Gueitlein: To Be Tactically Responsive, USSF Must Be Like ‘MacGyver’

Jan. 19, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

When the Space Force shattered its own records by blasting a satellite into orbit 27 hours after getting launch order, Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman likened it to Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier.

Now comes the hard part: Turning December’s “Victus Nox” mission into something routine, and maybe even slow. As the Space Force delves into “tactically responsive space,” or TacRS, new Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael A. Guetlein says timelines will get shorter still.

“A tactically relevant timeline is a matter of weeks, days, even hours,” Guetlein said said Jan. 19 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “And if you look at the near-peer competitors that we’re looking at today, the fight could be over in a matter of months, if not weeks. So we no longer have the luxury of time to wait years, even 10 to 15 years, to deliver some of these capabilities.”

Guetlein said the problem is the entire force is still optimized around that plodding business model. So turning tactically responsive space into not just a one-off challenge, but a whole new modus operandi is the new challenge. USSF leadership is now “refocusing the force on the way we do acquisitions, the way we do operations, the way we do presentation of forces, to make sure that I can be tactically relevant to the joint fight.”

He wants the Space Force to embrace a “MacGyver-type mindset,” Guetlein said, referring to the revered 1980s TV character known for his inventive use of the resources at hand. That means not just faster launches, but creative, aggressive, and creative ways of utilizing capabilities on orbit and identifying commercial solutions that can meet military requirments.

“How do I take advantage of what I have, which is exploit what we have, or how can I buy what I can, to get as much capability on orbit as I possibly can to support our warfighters our national decision makers and our allies?” Guetlein asked.

TacRS builds on Guetlein’s mantra at Space Systems Command, where he exhorted his largely civilian team of experts to “exploit what we have, buy what we can, and build what we have to.”

Accelerating processes to be tactically relevant means breaking through the conventional red tape and bureaucracy in defense acquisition, which has proven especially difficult for space, where the high cost and high stakes of each launch drove ever more stringent requirements.

Military space leaders have been trying to go faster for years. Back in 2005, the Army War College Quarterly published “Operationally Responsive Space: A New Defense Business Model,” co-authored by future CSO John W. Raymond, at the time an Air Force Colonel.

Now that concept is finally attainable, Guetlein said. The lower cost of launch, advances in technology, and the commercialization of space have all reduced risk and the growing threats of near-peer adversaries have increased urgency and, to some degree, risk tolerance.

That doesn’t mean the Space Force wants to build and launch every satellite at breakneck pace. It’s not necessary all the time, but it is for certain missions and capabilities, Guetlein said.

“If a near peer competitor makes a movement, we need to have it in our quiver to make a counter maneuver, whether that be go up and do a show of force, or go up and do space domain awareness or characterization of the environment, what’s going on, etc.,” Guetlein said. “If … we have a natural disaster, a tornado hits one of our states, and we need emergency SATCOM, we need the ability to put up satellite communications in a matter of hours to support our national decision authorities to get eyes on the ground.”

In such a scenario, launch speed will be key, and Victus Nox demonstrated the processes and procedures the Space Force must address to get faster.

space force diu tactically responsive space — Firefly’s Alpha rocket for the Space Force’s VICTUS NOX mission stands on the launchpad at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Photo courtesy of Firefly Aerospace

Both Guetlein and industry executives speaking on a panel discussion afterward were quick to note that Victus Nox could have launched in less than 27 hours were it not for having to wait for the Earth to rotate into position so the satellite could be place in its intended orbit.

But in a future fight, tactical relevance could mean acting within minutes or jsut a few hours, not a day. And in such cases, the Space Force must be ready to exploit any and everything at is disposal.

“We are doing that through partnerships—partnerships with industry, partnerships with international [allies],” said Guetlein. “We’re doing that through commercial exploitation. We are doing that through alternative sourcing, and then we’re also doing it through the tactically responsive space culture change across the entire force. So when I think about it from a MacGyver kind of perspective, which just means, how do I throw everything at it, plus the kitchen sink, to guarantee that capability? That’s how we’re going to get that down to minutes.”

Air Force Launches New Web App for Decorations to Replace Glitchy Predecessor

Jan. 19, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

On Jan. 18, the Air Force launched a new web app, ‘myDecs Reimagined,’ to serve as a one-stop portal to simplify decorations approval for Airmen and Guardians. The new software replaces the ‘myDecs’ platform bemoaned by service members for poor navigation and bugs, aiming for enhanced usability.

“Users requested flexible software that met operational needs and decorations filed immediately on approval authority signature,” Air Force spokesperson Laurel Falls told Air & Space Forces Magazine. The service is anticipating the upgraded version will “improve user experience with a streamline award approval process,” Falls added.

Key changes for users and approval authorities on myDecs Reimagined include:

Users can choose who to route to and track decorations on a dashboard.

Nominators specify the approval authority when drafting nominations.

Decorations are editable until signed, and users can add comments and routing notes.

Approved decorations go directly into the record without manual MPF reviews.

Only HR Technician roles in the CSS and MPF are now needed.

For certain updates, such as the ability for users to track their decorations on a single dashboard, the Air Force applied insights gained from revamping ‘myEval,’ the personnel evaluation web application. Like myDecs, myEval went through a revamp last year, after the service suspended the system in 2022 due to escalating technical issues and complaints.

The earlier verion of myDecs also left many users frustrated. On the unofficial Air Force subreddit, numerous posts can be found where users outline challenges in editing documents or navigating the webpage. One user highlighted struggles in saving edited format, stating, “Every time I go to preview, it seems like the changes didn’t take.” Others labeled the decoration submission experience “terrible,” stressing the need for bug fixes.

To address the problems, the Air Force initiated plans to redesign the software in summer 2023, collaborating with users and experts, according to Falls. Airmen and Guardians in operational units helped shaping the new system and drive policy changes.

Another change in the app is that quality review checks are not automated after previously being conducted by MPF (Military Personnel Flights) members manually, allowing personnel to focus on enhancing recognition programs.

“This new software coincides with a policy change to move the DAF away from reliance on the centralized Military Personnel Flights to file approved and signed decorations,” deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller said in a release. “Trust and responsibility is placed back with the approval authority and the record now updates automatically upon signature.”

Miller added that the service aims to “make the system more intuitive and create a smoother process for users.”

A memo issued in November stated any nominations not processed in the previous ‘myDecs’ system will be inaccessible before the new software’s launch. Users were directed to resubmit decorations not finalized in the previous system on the new ‘myDecs Reimagined’ page.

The new system will process these decorations to start:

Air and Space Meritorious Service Medal

Air and Space Commendation Medal

Air and Space Achievement Medal

Aerial Achievement Medal

Combat Readiness Medal

Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.

The release indicated potential future additions of other decorations to expand the website’s capabilities.

Shipton Takes Command of Life Cycle Management Center

Jan. 19, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Lt. Gen. Donna D. Shipton officially took command of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center on Jan. 17, vowing to push forward on “continued investment and development to prepare for tomorrow’s conflicts.”

Shipton is the fifth commander of AFLCMC and the first woman to lead the organization, which is responsible for overseeing Air Force weapons systems from inception to retirement—a massive portfolio with a budget of more than $300 billion.

“I believe we can fulfill our Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Allvin’s charge that we ‘follow through,’” Shipton told AFLCMC members during a ceremony at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. “We can follow through on the hard work that you’ve already been doing to deliver war winning capabilities to the warfighter, while acknowledging the critical work that remains in front of us. It’s no exaggeration to state that without Air Force Life Cycle Management Center-delivered capabilities, the joint and coalition force could not feel the combat power required to win tomorrow’s conflicts.”

The list of new capabilities AFLCMC is working on is extensive, Shipton noted, including the:

Next Generation Air Dominance fighter

Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion engine

Collaborative Combat Aircraft drones

Next Generation Aerial refueling System tanker

B-21 bomber and its family of systems

Hypersonic weapons

Such systems are “top of mind” for Air Force leaders and the U.S.’s adversaries, Shipton said.

“These weapons systems will bolster our continued strategic and tactical advantages, ensuring continued success to highly contested environments and to hold targets at risk around the globe,” Shipton said. “Any target anytime, anywhere. They’ll provide highly resilient communications and kill webs, unparalleled communications and combinations of range, access, and payload that will preserve robust strategic options for our nation’s leaders.”

At the same time, the center will have to sustain and modernize legacy systems too, said Air Force Materiel Command boss Gen. Duke Z. Richardson.

“You’re going to be charged with building our future warfighting systems, while at the same time keeping our current systems healthy,” Richardson told her. “ That’s a challenge. There’s always a tension there, in terms of how you go about doing them. And I’m going to ask you, Donna, to do that by keeping the warfighter and the taxpayer at the front of your mind, because that’s who we really answer to.”

Noting the date of the ceremony marked exactly 33 years since the start of Operation Desert Storm, Shipton pointed to the success of that operation as an example of how new capabilities—precision-guided munitions, GPS, and the E-8C JSTARS—can blend with modernized legacy platforms.

“This conflict demonstrated the decisive outcomes that our Air Force acquisition system can produce, but it also cemented the need for continued investment and development to prepare for tomorrow’s conflicts,” she said.

That imperative is amplified by today’s great power competition, Richardson and Shipton both said. Neither specifically named China, but Shipton warned that in some key weapons and technologies, the U.S. now faces not a near-peer threat, but an equal peer.

“If our work does not succeed, we may find serious strategic disadvantage very soon,” she said.

Shipton comes to the job after a stint as military deputy to the Air Force’s senior acquisition executive, Andrew Hunter. She has also had stops in the National Reconnaissance Office, AFMC headquarters, the F-35 Joint Program Office, and the Space and Missile Systems Center. She previously served as the Program Executive Officer for the tanker directorate in AFLCMC and the senior materiel leader for the Cryptologic and Cyber Systems Division.

The change of command was a long time coming. Shipton was nominated to lead AFLCMC in May 2023, but like dozens of her peers, her confirmation was held up in the Senate for months. Her predecessor, Lt. Gen. Shaun Q. Morris, retired in November; Col. John Kurian had been the acting commander since then.

“It took a little bit longer for me to get here than we all would have liked,” Shipton said. “But thankfully, better late than never. I’m really glad to be here.”

New Report: Misplaced Flashlight Sucked into F-35 Engine Caused $4 Million in Damage

Jan. 18, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

A handheld flashlight left inside an engine inlet of an F-35 fighter was sucked into the engine during a maintenance ground run at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., in March 2023, causing nearly $4 million worth of damage, according to a new accident investigation report.

The investigation, released Jan. 18, faulted the maintainer for failing to follow Air Force and joint directives as the leading cause of the mishap, which damaged the $14 million engine badly enough that it could not be repaired locally.

However, investigators also cited problems with the F-35’s Autonomic Logistics Information System as a substantially contributing factor. ALIS is intended to integrate operations, maintenance, prognostics, supply chain, customer support services, training and technical data, but the system has struggled with a lack of real-time connectivity, clumsy interfaces, and more.

As a result, the report stated, “the substantial number of checklists and difficulty in accessing the correct ones causes complacency when users reference the required maintenance procedures.”

The mishap in question took place March 15, when a three-person maintenance team was completing a Time Compliance Technical Directive on the F-35 to “install a metering plug into an engine fuel line and conduct a leak check on the new metering plug while the engine was running,” according to the report.

After the plug was installed, one maintainer conducted a tool inventory check, before another maintainer conducted a “Before Operations Servicing” inspection of the engine. To do so, the maintainer used a flashlight to inspect the engine inlet and left it on the lip of the intake.

The maintainer who performed the engine inspection then conducted an engine run for five minutes to check for any fuel leaks. During that time, the cockpit showed no indication of foreign object damage to the engine, but as the engine shut down, the team reported hearing abnormal noises. The maintainer who conducted the engine run performed another inspection and identified the damage, while the maintainer who completed the first tool inventory check performed another and noted a missing flashlight.

Ultimately, the engine sustained damage to its second stage rotor, third stage rotor, fifth stage rotor, sixth stage rotor, fuel nozzle, bypass duct, high pressure compressor (HPC), high pressure turbine (HPT), and fan inlet variable vane—valued at $3,933,106.

Investigators found the maintainer who conducted the inspection before the engine run failed to follow Joint Technical Data warnings to remove all loose items before entering the aircraft inlet and to make sure that all engine inlets and exhausts are free of foreign and loose objects. The Airman also failed to follow Department of the Air Force instructions to “perform a visual inventory” of the tool kit after completing each task.

Finally, the report also found that the local practice within the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Unit did not wholly follow DAF instructions, which require the individual who signed out the tool kit to conduct visual inventory checks. Instead, the unit’s practice was to have the individual performing the engine run conduct the inventory check. As a result, both Airmen involved in the mishap thought the flashlight was accounted for.

The ALIS factor in the mishap marks yet another problem for the F-35’s troubled sustainment enterprise. The program has been plagued by high costs and technical problems, and lawmakers have expressed frustration with ALIS before. The Joint Program Office is in the process of switching over to a new “Operational Data Integrated Network,” but officials have described it as a gradual effort—it has been in the works for four years now.

New ICBM Has ‘Critical’ Cost and Schedule Overruns, Needs SecDef Certification to Continue

Jan. 18, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

This story was updated Jan. 19 to clarify the source of a quote as assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics Andrew Hunter, not a Northrop official.

The new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program being developed by the Air Force and Northrop Grumman will cost 37 percent more than expected and take at least two years longer than previous projections before achieving initial operational capability—compelling the service to extend the life of some of its Minuteman ICBMs, senior service and Northrop officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

Just before close of business Jan. 18, the Air Force sent Congress notification of a Nunn-McCurdy breach on the Sentinel program. The Nunn-McCurdy Act requires the Pentagon to inform lawmakers if a program incurs a cost or schedule overrun of more than 15 percent. Any breach over 15 percent is considered “significant,” while a breach of 30 percent is considered “critical.”

The Sentinel’s Program Acquisition Unit Cost—which includes development, acquisition, and construction costs—is increasing by 37 percent, making its Nunn-McCurdy breach “critical,” the senior official said. Its Average Unit Procurement Cost—which is focused on acquisition costs—will rise by 17 percent. The two figures are not additive.

An Air Force spokesperson said that when the program was baselined in 2020, the PAUC was $118 million. The 37 percent increase now puts that estimate at $162 million for the PAUC, the spokesperson said.

Under Nunn-McCurdy, programs in “critical” status are assumed to be headed for termination, unless the Secretary of Defense certifies there’s no alternative. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to make that certification, given the time it would take to start over and the urgency with which the 50-year-old Minuteman missiles must be replaced.

The estimated cost of Sentinel before the “program deviation” was $95.3 billion, indicating its new cost could be more than $125 billion. The Air Force expects to have a new cost and schedule for Sentinel by summer 2024, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics Andrew Hunter said. That assumes the Nunn-McCurdy process takes its full course and the program is allowed to continue.

The cost and schedule growth stems largely from the ground element of Sentinel. These include the command and launch segment—silos and launch control facilities, which will be “significantly bigger” than those for Minuteman—as well as the communications infrastructure the Air Force had hoped to reuse from the Minuteman, but which is too old and lacking in necessary bandwidth to do the job. A big element of that will be cabling and cable ducting which must be replaced, as well as land easements and other infrastructure expenses not well understood when the program baseline was set.

Inflation also played a role. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has also noted Sentinel has struggled with issues such as adequate labor and security clearances for workers.

While there is some escalation in the cost of the LGM-35A missile itself, it was not a major factor in the Nunn-McCurdy breach, Hunter said.

“There’s been a little bit of cost growth on the missile side, but comparatively much less than what you see with command and launch segment. (The missile) would not probably, on its own, have triggered any kind of a breach in terms of cost,” he said.

The schedule slip also adds cost to the program, since engineers and workers have to be kept on the project longer than expected. Moreover, some previously unexpected costs “were not included” in the Milestone B review of the program in 2020, a USAF official said.

Sentinel and Minuteman will also have to operate simultaneously for a time, creating challenges for the communications network.

In years to come, Hunter said, “there will be significant budgetary changes as a result of this cost growth, on both the Sentinel and Minuteman side.”

Work continues on the program while the Nunn-McCurdy process plays out; no stop-work order has been sent to Northrop Grumman or its subcontractor team.

While no Sentinel-related financial changes are expected to the fiscal 2025 budget request soon to go to Capitol Hill, the cost increases will be reflected in the five-year program objective memoranda (POM).

According to the Sentinel’s Selected Acquisition Report for 2022, procurement accounts for $61.6 billion of the program cost estimate, while research, development, test and evaluation is $25.5 billion and military construction is $8.7 billion.

In order for Sentinel to continue, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III must certify the program is crucially needed. The certification requires five conditions be met:

The program must be deemed essential to national security.

The root cause of the overrun must be clearly understood.

New cost estimates must be validated by the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation shop as reasonable.

There are no lower-cost alternatives to the program.

The program is a higher priority than other programs that must be reduced or eliminated to pay for the overrun.

A Nunn-McCurdy breach must also be addressed by restructuring the program in a way that corrects the root cause of the overrun, and new program milestones must be set.

Programmatically, the Sentinel is expected to go through a series of “rolling” critical design reviews in the coming months, a Northrop official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

There may be ways to mitigate the two-year delay, he said.

“There’s IOC and there’s FOC,” Hunter noted, referring to Initial Operational Capability and Full Operational Capability. “IOC is when you get started and FOC is when you are done. What really matters for Minuteman III is when are you done. … FOC is obviously farther out in time. So there will be options to really look at to how do we perhaps keep [the] FOC date from moving as much as other parts of the program.”

The Sentinel program calls for production of 634 missiles. Of those, 450 will replace Minuteman III missiles now in silos, 184 will be used to demonstrate periodically—to allies and potential adversaries alike—that the system works, and 25 will be developmental test vehicles.

The program also calls for dozens of launch control facilities; maintenance and management buildings; integrated control centers at F. E. Warren, Malmstrom, and Minot Air Force Bases; weapons storage facilities; 56 loading and transport vehicles, and some 7,500 miles of cabling, a Northrop official said. Collectively, the massive program is “like five MDAPs (Major Defense Acquisition Programs) combined,” he said.

In response to the Nunn-McCurdy notification, Northrop said it and the Air Force “continue to make significant progress on this highly complex program, achieving key milestones to mature the design and reduce risk.” As part of its engineering and manufacturing development contract, “our team is committed to supporting the Air Force as it assesses and updates acquisition cost forecasts for the future phases of the program, to include construction projects, production, and deployment of the weapon system.”

“We are focused on continuing to perform and meet our commitments under the EMD contract as we move toward delivery of this essential national security capability,” a spokesperson added.

Northrop CEO Kathy Warden will preside over the company’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings call on Jan. 25.

B-1 Crash Site Yet to Be Cleared, Keeping Flight Ops on Pause at Ellsworth

Jan. 18, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

B-1B Lancer flight operations from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., are still paused following a Jan. 4 crash of a bomber at the base, and the base’s runway remains closed, the Air Force said.

The scene has not been cleared and the runway is expected to remain closed past Jan. 19, as crash evidence continues to be processed and investigated, a service official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“The Ellsworth AFB runway will remain closed while investigators continue to look into the cause of the B-1B crash Jan. 4, 2024,” Col. Derek Oakley, 28th Bomb Wing commander, added in an emailed statement. “We continue to thank the community for their outpouring of support and well wishes for the aircrew and say ‘thank you’ to all those who continue to work the scene and the investigation.”

Imagery circulating online shows that the aircraft is severely burned and suffered significant damage after crashing and skidding off the runway. The official said the aircraft was likely not in a “fixable situation,” nor was it airworthy.

Ellsworth’s sole runway has been closed since the crash, according to a Notice to Airmen/Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM). The latest notice was set to expire on Jan. 19. B-1 operations from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas—the only other combat B-1 base—continue. The Air Force also maintains some B-1s for test operations.

“Losing an aircraft is difficult, but I cannot emphasize enough we have four safe aircrew,” Oakley said on Jan. 9 in a video statement.

Purported photo of the B-1 crash at Ellsworth AFB, SD from the Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page. pic.twitter.com/tq8GN32f6C
— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) January 8, 2024

The crashed B-1 has not yet been deemed a total loss or officially declared a Class A mishap. A Class A mishap is any accident that involves loss of life, severe injury, loss of an aircraft, or other damage totaling more than $2.5 million.

All four aircrew ejected safely. Three were treated on base after the accident and released; one Airman required hospitalization. No one else was injured, the base said.

“Flying operations were paused on Jan. 4 to ensure the safety of our Airmen and our airfield,” Oakley said on Jan. 9. “We are carefully assessing checklists and safety procedures to resume flying when safe to do so.”

Weather conditions at the time of the accident were poor, with limited visibility due to dense fog and below-freezing temperatures. Two B-1s assigned to Ellsworth were conducting a local training mission when they came into land on the evening of Jan. 4. The lead aircraft landed without incident, but the second B-1 in the two-ship formation crashed at approximately 5:50 p.m. local time, base officials said.

Oakley said Jan. 9 that an Air Force investigation team was on site as part of a “thorough investigation process” and that evidence from the incident was being preserved. He added that an accident investigation board was expected to begin work and then prepare a publicly releasable report. In that case, the site must be fully documented, with what remains of the B-1 taken for further examination as needed.

An accident investigation board is an intensive, months-long process. Such an investigation probes crew actions, health, rest, and training; the aircraft’s maintenance history; weather conditions; and other factors. A recent investigation into a mishap involving an F-35 found a maintainer left a flashlight in the engine intake, causing nearly $4 million worth of damage. While the report faulted the individual Airman, it also cited a number of contributing factors.

The Air Force has 45 B-1s in its inventory—44 of which are flightworthy following the crash at Ellsworth. The B-1, originally envisioned as a supersonic, nuclear-capable bomber, had to meet extensive demands for airpower over Iraq and Afghanistan over the past two decades after being converted to a purely conventional bomber, leaving the fleet with poor mission-capable rates. The Air Force retired 17 B-1s in recent years to improve reliability, with more spare parts and maintenance crews available to work on a smaller fleet.

B-21 Raider Starts Test Flights out of Edwards Air Force Base

Jan. 18, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The new B-21 Raider bomber made its second ever confirmed flight Jan. 17 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., just over two months after its first flight.

The Air Force verified the test flight after aviation trackers noted potential chase planes on flight tracking websites. This marks the first known time the Raider has flown from Edwards—its inaugural flight on Nov. 10 started at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif., and concluded at Edwards.

“I can confirm the B-21 flew [Jan. 17]” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in an email statement to Air & Space Forces Magazine. “Flight testing is a critical step in the test campaign managed by the Air Force Test Center and 412th Test Wing’s B-21 Combined Test Force to provide survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners.”

For operational security reasons, the Air Force is not providing further details related to the test program to include the number of flights the aircraft has flown. The service also declined to confirm whether the B-21 that flew Jan. 17 was the same aircraft that conducted the first flight in November. Manufacturer Northrop Grumman has previously said six aircraft are in some stage of production.

The B-21 Raider was unveiled to the public at a ceremony Dec. 2, 2022, in Palmdale, Calif. U.S. Air Force photo

Just like the B-21’s first flight, this latest test was not announced beforehand and no official imagery was released. Outside of the bomber’s public rollout in December 2022 and a few photos released in September 2023, the Air Force has kept the aircraft largely out of sight, though some civilian photographers captured images from taxi tests and the first flight.

The B-21 is a developmental, penetrating strike bomber planned to deliver both conventional and nuclear munitions. Its wingspan is projected to be about 140 feet; smaller than the B-2’s 172-foot wingspan. The service plans to acquire at least 100 B-21s to replace its 45 B-1s and 20 B-2s over the next decade.

The Air Force previously said that B-21 test aircraft will be “usable assets” as soon as they are airworthy, and that the test aircraft will be converted to operational configuration after developmental and operational testing is complete.

The contract for the B-21 was awarded in 2015, and the aircraft is expected to cost around $700 million each in current dollars. The B-21 was officially named the “Raider” in 2016, to honor the Doolittle Raiders of World War II that carried out the first airstrikes against Japan.

Pentagon Official: Space ‘Essential to Any Mission’ as US Confronts Houthis

Jan. 17, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

Space-based assets are playing an important role as the U.S. contends with an array of threats in the Middle East.

“In general, space is absolutely essential to any mission the United States military does,” John Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, told reporters at the Pentagon on Jan. 17.

Those pivotal capabilities are why U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) was one of the first geographic commands to set up a Space Force component command, SPACECENT, in late 2022.

“SPACECENT, the realization of that is we have a service, we have space effects, the space service, the Space Force, in this case, should be providing those effects,” Plumb said.

While the Pentagon has declined to disclose specific surveillance assets, the Department of Defense has publicly acknowledged airborne assets are helping protect shipping as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian. And when it comes to intelligence on Houthi military capabilities in Yemen and tracking of the group’s missiles, space-based assets are also likely to be at work—though the Pentagon’s top space policy official declined to tip his hand on Jan. 17.

“Missile warning, the imagery” and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, Plumb said, highlighting some key capabilities. “There’s all sorts of things available from space … that affect that particular scenario.”

The U.S. launched yet more strikes against the Houthis in Yemen using U.S. Navy vessels on Jan. 17, U.S. officials said, marking the fourth round of strikes in less than a week.

Fourteen missiles were struck, according to U.S. Central Command. “These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting U.S. forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves,” CENTCOM said in a statement.

In Yemen, the U.S. has tracked drones and missiles launched by the Houthis, though it has not provided details on how it does so. Commercial ships can also be tracked by satellite online and commercial satellite imagery has provided a look into some of the damage done by the first wave of U.S. and U.K. strikes last week.

The aftermath of a strike on a radar site at Sanaa airport, Yemen, Jan. 12, 2024. Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies.

The U.S. also destroyed four more anti-ship ballistic missile targets on Jan. 16, the U.S. military said.

Those missiles were “prepared to launch” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told reporters on Jan. 17. More than 60 targets in 16 locations were struck with over 150 munitions in the first barrage.

On Jan. 17, CENTCOM announced yet another Houthi attack on a commercial ship, and the U.S. conducted its strikes. Ryder said CENTCOM had the authority to conduct “dynamic” strikes, though it was not clear if that was the case with the strikes on Jan. 17.

“We’re going to continue to do what we need to do to protect our forces but also deter future attacks from the Houthis,” Ryder said before the strikes.

Just like Air Forces Central (AFCENT) and Naval Forces Central (NAVCENT), Space Forces Central Command helps the U.S. respond to whatever contingency arises in the Middle East.

“It’s in our DNA,” Plumb said. “It’s part of the way we fight, it’s part of the way we think, it’s part of the way we operate.”

Robert D. Gaylor, Fifth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, Dies

Jan. 17, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

Robert D. Gaylor, who served from 1977-1979 as the fifth Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, died Jan. 17. He was 92.

Gaylor was appointed to the service’s top enlisted job by chief of staff Gen. David C. Jones—for whom he had served as senior enlisted advisor in U.S. Air Forces in Europe. He also advised Jones’ successor, Gen. Lew Allen Jr., and Air Force Secretary John C. Stetson.

During his tenure as CMSAF, Gaylor focused on leadership training and development in the noncommissioned officer corps—working to open 70 leadership schools across the Air Force—as well as reducing management levels and bread-and-butter issues, such as assignment choice and travel for enlisted families.

He was also instrumental in bringing about uniforms for pregnant women, a non-trivial matter—the Air Force was suffering a brain drain of mid-career women in the mid-1970s because they had no way to serve in uniform. Retention of women rose significantly afterwards.

After his retirement in 1979, Gaylor continued to talk to Airmen across the Air Force about leadership and his experiences in the service, until just a few months before his death. In retirement, he taught leadership and management at USAA, a private insurance firm that focuses on Active-Duty and veteran customers.

Gaylor entered the Air Force in 1948, just a year after the service was created, and after graduation from basic training, chose to be a security policeman. In his early career he was assigned to bases in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Korea. In a 2017 interview, Gaylor said that only a small handful of those in his basic training class had a high school diploma, and having one helped him excel in his early career.

He attained the rank of master sergeant in 1956 at the age of 25, after just seven years in the service. In the interview, Gaylor said he never had any formal professional military education before becoming a senior master sergeant, and observed that in those days, if a command had no NCO academy, its NCOs went without. He was later determined that Airmen have equal access to PME.

In 1958, master sergeant was the highest enlisted rank in the service, and Gaylor wanted to advance, so he applied to become a warrant officer. His application was returned without action, but he was encouraged to stay in service because the Air Force would be creating two further enlisted ranks: senior master sergeant and chief master sergeant. He reached the new highest enlisted rank in 1968.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Robert Gaylor’s official portrait

When NCO academies were created, Gaylor was invited to be among the first instructors.

During the Vietnam War, Gaylor served in Thailand, back in the military police field, after which he went to Strategic Air Command and helped re-establish its NCO academy.

At USAFE, starting in 1971, he traveled around European bases teaching management techniques. The following year he established the USAFE Command Management and Leadership Center, an in-residence 60-hour NCO course. The year after that, Jones chose him as the USAFE Senior Enlisted Advisor.

At the highest ranks, he often had to invent his own duties. While at the Personnel Center, he assigned himself the job of being a leadership mentor and evangelist for the Air Force, traveling widely across the service, and creating NCO academies in as many organizations as possible.

Speaking at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in August 2023, Gaylor told Airmen that the “three words” that are key to an Air Force career are “‘aptitude’ and ‘attitude’…which leads to ‘opportunity.’”

His formula for success, he said, was “every day, every day, every day: attitude, aptitude, head on straight, team player. There is no magic formula. It is a simple process.”

Gerald R. Murray, the 14th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force from 2002-2006, said Gaylor was “the most beloved” among the former CMSAFs and had an unrivaled “love for our Airmen and Guardians, and families.”

Gaylor was “a gifted orator” who, with “ever-refreshing messages and delightful humor always uplifted the spirit of all who were in his company, or had the opportunity to hear him speak, whether individually or in a large audience,” Murray said.

Gaylor “remained an active Airman … leader, advocate, supporter, mentor and dear friend to the very last day of his life, leaving a legacy like no other before or after. A legend among us, he was truly one of a kind,” Murray added.

In 2006, the NCO Leadership Academy at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, was named in Gaylor’s honor.