Contractor Crashed MQ-9 on Loan from Air Force in 2023, Causing $16 Million in Damage

April 4, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

A contractor caused $16 million in damages to a U.S. Air Force drone, according to a new accident investigation report. The MQ-9 was on loan from the service as part of a program to capture data from hypersonic tests before it crashed last year.

The crash took place Jan. 18, 2023, at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif. Crew members, while members of the California National Guard, were working as civilians for Integrated Innovation, Incorporated—known as i3—at the time.

i3 helps operate the Defense Department’s SkyRange program, which uses MQ-9 and RQ-4 drones to clear hypersonic test ranges and relay telemetry. The crash was not during a flight to support a hypersonic test; its purpose was to test operations and procedures for the MQ-9, according to the investigation report, released this week 14 months after the crash.

Air Force investigators determined that before takeoff, the crew chief and pilot failed to note during preflight checks that the drone’s angle of attack (AOA) gauge in the ground control station cockpit was displaying between 6.5 and 7.0 degrees, well outside the –1.0 it is supposed to show.

As a result, when the MQ-9 gathered speed to take off, warning messages and tones started flashing on the cockpit head’s up display. At that point, however, the drone had already reached 78 knots of indicated airspeed—the rotation speed at which point the pilot is supposed to initiate takeoff.

The drone sensor operator had not noticed or called out the aircraft reaching that speed and called for the flight to be aborted when the warning message appeared. When the MQ-9 left the ground, the drone pilot told the sensor operator to “Kill the GDT,” severing any sort of connection between the ground terminal and the aircraft.

The MQ-9, which never got more than 18 feet off the ground, slammed back into the runway and veered off to the left.

“As the [aircraft] careened into the dirt surface surrounding the runway, all three landing gears collapsed causing catastrophic damage to the aircraft’s radome, lower data link antenna, [Multi-Spectral Targeting System], and the engine,” the accident investigation report states. The estimated cost of the damage was $16.1 million, though the report does not say if the aircraft was salvageable.

Ultimately, investigators determined the primary cause of the crash was the decision to sever the communications link between the aircraft and the ground terminal. Using a simulator, officials said they were able to determine that “although the [aircraft] stalled and impacted the runway hard, not cutting the GDT allowed us to maintain aircraft control to a full-stop on the runway.”

Officials also faulted the pilot for failing to note the AOA gauge was displaying data that would cause an alarm, and the sensor operator for failing to call out when the MQ-9 reached rotation speed and attempting to abort the flight after rotation speed had been reached. All were “substantially contributing factors” to the crash.

Both the pilot and sensor operator were current and qualified to instruct and conduct MQ-9 launch and recovery operations, the report noted.

The drone was assigned to the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., but no personnel from that wing were involved in the mishap. The Air Force’s MQ-9 fleet averages about 4.9 Class A mishaps per year, according to the latest available data. Other MQ-9s have been damaged or destroyed by Russian aircraft and Houthi missiles in the past year.

i3 continues to work on SkyRange, which officials say has allowed the Pentagon to test hypersonic systems faster and more effectively than before—limited test capabilities and infrastructure have been common complaints in the U.S.’s hypersonic efforts.

B-52s Fly with US, South Korea, and Japan Fighters Hours After North Korea Missile Launch

April 4, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Two B-52 bombers flew with fighter aircraft from the U.S., South Korea, and Japan southwest of Kyushu Island near the East China Sea on April 2, marking the first trilateral aerial exercise between the nations this year and just the third one ever.

The exercise also came just a few hours after North Korea tested an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle. Pyongyang’s state-controlled media claimed a successful launch of the weapon, with the missile flying approximately 403 miles and reached a maximum altitude of 62 miles before landing in waters near Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The B-52 Stratofortresses that participated in the trilateral drill came from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., flying from their deployed location on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Three USAF F-16s, four Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two Republic of Korea Air Force F-15K Slam Eagles flew across the airspace southwest of Korea’s Jeju Island. The region is where the Air Defense Identification Zones of South Korea and Japan intersect and is also close to Taiwan.

“The enhanced complexity and fluidity of our collective forces demonstrate the strength of the partnership and cooperation between the three countries, keeping with commitments made to regularize defensive exercise and increase readiness.” Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement.

Each of the two U.S.-Japan-South Korea aerial exercises last year also featured fighters from all three countries escorting U.S. bombers: one with B-52s and one with B-1s. Leaders from the three nations pledged during a summit last year to hold more trilateral exercises.

Later in the day, one B-52 diverted from its route and made a landing at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, Stars and Stripes reported, marking the bomber’s second such unexpected landing in Japan in nine months. Pacific Air Forces did not immediately respond to a query from Air & Space Forces Magazine for the cause of the diversion or further details.

The North Korean missile test marks the latest provocation by leader Kim Jong-un, who has ramped up launches in recent months. When launched at a normal angle, intermediate-range ballistic missile like the one tested can reach up to 3,100 miles, making the weapon capable of targeting any U.S. military base in Japan and Guam, according to the Republic of Korea Defense Ministry.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is set to welcome Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio at the White House on April 8. They are expected to discuss efforts counterbalance China’s influence in the region and concerns regarding Pyongyang’s continued missile and nuclear development.

How the 10th Air Force Hopes to Boost Readiness with ‘Carnivore Hunger Games’

April 4, 2024 | By David Roza

Brig. Gen. Regina Sabric had just taken command of the 10th Air Force, the combat arm of Air Force Reserve Command, when her boss, AFRC head Lt. Gen. John Healy, urged his troops to make readiness their top priority.

As Healy described it in a task order issued in August, a ready force is fully manned, trained, equipped, and medically fit so that it can respond immediately to a conflict.

“All Airmen must actively engage in generating personal and unit readiness with adherence to standards and orders,” Healy wrote. “DO NOT wait on your units to coordinate. Understand and leverage every tool and resource available.”

Healy is not the first or only Air Force official to push for readiness. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin recently unveiled a sweeping re-optimization plan in part to make the force ready for war faster. But readiness can be a challenge in the Reserve. The Active-duty Air Force increasingly relies upon it, but the component lacks adequate and predictable funding, according to a 2022 RAND report.

“Our MAJCOM continues to face challenges in the current and upcoming fiscal years—with little or no growth in top line budget authority, continuing resolutions, rebalancing [reserve personnel appropriation] and [operations and maintenance] funds to enable needed training, development, and re-missioning of some of our units,” Healy wrote.

A few months into her tenure as 10th Air Force commander, having had a chance to assess all her units, Sabric decided it would take some creative thinking to meet the challenge.

“Nobody has enough money and everybody would like more, but we’ve got to start thinking outside the box: How can we do things better?” she told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “What could be motivating to people?”

A Reserve Airman assigned to the 307th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron marshals a B-52 Stratofortress at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, May 6, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Ted Daigle)

Sabric decided to tap into the military’s competitive nature through a contest called Carnivore Hunger Games. “Carnivore” refers to the 10th Air Force’s mascot and its motto ‘Never the prey,’ while Hunger Games refers to the dystopian book and movie series where teenagers fight to the death with limited weapons and resources. “Hunger Games” is also a term that emerged on unofficial Air Force social media forums to describe the large spending reduction after the 2013 U.S. budget sequestration, but Sabric said that use of the term was unconnected to Carnivore Hunger Games.

In Carnivore Hunger Games, the 17 units assigned to the 10th Air Force have 90 days to show the highest percentage of growth across 19 categories of readiness. The categories include how many enlisted troops in the unit have reached their 5- and 7-level training; how many Active-duty status quotas filled; how many Airmen passed their PT test, checked off all their education requirements, are qualified for duty world-wide, and have their paperwork and performance briefs filled out.

“I want to make sure no Airman is coming to work worrying about ‘hey, I haven’t gotten paid,’ or ‘I haven’t done my travel voucher,’” Sabric said. “If we can take care of some of the financial readiness, that in turn takes care of the Airmen.”

Other categories involve closing out deficiencies flagged by the wing Inspector General and clearing outstanding travel orders and payments for goods and services. The prize: up to $100,000 in Reserve Personnel Appropriations (RPA) funding. RPA covers travel and other costs associated with bringing Reservists on duty.

“When a Reserve Airman is brought onto Active-duty status, whether for training, operational support, or participation in exercises, RPA funds may be utilized,” 10th Air Force spokesperson Christopher Wilson said.

More RPA funding could mean more opportunities for training, which makes it “critical to maintaining a high level of readiness within the Reserve components,” he added.

Congress provides Reserve units with enough RPA funding through the regular appropriations process, Sabric said, but the 10th Air Force had some extra funding left over this year.

“I could have peanut butter spread this among 17 units and given everybody a very small slice of it, but my hope is that competition will drive results,” she said. “By doing this, I think I’ll be able to move the needle further on readiness and then share across the units how they improved on these 19 different areas.”

920th Rescue Wing pararescuemen render care to a patient simulating injuries as HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters land at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida, Nov. 18, 2022. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Kelly Goonan)

The 10th Air Force took a baseline of its units before the Hunger Games kicked off on Feb. 15. Each unit will track its performance on the 15th of every month until May 15. Sabric hopes the emphasis on percentage growth in each category, rather than just topline percentage, will encourage middle-of-the-road units. Slides breaking down the contest were posted to the popular unofficial Facebook page Air Force amn/nco/snco shortly after it began.

“Really the premise is the percent increase in this 90-day sprint for readiness,” she said. “The better you do, the more points you get.”

The first place prize is up to $100,000 in RPA funding, the second place prize is up to $50,000, and the third place prize is up to $25,000, but the exact size of the purse is tailored to the size of the unit that wins it, Sabric explained. There are wing, group, and squadron-sized units among the 17 that form the 10th Air Force. But more than the prize, the competition is about incentivizing good habits and sharing lessons learned from the experience.

“Everybody should be doing these tasks to begin with,” the general said. “If something happens in the world, we’re not going to have time to train, so we need to always hold onto basic readiness, and that’s what this is driving for.”

Almost two months into Carnivore Hunger Games, the contest has been “an outstanding success so far,” Wilson said.

“The consistent progress we’re witnessing speaks volumes about our team’s strong work ethic and dedication,” he said. “We’re excited to see this level of commitment and anticipate that the high standards set will continue to climb as the competition progresses.”

Sabric’s idea and Healy’s call for readiness reflect a trend that started after 9/11 where the Air Reserve Component (ARC) is relied on as an operational force, rather than as a strategic one.

“There is inherent tension and contradiction in the operational force construct, for it insists on having reserve components—which are, by definition, a part-time force to be held in ‘reserve’—that are also ready for conflict at any time,” RAND noted in its 2022 report.

The Active-duty Air Force does not have enough troops or equipment to meet all its requirements alone, RAND wrote. But the growing reliance on the Reserve components often comes into conflict with policies on how to pay Reservists, some of which date back to colonial times as a way of preventing overuse of the Reserves. For example, legal structures dictate rigid funding streams for each component, funding is often not aligned with end strength, and the policies restricting Reservists’ service are often ambiguous.

“As one interviewee said about the often unclear and ambiguous processes associated with the evolution toward frequent or long-term use of the ARC for active-duty missions, ‘We’re building the plane as we’re flying it,’” RAND noted.

The long-term reliance on ARC does not appear to be changing anytime soon, which could make a case for clarifying the Air Force’s vision for the Reserve component.

“This may be a good time for the U.S. Air Force to revisit the ongoing dialogue about the purpose and appropriate employment of its ARC—especially with regard to sustained operational support” to the Active-duty force, researchers wrote.

Navy Shoots Four LRASMs in ‘Graduation Exercise,’ as Air Force Ramps Up Multiyear Buy

April 3, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The Navy recently launched four AGM-158C-3 Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles at once, in what’s being billed as a “graduation exercise for the latest configuration” of the stealth LRASM. The event follows closely the Air Force beginning multiyear procurement of the joint-service missile.

Lockheed Martin revealed the milestone in an April 3 release, saying it took place during the “12th Integrated Test Event,” but provided no details on where and exactly when it was conducted. However, the contractor stated that the test showed LRASM’s “inherent high-end lethality from mission planning through kill chain integration and its effects on the target.” The Navy touted the test as having met all mission objectives.

The missile is intended for use “against heavily defended surface combatants that no other weapon in the inventory can provide,” Lockheed said, and the test marked “‘the next big step in LRASM’s evolution.” The test “lays the foundation for increased capabilities to come.”

In its fiscal 2025 budget request, the Air Force asked Congress to ramp up a multiyear buy of LRASM, aiming to acquire 549 of the weapons through fiscal 2029 at a cost of $1.7 billion. The higher production rate follows the fiscal 2024 buy of just 27 missiles, at a cost of $87.8 million. The unit cost for FY24 was $3.24 million per round, while the five-year buy reduces that unit cost slightly, to $3.22 million per missile.

Air Force budget documents project 115 missiles bought in fiscal ’25, followed by 99 in ’26; 111 in ’27, and 112 each in ’28 and ’29. No LRASMs are planned to be acquired after that. Production of the C-3 variant for the Air Force cuts in during FY26.

The Navy’s nomenclature for the LRASM is “Increment 1” of the “Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) weapon development program,” but it’s not clear if the Air Force plans to follow up its LRASM buy with Increment 2, which the Navy has said will be the Hypersonic Air-Launched OASuW, or HALO.

The Air Force said LRASM “addresses an air-launch capability gap by providing flexible, long-range, advanced anti-surface capability against high-threat maritime targets.”

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters when the 2025 budget request was rolled out last month that “fiscal constraints” meant that not all programs could be bought as efficiently as USAF would have liked in the coming years, and “we pay a bit more for the same number” of items in some categories. He described this as the “buy to budget” approach.

While the multiyear buy technically begins with Lot 8 in 2024, Congress only recently appropriated funds for that fiscal year, and the increase in quantities does not begin until fiscal 2025. The higher quantities are in Lots 9-12.

A multiyear buy permits the contractor to buy materials in economic quantities while hiring workforce and building tooling to produce at the most efficient rate, knowing how many units are to be produced over several years.

Taking a multiyear approach can also create “synergies in production across different but related programs [that] can generate efficiencies and result in greater production capacity, accelerated delivery, and lower unit costs,” USAF said.

The LRASM is described as belonging to the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) “family,” and the two weapons are produced in the same facility by Lockheed Missiles and Fire Control at Troy, Ala. While the Air Force pays for development of the JASSM variant, the Navy pays for development of the maritime-specific model. The Air Force buys missiles on behalf of both services, but they are funded separately.

The Navy certified an early version of LRASM on the F/A-18EF in 2018, and the Air Force on the B-1B bomber in 2019.

Three F-16s Arrive at Eglin, Ready to Be Modified to Test Autonomous Tech

April 3, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Three F-16 fighters landed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., on April 1. Soon enough, they’ll be modified and flying again to test autonomous technologies key to Collaborative Combat Aircraft and other key programs, the Air Force said April 2.

The plan is to convert six F-16s under the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model – Autonomy Flying Testbed program, or VENOM-AFT. Maj. Ross Elder, VENOM developmental test lead at Eglin, said that the program marks a “pivotal chapter” in the aerial combat advancements.

“This transformative program holds the potential to redefine air combat paradigms by fostering novel autonomous functions for current and future crewed and uncrewed platforms,” Elder said in a release. “We look forward to the culmination of years of engineering and collaboration, as VENOM leads a measured step towards a new age of aviation.”

VENOM first came to light last year, when the Air Force requested nearly $50 million for it in the fiscal 2024 budget and officials detailed their hopes for it. In the 2025 budget, the service is seeking just under $17 million for the effort, the latest in a string of programs meant to test autonomous capabilities. Skyborg, led by the Air Force Research Laboratory, developed aircraft-agnostic autonomous flight software, and the X-62 VISTA was a modified F-16 used to explore maneuvering and tactics of autonomous aircraft, able to simulate the behavior of various designs.

VENOM will take the next step in trying to rapidly expand the service’s knowledge base about autonomy, to ultimately speed up the development of Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which will integrate unmanned drones with manned platforms.

“With regards to VENOM-AFT, rapid tactical autonomy development focuses on ‘speed-to-ramp,’ meaning, go as fast as you can, safely, to ensure we get CCA flying as quickly as possible,” said Lt. Col. Joe Gagnon, 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron commander of the 53rd Wing at Eglin.

The Air Force plans to build at least 1,000 CCAs, with the first ones ready for combat in 2028. Earlier this year, the service selected five companies for the project, of which only two or three will receive follow-on contracts in the next months.

CCAs will play a crucial part in the Air Force’s planned Next Generation Air Dominance “family of systems” centered around a manned fighter. The service plans to dramatically ramp up its investment in NGAD and CCAs in the coming years, allocating $28.48 billion for fiscal 2025-29. Experts have described CCAs as central for the service’s plan to deter conflict and impose costs on a high-level adversary like China. These uncrewed systems could act as force multipliers, enhancing sensor and weapon deployment in contested regions and bolstering the effectiveness and survivability of crewed stealth aircraft.

Upon modification, the VENOM F-16s will undergo developmental and operational testing at Eglin under a collaborative effort led by the 96th Test Wing and 53rd Wing.

“Having both developmental test and operational test pilots working and flying from the same location allows for daily collaboration and reduces the stove piping of knowledge and lessons learned,” said Lt. Col. Jeremy Castor, VENOM operational test lead.

During these tests, pilots will still sit in the cockpit to monitor autonomy functions, while operators will provide feedback during modeling, simulation, and post-flight to the developers to ensure flight objectives are met prior to and during flight. Gagnon stressed “there will never be a time these VENOM aircraft will solely fly by itself” without someone present.

“It’s important to understand the ‘human-on-the-loop’ aspect of this type of testing, meaning that a pilot will be involved in the autonomy in real time and maintain the ability to start and stop specific algorithms,” said Gagnon.

VENOM is also a part of Eglin’s on-going project called Autonomy, Data, and AI Experimentation (ADAx) that is pushing the limit of autonomous capabilities. Last year, Eglin witnessed the maiden autonomous flight of the Osprey MK III unmanned aerial system under ADAx. Like VENOM, a human operator oversaw the aircraft’s autonomous operation within designated airspace during the MKIII test flights.

AFCENT Boss: New Deployment Model May Require ‘More Sustained’ Key Positions

April 3, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

The sweeping changes the Air Force is proposing as part of its re-optimization initiative are intended to strengthen the Pentagon’s ability to deal with China’s growing military might.

But they have important implications for American military posture in the Middle East as well, according to the top Air Force commander for the Middle East.

A top example is the shift to a new deployment model in which larger teams of Airmen—with different specialities and possibly even operating multiple aircraft types—will train and deploy together in “units of action,” either as an entire combat wing or as a force element.

“Those deployable combat wings will be extremely useful in any theater as well if you have these intact teams that are able to go and open a base and operate a base and command airpower,” Air Forces Central (AFCENT) commander Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich told reporters at a Defense Writers Group event April 3. “It’s just going to be a much more coherent capability for us, just like it will be for the Indo-Pacific.”

AFCENT is moving towards the new model as the U.S. seeks to deter Iran and use airpower against the Islamic State group, Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen. Doing so, however, is not without challenges, including when it comes to nurturing relationships with partners in the region.

Some of the key bases AFCENT has relied on in the region for decades, such as the massive Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar—AFCENT’s forward headquarters—and Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia are commanded by one-star U.S. Air Force generals. Operating from these locations can be a delicate political balancing act, which AFCENT officials say is enhanced by relationships commanders build with their counterparts.

Yet the new deployment model will shorten the tours for some commanders, Grynkewich noted, with some rotations going from one year to six months.

“In some cases, we have leadership teams that were in place for a year that will go to six-month rotations,” Grynkewich said. “That will be something that we have to work on and double down on our investment in partnerships.”

Grynkewich, who is due to depart AFCENT later this month after nearly two years to become director of operations for the Joint Staff, said one way to keep ties strong might be to tweak the model so there are longer deployments for some critical headquarters staff.

“We’re looking at how do we supplement the rotational forces with some key positions that will be more sustained over time,” he said. Grynkewich said such positions could be at the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid or involve host nation coordination at some significant bases, though the end state—like all of the Air Force’s re-optimization changes—is not yet fully defined.

One aspect of the Air Force’s re-optimization is particularly encouraging, he said: the Air Force’s push to more coherently develop new technology.

“One layer at the higher strategic level is trying to break down the stovepipes and build integrated capabilities as opposed to the combat air forces building a capability and mobility air forces building another one,” he said.

In 2016, the Air Force released an “Air Superiority 2030 Flight Plan” that argued for a more comprehensive approach to technology development and which was co-authored by then-Col. Grynkewich.

“The main takeaway of that is you really needed kind of an integrated, holistic approach to fielding capabilities,” Grynkewich said of the study. “If your fighter was going to have a certain range, then you needed a tanker that could go certain places to extend that range. If the fighter range was shorter you needed a tanker that could go farther, just as a simple example.”

That is something the Air Force is trying to achieve through the new Integrated Capabilities Command and other efforts.

“I think that is just going to help warfighting capability be developed more holistically in the future,” Grynkewich said. “That’ll be a benefit, no matter where the conflict is. So even though it’s optimized for China … we’re pretty bad at predicting where we’re going to have a conflict. If we end up fighting somewhere else in the world, whether it’s the Middle East or elsewhere, I think it’ll have a benefit.”

Pentagon’s Only Aerial Spray Unit Tests Its Life-Saving Mission on New C-130J

April 3, 2024 | By David Roza

From fighting wildfires to landing on ice to hunting hurricanes, the C-130 transport plane has performed a wide range of missions outside its original purpose of ferrying troops and supplies into combat zones since it first flew in 1954. One of those missions is aerial spray, when a Hercules spritzes chemicals out the back that kill disease-carrying insects such as mosquitoes, prevent weeds from covering unexploded ordnance on testing ranges, and even to disperse oil spills.

The 910th Airlift Wing, based at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, is the Defense Department’s only large-area, fixed wing aerial spray unit, and late last month they took the mission into the future by testing their spray equipment on the new C-130J-30 Super Hercules, which is due to replace the wing’s current workhorse, the H model of the C-130.

“This is a huge win for Youngstown,” Tech. Sgt. Thomas Wiesen, an aerial spray system maintainer, said in a March 28 press release. “The future of our base is the J model and we needed to prove our spray systems could continue the mission on the new airframe.”

Senior Airman Dylan Miller, an aerial spray system maintainer assigned to the 910th Maintenance Squadron, caps the spray boom sleeve of the 910th Airlift Wing’s electronic modular aerial spray system on board a C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft from Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, visiting Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, March 21, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Noah J. Tancer)

The 910th does not have its own J models yet; those are slated to replace the Hs over the next three years starting this summer. For the test, reservists installed an electronic modular aerial spray system (EMASS) on a J model flown up from Keesler Air Force, Miss. Experts from the C-130 System Program Office at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex helped adjust the J’s electrical system to power up the machine and install special troop doors so that the spray booms could stick out the side of the aircraft.

The EMASS itself is a new system: members of the 910th used it operationally for the first time in March 2023 to help create fire breaks for wildfire prevention and unexploded ordnance removal at the Utah Test and Training Range. The computerized EMASS sports electronically-controlled valves, which makes it easier to use than the 1980s-era MASS, where valves had to be closed by hand.

“With the EMASS you program in what you need and the computer does what you want it to do,” Staff Sgt. Zachary Wilson, an aerial spray maintenance technician, said in a release at the time. “The computer is a game changer. What we can do now goes so much further than what we could before.”

Most of the spare parts for the MASS are no longer in production, and the older system could carry just 2,000 gallons, while the EMASS can carry up to 3,500 gallons. The 910th aims to replace all five of its legacy MASSs with five new EMASSs.

When the C-130J-30 took off from Youngstown with a water-filled EMASS on board on March 21, it was flown by test pilots from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., and crewed by spray-qualified loadmasters from Youngstown’s 757th Airlift Squadron. Airmen fastened droplet sample cards to the aircraft’s rear fuselage and tail to test how the EMASS sprayed water out of the J model. They also laid sample cards across Youngstown’s runway to test how the water drifted to Earth.

When testing wrapped up on March 25, the J had passed, but there are still some crew-related challenges to clear. The J model requires three crew members, two fewer than the H model, according to the Air Force.

“The J model currently seems as capable as an H model for aerial spray,” Lt. Col. Karl Haagsma, the chief entomologist assigned to the 757th Airlift Squadron, said in the release. “But there are some significant hurdles to be overcome due to redundancies in navigator and flight engineer positions.”

The Air Force employs medical entomologists—who study insects and the diseases they can carry—to protect the health of service members. In the years since the aerial spray mission began in 1973, the 910th Airlift Wing has responded to powerful storms such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, where Airmen sprayed the chemical Dibrom over Louisiana to kill mosquitos and filth flies that hatch in the standing flood water left over from a storm.

“The targeted insects are capable of transmitting diseases such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis, West Nile virus and malaria,” Lt. Col. Steve Olson, a 910th entomologist at the time, said in a release. “If not controlled, the probability people will contract these diseases, either in single incidents or in widespread outbreaks, increases greatly.”

A C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft from Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, sprays water during a low pass at Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, as part of a flight test of the 910th Airlift Wing’s unique electronic modular aerial spray system, March 25, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Donnie Hatheway III)

The crews flew before dusk and at night, when the mosquito population was most active, often as low as 150 feet to maximize the insecticide efficacy over the spray area. A gallon of Dibrom treats 128 to 256 acres, a rate of application that does not pose a hazard to humans, Olson said. The 910th uses only Environmental Protection Agency-registered materials, according to the Air Force, but Naled, the chemical that makes up Dibrom, is banned in Europe due to safety concerns.

One of the pilots at the time, Col. Jeffrey Van Dootingh, who later became commander of the 910th, recalled flying over downtown New Orleans “right between the big skyscrapers,” he told the Tribune Chronicle, an Ohio newspaper, in 2022. He said the linemen restoring electricity were particularly grateful for their work.

“They were getting up to 200 (mosquito) bites per minute,” he said. “After we sprayed, they were getting one or two. … I loved that mission because we got immediate feedback.”

Van Dootingh was also there when the 910th sprayed oil-dispersing agents over 30,000 acres of the Gulf of Mexico after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest marine oil spill in history. Dispersants purportedly make oil slicks biodegrade faster by dispersing them into tiny droplets. Scientists found that Corexit, the chemical used heavily as a dispersal agent after Deepwater, dramatically improved the air quality for first responders, but the jury is still out on whether it is actually more toxic to marine life than oil alone, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine wrote in 2019.

Crews have also sprayed herbicides over the Utah Test and Training Range to prevent weeds from covering up unexploded ordnance. None of these missions appear to be going away anytime soon, and now the 910th has new aircraft and technology to keep pace.

“We’ve known H-models for 20-plus years here,” said Master Sgt. Ethan Sanchez, a spray-qualified loadmaster with the 757th. “So us getting the J-model here and verifying our aerial spray system worked on it, I think, shines a light on our ability to adapt to a new airframe and bring our spray mission to the next level with that aircraft.”

Growing Commercial SATCOM Raises Trust Issues for Pentagon

April 3, 2024 | By Shaun Waterman

News last fall that SpaceX owner and CEO Elon Musk restricted the Ukrainian military’s use of his Starlink satellite broadband service to stymie an attack on Russian forces highlighted the extraordinary power wielded in that war by a single business owner with some outlandish ideas.

But beyond the antics and the angst associated with Musk and his controversial views, Starlink and its competitors are leading tectonic shifts in the commercial market for global satellite communications (SATCOM)—and driving emerging geopolitical risks for nation-state customers, including the U.S.

In the past five years, the private sector satellite market has mushroomed. Global connectivity, like earth observation, is now available from a small but growing international ecosystem of private sector players, including the low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations operated by Starlink and competitors OneWeb and Amazon’s Kuiper.

In some ways, this is nothing new, former Space Force deputy chief technology and innovation officer Charles Galbreath said. The U.S. military has for decades purchased as much as 90 percent of its SATCOM from the private sector.

“And I see that growing,” added Galbreath, a retired colonel who spent 30 years working on U.S. military space operations and is now a senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute’s Spacepower Advantage Center of Excellence.

SATCOM as a ‘Hybrid’ Capability

Just this past week, the Pentagon listed SATCOM as one of the half-dozen space mission areas it sees as inherently “hybrid”—where it will seek to use both private sector and government capabilities. “Whether that’s SATCOM, whether that’s imagery, whether that’s on-orbit servicing in the future, you name it, the commercial market is going to continue to grow. And the DOD, and particularly the Space Force, wants to continue to leverage that,” Galbreath said.

What is new, according to Space Force officials, is how global businesses are increasingly balancing international commercial or consumer markets against government and military contracts from the U.S. and its allies.

Even established satellite providers like Iridium, which has had a LEO constellation for a quarter century, are expanding their commercial services to better serve small- and medium-sized businesses in sectors like the Internet of Things (IoT), reducing their dependency on government and military customers.

Increasingly, commercial SATCOM providers are “paid by the global population, not paid by the Space Force, so their loyalties are to their bottom [line] dollar,” said Barbara Baker, the deputy program executive officer for military communications and position, navigation, and timing (PNT) at Space Systems Command.

But these New Space commercial players are also more innovative, developing new capabilities which the U.S. military could use, she told Air & Space Forces Magazine on the sidelines of SATELLITE 2024, a major space industry trade show in Washington, D.C.

“They’re not only innovating, they’re innovating way faster. They found a [global] marketplace” that could fund research and development, Baker said. “DOD can take advantage of that.”

**Image courtesy of Iridium Communications**

A Starlink Moment?

But in taking advantage of those innovative SATCOM capabilities, Galbreath said, the military needs to weigh possible geopolitical risks, like Starlink’s geofencing in Ukraine. Officials should “look at who else was using that system, and if they don’t like the other partners, back away, because there will be multiple providers available,” he said. Competition gives the government options, he added.

The risks are front and center in space acquisition at this moment, he noted, because of “the limited set, a growing set, but a limited set right now, [of suppliers for key services.] That places a lot more power in the hands of the folks that can deliver capabilities today.”

For instance, Galbreath noted, Starlink is the only company currently able to offer global broadband connectivity via a mega constellation in LEO.

“What is unique about Elon Musk’s situation with Starlink is right now they’re the only ones providing that type of capability,” he said. “As other competitors enter the market, and his monopoly is eroded, his outsized personal influence will quickly erode as well.”

Nonetheless, Galbreath also noted that walking away from Starlink might not be so simple, even once its competitors are fully operational. SpaceX, which launches and operates Starlink, is a major partner for the Space Force given its status as the only purveyor of reusable rockets and one of a small handful of launch providers.

“So he does have that additional leverage that’s potentially in play, which is why having a robust and industrial base with multiple providers is so critical” across all space mission areas, Galbreath said.

Multiple vendors offer the government options for different kinds of missions, said Lt. Col. Christopher Cox, branch chief for SATCOM, PNT and, space data network architecture at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration.

“There’s different types of [satellite] networks that are used for different purposes,” he said in a brief interview. A commercial broadband internet connection like Starlink might be appropriate for “morale and recreation. Those networks have one set of security considerations, one set of reliability considerations.” But the networks that supported operational missions are “high layer, exquisite, bespoke,” he said, “And the ultimate requirement for DOD is to be able to support that whole range of networks.”

Deciding which services can be used for which purposes isn’t always straightforward, noted Baker. “Depending on anti-jamming capability, depending on the threat environment, depending on issues like, which signal do I need? If it’s [Military Ka band], I can’t get that through commercial, so we have to look at all that … But it’s a tricky question, because it has to be part of an integrated picture.”

The Real Change

More tricky still, the new LEO constellations offer more than just point-to-point connectivity. Traditional geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite communications operated on a simple “bent pipe” principle, where the user terminal points up at a single satellite at a fixed position in the sky, which then sends its signal straight back down to a ground station connected to the network.

But because satellites in low Earth orbit move quickly across the sky, LEO constellations require orchestration: Satellites, user terminals, and ground control stations all need to be networked together and remotely managed.

This means the days are gone when the military could just buy bandwidth from satellite providers to power its own networks, according to acquisition officials and space industry executives.

“The real big change over the past few years has not been to LEO, but to [SATCOM as] a managed service,” Rick Lober, head of military and government business for satellite operator Hughes, said during a SATELLITE 2024 panel discussion.

A managed service puts a great deal of power in the hands of the provider, as the Ukrainians have discovered with Starlink, explained a former U.S official who has worked as a contractor there. “What they love about it is, it works out of the box,” they said. “You take it off the truck and in five minutes you’re online. … But that [user experience] is enabled by the same granular network management that makes it possible for him [Musk] to play God, to reach out and say, ‘You can use it here, but not there.’”

Starlink did not respond to a request for comment submitted through its parent company SpaceX.

A Support Forces of Ukraine soldier installing a Starlink terminal on July 21, 2022. **Credit: Support Forces of Ukraine Command**

Playing God

These issues are not unique to Starlink, Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. His company has run a LEO constellation providing managed services to customers including the U.S. government and military since 1998, but in most market segments they do not compete directly with Starlink.

Desch said he would be very reluctant to turn service off in any area, because doing so would cut off all Iridium devices there used by everyone—including humanitarian aid organizations and emergency communication systems for planes and trains.

Such a move could be a blunt instrument, especially in wartime, when the front line could move suddenly and unpredictably.

“In situations where other operators may be trying to make a choice between activities they like and those they don’t like,” he said, “I think they’re probably doing as much damage as they’re doing good by either turning the service off or leaving it on,” in a given locality.

The problem, Desch pointed out, is in any given geographical area where bad actors might be using Iridium service, good guys are too.

“In most cases we’re used more by the good guys than the bad guys,” he said. “And regardless, it’s impossible for us to tell them apart since we don’t provide direct service to the customer.”

Because Iridium is a network wholesaler, Desch explained, “We go to market through hundreds of third-party resellers,” and have limited visibility into who the end users are.

The safety-critical applications powered by Iridium and the communications they enable in disaster zones are still a humanitarian imperative anywhere on the planet, he said.

Iridium’s global coverage “is literally a life-or-death issue,” Desch added.

But he stressed that, “if I’m ever told that ‘Terrorists are using one of your devices,’ and given information for that specific device and asked to turn it off, it wouldn’t take anything more. … We would of course respond to lawful orders and would jump on any requests like that.”

Restricting service more broadly, though, would undermine the work the company had done over many years to build partnerships with its big customers.

“We’ve worked hard to build up trust in our service that we do things in a very consistent way. Legality is our starting point. We are an extremely ethical company that is transparent as a public company. We are balanced and fair, and as apolitical as we can be,” he said.

Taiwan

Other governments also appear to be hedging their geopolitical risk, up to and including supporting or launching their own Starlink competitors. The role of Starlink in the Ukraine conflict and Musk’s previous comments that Taiwan was an “integral part” of China, were reportedly a wake-up call for Taipei—especially when the terrestrial networks and undersea fiber optic cables which provide the island’s connectivity would be vulnerable in a shooting war with China.

According to the New York Times, Taipei broke off negotiations with Starlink when Musk balked at a requirement that he form a joint venture, with a majority local ownership, to operate on the island.

Officials say Taiwan is exploring its own LEO constellation, and has already launched two experimental satellites. In the meantime, a Taiwanese telecommunications provider has struck a deal with Starlink’s competitor OneWeb.

Embracing Change and Traditional Values to Win the Battle

April 3, 2024

The global environment is shifting and evolving at a pace unlike any we’ve ever seen before in our country’s history. Our armed forces must not only adapt to this new reality; they must also undergo nothing short of a reinvention in light of not only global realities and technological advances, but also societal and even philosophical changes.

None of this is unprecedented. Since our country’s founding, the United States and its armed forces have each continually adapted to changing norms with impressive resolve. At the same time, we’ve also held to the values and beliefs that have defined our country for nearly 250 years.

The reality of change also affects defense contractors like King Aerospace, which provides numerous MRO and contractor logistical support (CLS) services to the U.S. government and our military.

King Aerospace stands firm in its embrace of what could be termed ‘traditional’ values, including – above all – a commitment to God, Country and Family. “All my energy as a government defense contractor is focused on that mission,” says company Founder and Chairman Jerry King. “It’s a commitment to my country and it’s a commitment to touching lives and changing them for the better.”

That focus and commitment, he continues, isn’t always evident in the military procurement environment. “Over my 40 year career, I’ve been in a lot of facilities where there simply was no leadership within the organization, so very little work got done,” he says. “You could blatantly see money getting flushed down the toilet.”

‘We’re Fighting for Our Lives’

Those experiences, though not common, nonetheless point to a disquieting trend. Just as new global threats emerge to challenge U.S. supremacy and power, our country also faces significant political and social strife within its own borders. That may drive a sense of cynicism and lost purpose, even when supporting critical missions.

King Aerospace is proud to support many U.S. government and armed forces missions, including MRO services for U.S. Customs and Border Protection Dash-8 turboprop aircraft.

To overcome those attitudes, “We need to rock the boat,” says King. “As U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has noted, ‘We’re in a race. And we can’t just hope to win.’ We need to get ready for the challenges ahead, and that’s tough because I think we’ve grown complacent as a country.”

“But change cannot wait,” he emphasizes. “We’ve got to move forward as though we’re fighting for our lives.”

To survive, King Aerospace recognizes that it must also adapt with the times. Doing so, while also adhering to traditional values, “requires a values-based approach to embracing change,” notes James Keyes, author of Education is Freedom: The Future is in Your Hands.

Keyes, former CEO of 7-Eleven, Inc. and former chairman and CEO of Blockbuster Inc., is a close friend of King’s. The two men frequently discuss the importance of leadership and a commitment to service – messages that resonate in both the corporate world and the military procurement environment.

Doing so, however, requires a careful balance between embracing change while also maintaining the values that have brought past success. “A lot of companies and individuals rigidly cling to their values in resisting change of any form, because change is scary,” Keyes notes. “But if you believe strongly enough in your values, you know those values will carry you to a better solution.”

King Aerospace offers a diverse portfolio of services for government, VVIP and other clients across the U.S. and around the globe.

Knowing What’s Inside

Change often arises through challenges, Keyes continues, and challenges offer the opportunity to grow. “Entities that are struggling work harder,” he states. “Adversity is another form of change; it can bring about collapse, or it can be a wakeup call that restores confidence and clarity to weather through any storm.”

That also includes staying open to new ideas, even those that may initially seem contrary to the ‘traditional’ point of view. Keyes emphasized the importance of taking time to listen and learn from others.

“Knowledge is the antidote to fear,” Keyes says. “It’s the light we turn on in the dark so we can understand our situation. That mindset also applies to companies and organizations. Accept that change is inevitable; embrace it, even. Approach those changes with knowledge and understanding, and you can prevail over the competition.”

King hones these insights to three key points. “To succeed in any mission, you need strong leadership,” he says. “You need a strong culture able to inspire the hearts, souls and minds of your employees. And you need to constantly review your processes to ensure they are efficient and that they make sense.”

“Whether in the boardroom or in the hangar, I greatly appreciate Jim’s perspectives on what it takes to lead and to serve,” King adds. “We’ve each taken different paths on our journeys, but we both approach our mission in life with the same values.”

Keyes also complimented King Aerospace, and its founder, for maintaining their integrity throughout many challenges.

“I think Jerry stands above most of us mere mortals on the strength of his character, which is one quality you can’t teach in school,” he concludes. “It’s like picking up a can ofCoca-Cola; you do so because you know what’s inside it. The King Aerospace brand represents integrity, gratitude, humility and compassion. He’s built his entire company around those values.”

Learn more about King Aerospace.