MDA Boss: Let’s ‘Think Creatively’ for Hypersonic Defense While Waiting for New System

MDA Boss: Let’s ‘Think Creatively’ for Hypersonic Defense While Waiting for New System

June 6, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

While lawmakers are pressing the Pentagon to move faster in developing a new missile defense system for intercepting hypersonic weapons, the Missile Defense Agency should focus on developing more immediate, make-do solutions now and not rush to field the more advanced weapon, its director suggested June 6. 

The in-development Glide Phase Interceptor “is a tip-to-tail designed system to counter the threats out of 2035, not today,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath A. Collins said during an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Yet there is growing concern regarding China and Russia’s hypersonic capabilities—Russia has used hypersonic weapons in its war with Ukraine, and a 2023 Department of Defense report described China as having the world’s leading hypersonic weaponry. In response, Congress passed a provision late last year mandating that GPI reach initial operational capability by 2029. 

MDA’s budget documents don’t project delivery of the interceptor to even start until 2035. And Collins, who previously served as the Air Force’s program executive officer for weapons, seems less interested in trying to hurry the program along than he does in finding another solution. 

“It is an important program to get us where we need to, but it’s going to take some time,” Collins said. “But to bring that long-look capability to the hypersonic fight, we’ve been tasked to think creatively and bring capability sooner—2029, ’30. And that is really going to take maybe some different style of thinking than the traditional ‘start a new weapon.’ It’s most likely going to be a weapon that already exists today. What can we do to get the most out of it?” 

The Pentagon fields a variety of interceptors already, from THAAD to Aegis to SM-6 to the Ground-Based Interceptor. Collins offered few hints on which, if any, could be used for hypersonic defense. 

“We do need to sharpen our pencils,” he said. “I was the weapons buyer for the Air Force. There are other things that are being purchased by other agencies. Can any of those be brought to bear?” 

Whatever MDA decides, it likely won’t be perfect or capable of matching every threat, Collins added. But it could be crucial given the pressing danger. 

“Hypersonic weapons are being used today,” he warned. “And the inventories of our threats are increasing in the years to come.” 

At the same time, Collins said he is not opposed to moving fast on GPI, so long as it remains “fundamentally viable.”

“I could claim that we’re going to do it in 2028 and skip all the testing, and then I would be a case study in acquisition school,” he said. “So I want to increase that as quickly as possible.” 

The U.S. and Japan are collaborating on GPI, signing a formal agreement last month that will help lower costs for the Pentagon. Japan will lead development of rocket motors and propulsion components, with Breaking Defense reporting last week that the Ministry of Defense plans to award a contract by March 2025. 

Collins also offered an update on MDA’s work to detect and track hypersonic launches through its Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor prototyping program. In February, MDA and the Space Development Agency worked together to launch a batch of missile tracking satellites into low-Earth orbit, including MDA’s HBTSS and SDA’s Tracking Layer spacecraft, and Collins said MDA’s satellites are set to begin its hypersonic testbed calibration within a week.

The test will feature “both of those sensors tracking and in looking to see how they’re doing and how they could potentially close the fire control loop,” Collins explained. 

Another calibration flight will follow later this year, he added. 

Air Force Expands Missile Cancer Study to ICBM Launch Silos

Air Force Expands Missile Cancer Study to ICBM Launch Silos

June 6, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

Air Force Global Strike Command’s sweeping study of cancer cases in the intercontinental ballistic missile community will expand this summer to include environmental samples from the launch facilities themselves, one of several next steps officials detailed during a virtual town hall June 5. 

The study, which began in February 2023, has already looked at hundreds of air and swipe samples from launch control centers—the underground bunkers where missileers work in 24-48 hour shifts—and launch control support buildings. Of those hundreds of samples, four were found to have elevated amounts of a possible carcinogen at two launch control centers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., and a Launch Control Equipment Building at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. 

Now, military bioenvironmental experts are preparing to go into the silos that house the ICBMs. 

“We’re targeting this between July and September,” said Brig. Gen. Dave Miller, director of logistics and engineering at Global Strike Command. “We’re working again with the program office and [the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine], and the Surgeon General’s office to build a sample of locations out in the missile fields. As of the current plan right now, we’re going to look at two launch facilities in each of the squadrons at each of the wings, assess that data to take a look at, are we targeting all the right areas, before we go out to the rest of the locations to sample.” 

The goal is to start collecting samples in July and continue through September, officials said during the town hall, which was open to Active-Duty Airmen and members of the public. 

The focus of the sampling will likely be on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the chemical that was found in the control facilities and are “probable human carcinogens” according to the EPA. Officials said they also study samples for “fertilizers, pesticides, volatile organic compounds,” and more. 

It’s not just missileers who have concerns. A Military.com report published last week shared the fears of maintainers who enter the missile silos to conduct repairs. Security forces, food service workers, and others are also worried. 

While they wait for the lab results from the launch facility samples, AFGSC says it will release the findings from its third round of environmental testing in the control facilities at the three active ICBM bases later this summer. 

“Our sampling plan across the three rounds was, we’re there looking for seasonal variations in use of industrial, occupational, environmental, and local chemicals or potential contaminants that might be in the environment. And some of those do fluctuate with us depending on the season,” Col. Tory W. Woodard, commander of the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, said. 

In the few facilities where PCBs were detected above EPA limits, Global Strike officials said they took immediate steps to conduct cleanups. Beyond that, however, Miller said the command is taking steps to deep clean its facilities, standardizing the process across all locations. A finalized contract for that cleaning is coming soon, he added. 

In addition to the environmental sampling, the study is also comparing cancer rates among missileers and other ICBM-related jobs to those among the rest of the military and the general population. Preliminary data released in March showed elevated rates of prostate and breast cancer. 

However, that data only covered Department of Defense electronic medical records from 2001-2021, capturing those who were diagnosed with cancer through the Military Health System (MHS), including through the Tricare health insurance program. The Air Force anticipates the initial data makes up fewer than 25 percent of the total cancer cases that make be captured during the study. 

A second release of data, planned for September and dubbed “Phase 1B” of the epidemiological part of the study, will include more records, including: 

  • Those diagnosed with cancer through the Veterans Affairs health system back to 1991 
  • Those diagnosed through the military system and put in the DOD’s cancer registry back to 1986 
  • Those diagnosed through the VA and put in the DOD cancer registry back to 1976 

Another batch, “Phase 1C,” will follow in the fall and include death records from the National Cancer Institute. 

“Our future will include Phase 2, which is where we get a virtual pooled registry where we pull cancer statistics from a pool of data from 45 different states,” Woodard said. “What we are learning from that and that will be a little bit delayed, probably into 2025, is that it takes us months and months and months to get that data from those multiple states.” 

Elsewhere in the town hall, the first opened to members of the public, many former service members who worked with ICBMs were eager to know how the study would capture their experiences, especially given that many installations and facilities are now closed or decommissioned.

“If you had one of the AFSCs that placed you in the missile community from 1976 going forward, those AFSCs are all involved,” Woodard said of the epidemiological study. “It’s not just those that worked at our current bases, but it’s anybody who worked at our previous bases.” 

Hundreds of participants logged on for the town hall, reflecting the intense interest in the study. For years, the Air Force dismissed concerns among the missile community about connections between their work and cancer. In early 2023, those concerns were raised again as a result of possible increased cases of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, a blood cancer, at Malmstrom Air Force Base. 

AFGSC commander Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere has pledged to take an expansive approach with the study and reiterated to town hall participants that he does not intend to sweep the issue under the rug. 

“I will tell you that it’s personal to all my commanders in the field, it’s personal to my deputy commander sitting to my right, and it’s personal to me,” Bussiere said. “Because we all have experience over our lifetimes, in our careers with dealing with the various different levels and aspects of cancer both inside the department and outside the department.  

“From a personal perspective, Capt. Bussiere dealt with cancer in a different career field in our Air Force. … I also had many friends and colleagues back in the ’90s that had experienced different forms of cancers. And I believe it’s our obligation to completely understand the environment we asked our Airmen to operate in and do what we can to mitigate any risk or exposure.”

Airmen and Guardians Conduct Second ICBM Test in Three Days

Airmen and Guardians Conduct Second ICBM Test in Three Days

June 6, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Airmen and Guardians test launched another Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile on June 6, marking the second ICBM test from Vandenberg Space Force base in three days after a June 4 launch.

The unarmed ICBM, equipped with one re-entry vehicle, was launched at 1:46 a.m. Pacific Time, traveling approximately 4,200 miles at speeds exceeding 15,000 miles per hour. The reentry vehicle arrived at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site on the U.S. Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The missile’s performance was evaluated at the Reagan Test Site (RTS) using data collected during the final phase of the trajectory.

“The fact that we were able to complete two operational test launches in one week is a testimony to the excellence and professionalism of the Airmen and Guardians who do this mission every day,” Col. Chris Cruise, 377th Test and Evaluation Group commander, said in a release. “This morning’s launch demonstrates our commitment to deterrence as we serve as the cornerstone of security for our allies and partners across the globe.”

The joint effort between Air Force Global Strike Command and the Space Force on Thursday employed a randomly selected ICBM from Maelstrom Air Force Base, Mont., that was reassembled upon arrival at the launch site. There are about 400 Minuteman III missiles currently in service across Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming.

Maintenance support for the launch was provided by the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom, with personnel from all three missile wings selected to form a task force. In addition to the 341st, Airmen represented the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.; and the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.

“Our ICBM force provides 24/7 strategic deterrence and stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice as the most responsive leg of the nuclear triad,” Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, commander of AFGSC, said in a release. “These test launches demonstrate and confirm our readiness to deliver a safe, secure, effective, and credible, global combat capability.”

Officials stressed that the routine test launches ensure “the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent,” and validate the U.S. nuclear umbrella to eliminate allies’ need for nuclear weapons.

The Air Force sends advance notification to countries that subscribe to the Hague Code of Conduct and a separate notification to Russia before each launch. The service has repeatedly emphasized the pre-scheduled nature of these tests, which are unrelated to ongoing world events.

An unarmed Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launches during an operational test at 1:46 a.m. Pacific Time 6 June, 2024, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. ICBM test launches demonstrate that the U.S. ICBM fleet is ready, reliable and effective in leveraging dominance in an era of strategic competition. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Joshua LeRoi)

Operational since 1970, the aging LGM-30 Minuteman III is set to be replaced by the LGM-35A Sentinel. Sentinel has a “no-fail” initial operational capability deadline of September 2030 set by U.S. Strategic Command, but earlier this year, the Air Force disclosed critical cost and schedule overruns to the new ICBM program, prompting a Nunn-McCurdy review that temporarily halted work and requires certification from the Secretary of Defense to continue.

In the meantime, experts have noted while the Minuteman III system remains reliable, vital upgrades are needed in certain aspects, such as the 50-year-old silos, electronics, and warheads.

PHOTOS: Invasion-Striped C-130s Soar Over France for 80th Anniversary of D-Day

PHOTOS: Invasion-Striped C-130s Soar Over France for 80th Anniversary of D-Day

June 6, 2024 | By David Roza

Air Force crews flew over France this week in C-130 transport planes decked out in black-and-white “invasion stripes” for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the June 6, 1944 battle where U.S. and allied troops began the liberation of Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

The stripes commemorate the patterns painted on allied aircraft during the invasion so that ground troops could quickly identify them as friendly forces. A year earlier, during the 1943 invasion of Sicily, Allied naval gunners mistakenly shot down 23 C-47 transports and heavily damaged another 37, killing dozens of paratroopers and air crew members. 

“The incident would lead to better coordination between units and the black and white recognition stripes used on aircraft at Normandy,” according to the National World War II Museum. 

Many of the stripes were hastily painted on June 3 for troop transports and June 4 for fighter and bomber squadrons—the short notice was part of an effort to keep the plan a secret, according to the National Air and Space Museum. 

American paratroopers prepare to board their C-47 for their jump into Normandy. (U.S. Air Force photo / National Archives and Records Administration)

Over the years, many U.S. and allied air forces have sported the invasion stripes in honor of D-Day, including A-10 and F-15 fighter jets; C-17 and C-130 transport planes; and the United Kingdom’s Typhoon fighter jet. 

For the 80th anniversary celebration, which will include dozens of events across France over several weeks, multiple USAF aircraft are sporting invasions stripes.

One is a C-130J assigned to the Kentucky Air National Guard. Besides the stripes, the Super Hercules also featured nose art based on the squadron patch of the WWII-era 368th Fighter Squadron which eventually became one of the first units of the Kentucky Air National Guard. 

“I feel honored to be part of this 80th anniversary—to pay tribute to the men who gave so much so we could secure our freedom,” Master Sgt. Lee Stanley, aircraft structural shop chief for Kentucky’s 123rd Maintenance Squadron, said in a press release. Stanley led the paint effort, which started in late May.

“Designing the nose art is something I took a lot of pride in, and something I didn’t take lightly,” he added. “I wanted to make sure we got all the details historically accurate.”

Multiple C-130s from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, also got the stripes, with maintainers painting them on months ago.

Also included in the celebration was the legendary C-47 “That’s All, Brother” that led more than 800 C-47 Skytrain transports that ferried troops and cargo on D-Day.

“A steady and proven aircraft, the C-47 earned for itself a reputation hardly eclipsed even by the more glamorous of combat airplanes,” wrote Air Mobility Command Museum in a tribute to the C-47, which was widely known as the “Gooney Bird.”

The C-47 also evacuated wounded troops, dropped flares for bombing attacks at night, flew reconnaissance and psychological warfare missions, and served as a gunship during the Vietnam War, the museum wrote

All told, more than a dozen U.S. Air Force aircraft are participating in the 80th anniversary events, mostly C-130s. The 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing from Moody Air Force Base, Ga., also sent 30 Airmen to parachute in a June 9 display.

Several dozen D-Day veterans attended the 80th anniversary, which may be the last time many of them see invasion stripes flying overhead.

“For a lot of those guys who fought at D-Day, this might be the last chance they get to see this,” Stanley said. “So we really took a lot of care to make sure we got everything right.”

Air Force Buys First Lot of Norwegian Joint Strike Missiles

Air Force Buys First Lot of Norwegian Joint Strike Missiles

June 5, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force awarded Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace of Norway a $141 million contract on May 31 for the first lot of 48 Joint Strike Missiles, which will equip the service’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighters. It’s the first time the service has bought a tactical missile from another country for operational use since the early 1990s.

The missile will carry the designation “AGM-184A Kraken.”

The Air Force plans to buy 268 JSMs through fiscal 2028 at a cost of $848 million, according to the service’s fiscal 2025 budget documents. The buy profile calls for 48, 50, 54, 57, and 58 missiles across fiscal 2024-2028, with annual funding projected to rise from $161 million to $180 million across that period. In its unfunded priorities list for the fiscal 2025 budget request, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command asked Congress to triple the buy of 50 missiles for the upcoming year.

The JSM is a variant of the Naval Strike Missile developed by Kongsberg with Raytheon. Raytheon makes some components of the NSM in the U.S., but it’s unclear whether the firm will make the same components for the JSM; the company did not immediately respond to queries. The contract says the work will be performed in Kongsberg, Norway, by August 2026.

Two JSMs can fit internally on an F-35, and four more can be carried on wing stations when stealth is not required. The weapon can be used against ground or surface targets and has a quoted range of in excess of 300 nautical miles, depending on the launch profile. It uses an imaging infrared seeker and is guided by GPS, terrain reference, and inertial measurement.

The weapon has the means to communicate with other missiles and its launcher for target updates, and also has onboard systems to help it discriminate targets independently. Kongsberg says these features make it a “fifth-generation” missile. The missile is of the sea-skimming type, and when targeted against a ship, detonates at the water line.

The F-35 Joint Program Office has said the JSM will be certified for most, if not all, F-35 users.

The U.S. weapon most similar to the JSM is the Lockheed Martin AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM); they have similar range but the JSM lacks the LRASM’s stealth capabilities.

Development of the JSM, which was funded by Norway and Australia, has been underway since 2009. In 2015, the weapon was test-fired from an Air Force F-16 at the Utah Test and Training Range.

The contract includes containers, all-up rounds, and test equipment.

The Air Force last bought a foreign tactical missile in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, acquiring just over 200 “Popeye” missiles from Rafael of Israel. The weapon was purchased in two batches, was given the designation AGM-142 “Have Nap” and equipped the B-52H with a standoff, heavy precision conventional strike capability. The Have Nap was withdrawn in 2004.

In budget justifications, the Air Force said the JSM is “a near-term solution for long-range precision strike capability against maritime surface and land targets in highly contested environments.” It works in “GPS-denied environments,” and is survivable “against advanced threat systems.” The “initial fielding and operational use” will be on the F-35A.

The Air Force said JSM development is complete but F-35A integration is still underway.  

The JSM funding requested “supports the entire weapon system to include resolution of obsolescence, end-of-life buys, bridge buys, supplier/parts replacement, to include electronic components used commercially and in short supply, and qualification activities to preserve and increase future production capabilities and capacity.”

The Air Force said the JSM leverages all F-35 developmental test and evaluation activities so far, and relies on the “integration of network-enabled weapons (NEW) capabilities,” but said its “key characteristics are expected to be classified.”

Kongsberg Aerospace and Defense president Eirik Lie said the selection of JSM for the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Norwegian Air Force “fully supports NATO’s vision for interchangeability of equipment between allied nations.”

CYBERCOM Wields ‘Service-Like’ Authority as It Combines USAF, Army Programs

CYBERCOM Wields ‘Service-Like’ Authority as It Combines USAF, Army Programs

June 5, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

U.S. Cyber Command is establishing a new program executive office to oversee its Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture—and aims to exercise more “service-like” authorities as it develops a cyber system of systems to support operations and training, its top acquisition official said June 5. 

CYBERCOM launched its joint architecture five years ago to draw disparate capabilities, platforms, and weapons systems from across the services onto a single platform all cyber operators can share. As explained in the Director of Operational Test & Evaluation’s 2023 report, its goal is to “collect, fuse, and process data and intelligence in order to provide situational awareness and battle management at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels while also enabling access to a suite of cyber capabilities needed to rehearse and then act in cyberspace.” 

The Air Force played a large role in the JCWA, contributing the “Unified Platform” that acts as the central data hub and integrates cyber weapons systems, and “Joint Cyber Command and Control,” a system that provides situational awareness and battle management for cyber forces. The Army contributed programs as well. 

Now those elements are transitioning under the authority of CYBERCOM, Command Acquisition Executive Khoi T. Nguyen told industry insiders at the 2024 C4ISRNET Conference on June 5.

The fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act gave CYBERCOM authority over planning, programming, budgeting, and execution for resources related to its Cyber Mission Forces. 

CYBERCOM is working with OSD acquisition and sustainment to stand up this PEO, Nguyen said. “A&S has been a great partner for us. One of the things that they did this last year in 2023 was to give us system engineering and integration authority over all of JCWA. So what that means is we now have the authority to define the interoperability between the different components to help better drive better integration and better interoperability between the different systems.” 

Budget authority transferred over to CYBERCOM for this fiscal year, but Nguyen said there’s more to do to harness service-level activities. “The next thing that we’re working on … is to try to get more acquisition authority over those shops that belong to the services,” he said. “So the next step for us is to work toward getting milestone decision authority or decision authority over those external PM shops.” 

CYBERCOM is requesting some $106 million in fiscal 2025 for research and development on its Unified Platform, plus nearly $97 million for cyber command and control. It’s seeking tens of millions more for operations and maintenance. Budget documents state that in both cases, the command “changed the project structure to more clearly align projects.” 

Nguyen said CYBERCOM wants to reduce redundancies between service components and ensure everyone is working on the same technology “stack.”  

But as CYBERCOM pushes to use more “service-like” authorities, others are thinking even bigger: A growing chorus of lawmakers, experts, and former commanders see potential for yet another military service branch, this one built to recruit, train, and equip forces for cyber missions.  

The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization bill directs the Pentagon to conduct a study on the efficacy of forming a “U.S. Cyber Force. The measure, which must still pass the full House and be reconciled with a Senate version of the bill, may not survive. But last year, the Senate backed a similar provision, suggesting that interest may be reaching a level that both chambers could approve such a study this year.

Some prominent cyber professionals aren’t buying into the idea yet, however. “I think what people have seen that cyber is changing so rapidly that we have to think about how we’re going to organize ourselves,” former CYBERCOM commander Gen. Paul N. Nakasone said in a recent podcast appearance. “I do not think organizing a service is the best way to do that right now.”

Nakasone continued: “Here’s what I do know. The department’s goal should be able to design, deliver, and deploy the most capable cyber forces that address the threats today and into the future. We need to do it in the shortest amount of time possible and we have to do it at the lowest resource cost. And so Cyber Command and the Department of Defense have already started to look at this idea of being able to model [the command] after Special Operations Command.” 

U.S. Special Operations Command is unique in that it draws forces from multiple services, but has its own acquisition authorities, enabling its small, specialized programs to escape competitive pressures within the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, By following this so-called “SOCOM model,” CYBERCOM leaders believe they can continue to leverage the trained forces from across the different service branches, while acquiring tools and technologies for those forces to use in particular, specialized ways across the cyber domain.  

But retired retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, whose report earlier this year for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies called for forming a 10,000-strong Cyber Force, argues that this approach cannot prioritize cyber readiness the way a dedicated Cyber Force could. 

“The biggest problem we have is in the recruitment,” Montgomery said recently. “The people that you are recruiting to get 25,000 Airmen or 30,000 Sailors or 55,000 Soldiers, whatever the numbers are, is an inherently different person than we need for about 1,000 cyber professionals a year.” 

B-1 Bomber Drops Live Munitions in Exercise over South Korea

B-1 Bomber Drops Live Munitions in Exercise over South Korea

June 5, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

A B-1 Lancer conducted the bomber’s first live munitions drop over South Korea in seven years on June 5. The one-day drill saw the B-1 from the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squardron, with two Republic of Korea F-15Ks, release live 500-pound GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM).

The bomber and the fighters aimed to hit multiple targets all at once with the exercise, according to a 7th Air Force release.

“This training showcases the incredible capabilities of our combined forces to simultaneously strike multiple targets in a contested environment,” Lt. Gen. David Iverson, U.S. Forces Korea deputy commander and 7th Air Force commander, said in a statement Lt. Col. Christian Hoover, 37th EBS commander, added that the exercise also demonstrated the ability of the B-1 fleet to “conduct precision targeting and strike with live weapons in an unfamiliar location.”

JDAM, a GPS-equipped guidance kit, transforms unguided bombs into precision munitions. JDAM-class weapons are the most frequent air-to-ground munition expended in combat, and the system can be fitted onto all U.S. fighters and bombers.

After the munitions drop, the B-1 joined U.S. Air Force’s F-16s and KC-135 Stratotankers; Marine Corps F-35Bs; and ROK Air Force F-35As and KF-16s, for more air-to-air training over the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the deployment of the B-1 bomber is part of the extended deterrence commitment between the two nations, reaffirmed during the Defense Ministers’ meeting in Singapore on June 2.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with ROK Minister of Defense Shin Won-sik on June 2 at the as part of the annual Shangri-la Dialogue. Austin also met with Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru to discuss initiatives aimed at enhancing security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. They condemned North Korea’s recent actions, including nuclear delivery system tests, ballistic missile launches, and illicit arms transfers with Russia.

Austin and the two ministers agreed to implement the first iteration of a new, multidomain trilateral exercise, ‘Freedom Edge,’ this summer.

The bomber exercise comes amid a new surge in tensions between North and South Korea. North Korea recently launched hundreds of balloons filled with trash across the border, prompting the South Korean government to fully suspend the inter-Korean military agreement signed in 2018 that was meant to foster trust between the two countries.

House Appropriators Want to Add F-35s, Block U-2 and F-15 Retirements

House Appropriators Want to Add F-35s, Block U-2 and F-15 Retirements

June 4, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The House Appropriations Committee released its version of the fiscal 2025 defense appropriations bill on June 4, an $833 billion bill that would increase funding for the F-35 and block the service from retiring the U-2 spy plane and some F-15s.

The proposed legislation sets up a conflict with the House Armed Services Committee, which used its version of the National Defense Authorization Act to propose slashing F-35 procurement by 10-20 jets from the services’ request of 68 jets and use the funds to boost the program’s test and evaluation infrastructure. House appropriators want to fund procurement for 76 F-35s for all services in 2025.

Specifically for the Air Force, appropriators want to add two F-35As to the request of 42, for a total of 44 F-35As.

TypePentagon RequestHASC NDAA*HAC Appropriations
F-35A423644
F-35B131113
F-35C131119
TOTAL685876
*After DOD takes corrective actions

The HAC’s spending will would also only fund six new F-35 test aircraft, while the HASC NDAA funded nine.

The NDAA authorizes funding and sets policy for the Pentagon, while the appropriations bill actually provides the money.

Elsewhere in the appropriations bill, lawmakers included provisions that would block the Air Force from being able to “divest or prepare to divest” the U-2 spy plane, as the service has said it wants to do in 2026.

Similarly, the Air Force would not be allowed to divest or prepare to divest “any F-15 aircraft unless the Secretary of Defense certifies … that such aircraft will be replaced in a manner that maintains the current total aircraft assigned at a given unit and the readiness of such unit.”

The Air Force recently revealed its F-15C/D fleet only has a 33 percent mission capable rate, due mainly to the type being past its planned retirement and suffering from structural fatigue, flight restrictions and obsolescent parts. The service plans to retire 37 F-15s in 2025, 11 C/D models and 17 E models.

Appropriators did leave the Air Force’s request for its other major fighter procurement program, the F-15EX, alone, to the tune of $1.8 billion for 18 F-15EX fighters for $1.8 billion. They also went along with the Air Force’s request for 15 KC-46A tankers, providing $2.7 billion for them, and funded eight MH-139 Gray Wolf missile field support helicopters at a level of $294 million.

Lawmakers also met the Air Force request of $3.3 billion for the Next-Generation Air Dominance program—which includes the autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

Some programs may see potential increases if the committee gets its way. Lawmakers added $400 million to “accelerate” the E-7 Wedgetail airborne command and control program, which will succeed the E-3 AWACS. They also tacked on two HH-60W rescue helicopters for the Air Force and two C-130Js for the Air National Guard, even though the Air Force did not ask for either aircraft. It provided $120 million for the HH-60s and $263.4 million for the two C-130Js.

A pay increase of 4.5 percent was funded for all service members, and the appropriators provided $2.5 billion to boost junior enlisted pay by 15 percent, matching the HASC version of the NDAA.

Defense-wide, the HAC provided just $163.5 billion for procurement, a drop of $1.4 billion below the Biden administration’s request and $6.7 billion below the fiscal 2024 enacted level. The HAC also cut the Pentagon’s operations and maintenance request by $2 billion, to $294.3 billion, which was still $7.1 billion above the 2024 enacted level.

In defense-wide research, development, test and evaluation, the HAC provided $145.9 billion, or $2.7 billion more than requested, but $2.4 billion below the fiscal ‘24 enacted amount. That includes $2.1 billion to continue development of the F-35 for all the services, and $2.7 billion for continuing development of the B-21 bomber.   

The HAC appropriated $3.4 billion for continued development of the Air Force’s Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, indicating its support for the program, which is in a Nunn-McCurdy breach, having exceeded its baseline cost estimate by 37 percent.

The Air Force’s Hypersonic Attack Cruise missile was funded at $492.7 million, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office would get $99.97 million.

The appropriators provided “over $900 million” for the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit “and select defense-wide innovation efforts to deliver capabilities from nontraditional sources, attract America’s best companies and talent, and increase flexibility for DIU Fielding in exchange for greater transparency with Congress.” The DIU funding included $220 million to address combatant commander priorities and $45 million for facilities needed to develop and test some capabilities in secret.

The full House Appropriations Committee takes up the defense bill the week of June 10.  

Airman Earned an Air Force Cross. His Name Remains Secret.

Airman Earned an Air Force Cross. His Name Remains Secret.

June 4, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

An Air Force combat controller was awarded the Air Force Cross—the second-highest decoration for valor in combat behind the Medal of Honor—for actions during a fierce battle in Syria in 2018. His identity, however, remains a well-kept secret.  

The Airman, a member of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, was awarded the medal in September 2020, but the Air Force didn’t disclose it until it answered Washington Post reporter Kyle Rempfer’s Freedom of Information Act request seeking the citation and order. An Air Force spokeswoman confirmed the citation to Air & Space Forces Magazine and said the combat controller’s identity was redacted under a FOIA exemption covering personnel in overseas, sensitive, or routinely deployable units. 

Rempfer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, May 31 that his FOIA request was related to the Battle of Khasham, which took place Feb. 7-8, 2018, near Dewr Az Zewr, Syria, the time and place included in the Airman’s citation. 

“On this date, [redacted] exposed himself to artillery, rocket, and mortar bombardment, and direct fire from main battle tanks, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy automatic weapons during the hasty defense of a United States Special Operations Forces operating location,” the citation reads. “His actions prevented an isolated force of American and coalition personnel from being overrun by a professionally trained and technically proficient combined-arms enemy assault comprised of main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers, heavy artillery tubes, and a battalion of infantry soldiers.” 

At the time, U.S. officials said their troops faced an “unprovoked attack” by forces associated with the regime of leader Bashar al-Assad. U.S. forces have been in Syria since 2014 as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, its defeat-ISIS mission, and were embedded with the Syrian Democratic Forces, who oppose al-Assad in the Syrian civil war. 

U.S. troops watched for about a week as “pro-regime” forces built up a battalion-sized force complete with artillery, tanks, and mortars near their position, officials said. The forces fired up to 30 artillery and tank rounds on the SDF and U.S. position, prompting a response by U.S. aircraft, including F-22s and MQ-9s, as well as artillery on the ground. 

Air Force combat controllers deploy with special operations units into combat or hostile environments and help direct aircraft and provide command and control. According to a subsequent New York Times report based on interviews and documents, USAF combat controllers helped direct B-52 bombers where to strike, helping stop an intense barrage of tank fire, artillery, and mortar rounds. 

A 321st Special Tactics Squadron combat controller gears up before the start of an austere landing training exercise at Nowe Miasto, Poland, July 20, 2015. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Luke Kitterman/Released

The Air Force Cross citation notes that the Airman showed “extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy.” 

Despite being significantly outnumbered, U.S. forces suffered no casualties in the battle. 

There have been conflicting subsequent reports as to whether members of Russian private military companies were part of the formation that attacked U.S. forces. Officials have said they maintained deconfliction lines with the Russian military before and during the battle. 

Since the Global War on Terror began in 2001, the Air Force has only announced the awards of 11 Air Force Cross medals, the latest in 2017. The service has had only one Medal of Honor recipient in that time—Master. Sgt. John A. Chapman, also a combat controller in the 24th Special Tactics Squadron.