurturing, [and] embracing a space warfighting culture in every effort, every decision point, every initiative, or every tradeoff we make.”

The NORTHCOM change of command also comes at a critical time. Over the last year, O’Shaughnessy played a key role in the nation’s effort to battle the coronavirus pandemic, NORAD successfully intercepted 20 Russian aircraft in the Arctic, and he postured both NORAD and NORTHCOM to “confront any escalation of North Korean strategic missile launch activity,” Esper said.

Esper called VanHerck “another highly qualified leader” who has a “keen understanding of the nature of today’s threats.”

VanHerck, who also pinned on his fourth star during the ceremony, has accumulated thousands of hours in a variety of aircraft, including the F-15C Eagle, F-35A strike fighter, B-2A Spirit, and the B-1B Lancer. He’s commanded a weapons squadron, a training operations group, two bomber wings, and the United States Air Force Warfare Center. He comes to NORAD, NORTHCOM after having last served as director of the Joint Staff, where he was responsible for implementing the National Defense Strategy and “protecting our military strategic advantages,” Esper said.

“I’m confident that Gen. VanHerck will build upon Gen. O’Shaughnessy’s success to advance the homeland defense mission, inspiring and leading the men and women of these two great commands,” Esper said.

Travis AFB Evades Fire Damage, But Evacuation Order Remains

Travis AFB Evades Fire Damage, But Evacuation Order Remains

Aug. 20, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Non-essential personnel won’t be allowed to return to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., for at least one more day, and most base services remain shuttered after the LNU Lightning Complex Fire forced personnel and aircraft to preventatively evacuate from the installation on Aug. 19, according to a Facebook update from the base.

“To ensure Team Travis’ safety, base services will remain closed today, except for the gas station and dining facility, and the 60th Air Mobility Wing commander will not lift the evacuation order before Aug. 21,” the base wrote.

The blaze is still “a local threat to areas outside the base perimeter,” but hasn’t damaged the installation or any Defense Department assets, the post said. Emergency responders spotted flames within two miles of Travis’ perimeter, but the fire never breached it, wing spokesperson Capt. Amanda M. Farr told Air Force Magazine in an Aug. 20 email.

Travis’ leadership, emergency operations center team, and local authorities are all keeping an eye on the situation, the post stated.

“At this time, conditions are favorable that the potential threat to the base is continuing to diminish,” Farr wrote. “Leadership continue[s] to actively monitor the situation and coordinate with civil authorities.”

The 60th Air Mobility Wing evacuated or secured all of its aircraft, the Facebook post noted. 

The wing temporarily moved its C-5s to Texas, and its C-17s and KC-10s to Washington state, Air Force Magazine previously reported.

“Nearly 30 aircraft were evacuated—across all our airframes (C-5s, C-17s, KC-10s),” Farr wrote. “The small number that remained was due to maintenance status and the ability to safely and expediently move the aircraft.”

The Aug. 19 evacuation also included patients from David Grant USAF Medical Center, she noted, though the wing is withholding details of where they were evacuated to due to privacy concerns.

“We are actively working the plan to return the individuals to the installation,” she wrote.

A Statewide Issue

Air National Guard C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems were recently enlisted to help fight the LNU Lightning Complex Fire and other blazes in California, the magazine also reported.

9th Reconnaissance Wing Commander Col. Heather A. Fox said the separate Jones Fire didn’t pose an evacuation risk to Beale Air Force Base, Calif, as of the night of Aug. 19.

https://www.facebook.com/9.RW.commander/photos/a.946280175551114/1586109908234801/

“Currently, Beale Air Force Base is not immediately threatened by the Jones Fire in Nevada County nor the LNU Lightning Complex near Travis Air Force base other than poor air quality,” the base confirmed in a statement provided to Air Force Magazine via email on Aug. 20.

According to a screenshot posted to the “Air Force amn/nco/snco” Facebook page on Aug. 20, the air quality at the base triggered at least two Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Index warnings that suggested the situation could be harmful to individuals with “heart or lung disease,” among others.

https://www.facebook.com/AirForceForum/photos/a.432721196901526/1661904647316502/

The same day, Beale posted information about the EPA Air Quality Index and Particle Matter Pollution recommendations and conditions to its Facebook page.

Graphics attached to the post explained different AQI index categories, who might be impacted in each category and how, as well as steps to mitigate those effects.

https://www.facebook.com/BealeAirForceBase/posts/4773450396005740

“We are currently in wildfire season for this region of California, which can result in elevated particulate matter levels and poor air quality conditions,” the post stated. “The U.S. EPA monitors Air Quality Index (AQI) to include particulate matter throughout the U.S. The health department effects are increasing likelihood of respiratory symptoms in sensitive individuals, aggravation of heart or lung disease and premature mortality in persons with cardiopulmonary disease, and the elderly.”

The post advised individuals suffering from respiratory or cardiac conditions, youth, and elderly people to “limit prolonged exertion“ under the current circumstances, and said concerned parties should call the base’s Bioenvironmental Engineering team at (530) 634-2045 with any questions they might have.

“Beale Air Force Base works very closely with local fire agencies to prevent wild fires and the spread of wild fires,” the base’s statement said. “We will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep our personnel informed.”

Beale is also making relevant resources and installation-posture information available on its website.

Additionally, the installation is providing temporary shelter to some families from “down the interstate” who’ve been displaced by fires, as well as staying “in constant contact with Travis AFB” to figure out how it can support the base amid its evacuations, according to the statement.

The 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base acknowledged a request for questions on Aug. 20, but didn’t provide a status update by press time.