Air Force Deploys Live Hypersonic ARRW Missile to Guam

Air Force Deploys Live Hypersonic ARRW Missile to Guam

March 4, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force has published images of an operational hypersonic Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon (ARRW) in Guam; a disclosure possibly meant to send a message to China but which raises questions about the future of the ARRW, which the Air Force insists it is not planning to procure in quantity.

The images, released by the 36th Wing, showed air and ground crews at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, receiving “hypersonic weapon familiarization” with the AGM-183A ARRW on Feb. 27. The missile, which was mounted under the wing of a B-52H bomber, had yellow stripes, indicating it has a live warhead. Blue stripes indicate an inert weapon without a warhead, typically used for captive-carry tests or loading training.

B-52 Stratofortress crews from the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota and the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, participated in hypersonic weapon familiarization training at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 27, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Pedro Tenorio

The Air Force’s unveiling of the ARRW in a forward location may be a message to China that the U.S. can now field a hypersonic capability in the Pacific. It may also be the simple familiarization described, but it would be unusual to take a highly limited test asset to a forward base without another purpose in mind. The Air Force did not disclose whether the missile would remain at the base.   

Andersen is a key base in the Pacific, and Air Force bombers routinely deploy there for weeks at a time, engaging in training, wargames, and show-the-flag messaging operations. These include “freedom of navigation” flights through China’s air defense identification zone. Such Bomber Task Forces (BTFs) have increased in the last few years, while at the same time China has stepped up the frequency of exercises in which it bluff-charges Taiwan’s ADIZ with as many as 80 aircraft, a pattern seemingly meant to test Taiwan’s air defenses but also potentially intended to reduce Taiwan’s alertness with chronic false alarms of an invasion.

It’s not clear from the photos released whether more than one missile was included in the training. All the photos showed a single missile mounted on a pylon under the aircraft’s starboard wing. The Air Force has said a B-52 can carry up to four ARRWs on wing pylons.

About two dozen Air Force personnel were shown receiving the instruction.

B-52 Stratofortress crews from the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota and the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, participated in hypersonic weapon familiarization training at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 27, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Pedro Tenorio

The missile in the photos carries the serial number AR-AUR-005. The “AUR” likely references the term “All-Up Round,” the nomenclature for ARRWs that have a live ATACMS booster and live warhead. The Air Force released images of a similar training event at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., last year, and the missile in those photos had the serial AR-AUR-004.

If the Air Force plans to test-launch the missile in the photos in the Western Pacific, it would be the first time such a launch has occurred away from the coast of California, where all ARRW tests have been conducted so far.    

The release said B-52 crews of the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron out of Minot Air Force Base, N.D., and the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron out of Barksdale Air Force Base, La., conducted the familiarization. Personnel received “expert academics and training on hypersonic fundamentals and participated in tactical discussion on hypersonic operations to increase operational readiness,” the release stated. The instruction also included a discussion about logistics for hypersonic weapons.

The program is meant to “prepare multiple Air Force aircraft communities for hypersonics, including the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile,” ARRW, and “other programs under development,” according to the release. It did not provide further details.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control is the prime contractor for ARRW—a boost-glide type of hypersonic weapon—while Raytheon is developing the HACM, which is a smaller, longer-ranged, air-breathing weapon, the engine for which is being developed by Northrop Grumman.

The ARRW has a checkered track record in Air Force tests, with at least two outright launch failures as well as test glitches during the captive-carry phase of evaluation. The first test reported as a full success of the all-up round was flown on Dec. 9, 2022; two others were flown in August and October last year, apparently successful. The Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, in his recent report about 2023 activities, said the all-up ARRW flown last August had some problems with telemetry in the endgame but otherwise flew a nominal mission and achieved successful warhead detonation.

Air Force officials said there is one formal ARRW test yet to go.

Just a year ago, Air Force acquisition executive Andrew Hunter told the House Armed Services Committee in written prepared testimony that the Air Force “does not intend to pursue follow-on procurement” of ARRW. However, he said there is “inherent benefit to completing All-Up Round test flights … to garner the learning and test data that will help inform future hypersonic programs and potential leave-behind capability.”

Air Force budget documents said closeout testing of the ARRW would take place in fiscal year 2024, during which the flight envelope for launch will be further expanded, flying qualities will be assessed, and the weapon will be tested against ground targets.

Much about the ARRW contract is classified, but the Air Force has acknowledged that Lockheed Martin was to conduct design and development, produce a certain number of missiles for test, and produce an undisclosed number of “leave behind,” or left-over assets after testing that could be used operationally. Lockheed was also to demonstrate that it could produce the ARRW at scale, something the company has said it accomplished.

Subsequent to Hunter’s comment, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the Air Force has shifted its focus to the HACM, which will be a smaller, longer-ranged weapon that could be carried by fighter-sized aircraft. The ARRW can only be carried by bombers.

It’s not clear if the Air Force is changing its procurement position on ARRW. William LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, deferred questions on hypersonics and ARRW in particular during a House Armed Services Committee hearing in mid-February, asking for a closed session to discuss the subject in a secure facility.

Asked why ARRW isn’t being procured, despite being the only successfully-tested U.S. hypersonic weapon so far, LaPante said, “Let’s just say there is a plan. It’s not something we can talk about in this open session.”

Air Force officials said ARRW plans will become more clear in the budget request that will be forwarded to Congress on March 11.

Last March, the Congressional Budget Office pegged the unit cost of an air-launched hypersonic missile “similar to” the ARRW at between $15 million and $18 million across a production run of 300 missiles, but a ground-launched version would cost three times as much, due to the special launch infrastructure and additional boost capacity required. The CBO said it used the term “similar” because the actual numbers are classified.

Kendall has said that while hypersonic missiles match well to China’s operational concepts, they are less critical to USAF’s concepts of fighting and are important but not a top priority for investment.

A hypersonic ground-attack missile is best suited for striking high-value targets like command-and-control centers from long range, at high speed. Such weapons derive their destructive force both from a warhead and from the kinetic force of striking the ground at five times the speed of sound. Defense against hypersonic missiles, particularly if they are maneuvering, is difficult.  

China is known to have deployed an undisclosed number of hypersonic DF-17 missiles with a long-range, tactical capability, while it has also developed hypersonic weapons to be mounted on intercontinental ballistic missiles. The DF-17 has been called a “carrier killer” and is also suited to a strike on a base like Guam.

“The Department of Defense is developing hypersonic science and technology to ensure the U.S. can rapidly field operational hypersonic systems,” the USAF said in its release about the familiarization program in Guam. The Air Force specifically “will continue to invest in researching, developing, testing, producing and fielding cost-effective weapons,” it continued. “These weapons are a mix of stand-off, stand-in hypersonic and subsonic precision-guided munitions. The Air Force also continues to develop revolutionary advanced weapon capabilities to maintain a competitive advantage over the pacing threat.”

PHOTOS: In Brunei, USAF F-35s Are First 5th-Gen Fighters to Land on Island Nation

PHOTOS: In Brunei, USAF F-35s Are First 5th-Gen Fighters to Land on Island Nation

March 4, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

U.S. Air Force F-35 fighters landed in Brunei on March 1, the first time U.S. stealth jets have landed on the small Pacific Island nation.

Two F-35s made the trek from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to Rimba Air Base, Brunei, a visit that coincided with a diplomatic visit by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jedidiah Royal. Also making the trip was Maj. Gen. Mark Weber, Air National Guard assistant to the commander of PACAF. 

Members of the Royal Brunei Air Force, including commander Brig. Gen. Dato Sharif, viewed the aircraft, which was on static display, and asked questions of USAF Airmen. The aircraft departed March 2.

The F-35s’ visit came 40 years after the U.S. officially recognized Brunei, following its independence from the United Kingdom, which assumed control after World War II, when the nation was occupied by Japanese Imperial forces. The visit comes as the United States aims to bolster cooperation with a broad array of allies in the Indo-Pacific.

Brunei and the U.S. signed a defense cooperation memorandum of understanding in 1994 and have regularly exercised together since then. The two countries’ air forces worked together in September 2023 as part of the exercise Pacific Angel 23-3, focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. As part of that exercise, the U.S. Air Force deployed a HC130-J Combat King II, HH-60G Pave Hawk, and C-17 Globemaster III to Brunei. 

In December 2023, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command hosted Bruneian officials for bilateral talks that included the signing of a “Section 505 agreement,” a prerequisite to granting military training or equipment to a foreign nation. 

Though only 5,765 square kilometers—slightly smaller than the state of Delaware—Brunei lays claim to a slice of the South China Sea that is less than 1,000 miles from China. With China as its largest trading partner and foreign investor, according to the U.S. Insitute of Peace, Brunei has sought to “hedge” its dependence on China by building a stronger relationship with the U.S., researcher Sufrizul Husseini wrote. 

In the growing great power competition between the two, however, the U.S. wants to build ties with countries across the region and has used vists by Air Force fighters and bombers as one of the ways it demonstrates its commitment to allies. 

Just a year ago, for example, Air Force F-22s deployed to the Philippines, becoming the first fifth-generation fighters to that country. In April, a pair of B-1B Lancers participated in an exercise with the Indian Air Force for the first time. And in June, a B-52 landed in Indonesia, another first. And in October, a B-52 landed in South Korea, the first such landing in more than 30 years.

These strategic visits send a message about security cooperation and partnership intended to dissuade China from risking a wider conflict through expansion into neighboring territory. 

Watch and Read: How to See Every Video and Transcript from AFA Colorado

Watch and Read: How to See Every Video and Transcript from AFA Colorado

March 4, 2024

Thousands of Airmen, Guardians, civilians, industry officials, and airpower advocates gathered in Aurora, Colo., from Feb. 12-14 for the AFA Warfare Symposium.

Department of the Air Force leaders unveiled sweeping, historic changes as part of their “re-optimization for great power competition” and unpacked what it all will mean over the course of 30 panel discussions.

Find video and text transcripts of the top sessions, including keynote addresses, here:

In addition, video and transcripts for every session are now posted on AFA’s official conference page.

All of Air & Space Forces Magazine’s comprehensive coverage of the conference is compiled here and will be featured in the March/April issue to come.

Space Force Gives Boeing $439 Million Contract For New SATCOM Satellite

Space Force Gives Boeing $439 Million Contract For New SATCOM Satellite

March 4, 2024 | By David Roza

The Space Force awarded Boeing’s space division a $439 million contract to build and launch the next satellite of its Wideband Global Satellite Communications (WGS) fleet, the Department of Defense announced March 1. Expected to be finished by Jan. 31, 2029, the WGS-12 satellite is part of an effort to improve flexibility and security for high-bandwidth military communications.

“The revolutionary WGS-11+ satellite will have more communications flexibility than the entire existing WGS constellation and will provide combatant commanders with twice the mission capability in contested environments,” Space Systems Command wrote in 2022 about WGS-12’s predecessor, WGS-11+, which is expected to launch later this year. WGS-12 is expected to be a “clone” of WGS-11, according to budget documents.

“Communication channels and terrestrial footprints can be uniquely tailored to warfighter demands,” Space Systems Command wrote. “This enables increased mission flexibility and responsiveness with smaller footprints that help protect against jamming.”

The first WGS satellite launched in 2007, and the constellation has since become “the backbone of the U.S. military’s satellite communications” according to the Space Force. Nine more satellites were launched through 2019, providing the U.S., allies, and partners with full-motion video, sensor data from airborne drones, video teleconferencing, and other data-intensive communications. 

But as the original WGS satellites aged, the Department of Defense sought to augment the system with better anti-jamming capabilities. The new satellites will feature a Protected Tactical SATCOM Prototype that uses a Protected Tactical Waveform for jam-resistant communications. According to Boeing, PTS-P “features automated anti-jam capabilities, including jammer geolocation, real-time adaptive nulling, frequency hopping and other techniques … to ensure the warfighter can stay connected in a contested environment.”

The design of the new WGS satellites is based on the company’s 702X commercial bus integrated with the PTS system, SpaceNews reported in September: a blend of military and commercial satellite communication systems.

USAF C-130s Conduct Humanitarian Aid Airdrops Into Gaza

USAF C-130s Conduct Humanitarian Aid Airdrops Into Gaza

March 2, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

Three U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft conducted airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza on March 2, U.S. officials said.

The aircraft took off from Jordan and dropped 66 bundles—22 per aircraft—with over 38,000 meals ready to eat (MREs), senior administration officials told reporters. The U.S. airdrops occurred over southwest Gaza, a U.S. defense official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The U.S. C-130s were assigned to Air Forces Central (AFCENT), the USAF’s Middle East command. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement the operation was carried out between 3 and 5 p.m. local time alongside Royal Jordanian Air Force C-130s.

“The combined operation included U.S. Air Force and RJAF C-130 aircraft and respective Army Soldiers specialized in aerial delivery of supplies, built bundles, and ensured the safe drop of food aid,” CENTCOM said. “U.S. C-130s dropped over 38,000 meals along the coastline of Gaza allowing for civilian access to the critical aid.”

“We are conducting planning for potential follow-on airborne aid delivery missions,” CENTCOM said in its statement.

“The fact that today’s airdrop was successful is an important test case to show that we can do this again in the coming days and weeks successfully,” a senior administration official added.

President Joe Biden announced March 1 the U.S. would conduct humanitarian airdrops into Gaza. During an Oval Office meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Biden said the U.S. would join other countries in air-dropping assistance amid the Israel-Hamas war that has resulted in a humanitarian crisis.

“We need to do more and the United States will do more,” Biden said.

“The planning will be robust on this,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said March 1. “I know that we will learn from the first airdrops, and this will be a part of a sustained effort. This isn’t going to be one and done.”

“There’s few military operations that are more complicated than humanitarian assistance airdrops,” said Kirby, a retired Navy rear admiral. “This is a tough military mission to do because so many parameters have to be exactly right.”

The U.S. Air Force has previously flown C-17s filled with humanitarian aid into Egypt that was then delivered into Gaza in United Nations trucks via a land crossing. Kirby said the U.S. also hoped to deliver “large amounts” of aid by sea and expand land routes.

“I commend the outstanding efforts of our Airmen and Soldiers who made today’s airdrop a success and helped deliver more than 38,000 meals to civilians affected by the ongoing conflict in Gaza,” AFCENT commander Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich said in a statement.

Jordan has been using C-130s to airdrop pallets of aid into Gaza for the past few days and has been joined by a growing coalition of countries that now includes aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, France, and the U.S. A spokesperson for the Jordanian Embassy in Washington said two Jordanian C-130s took part in the March 2 operation with the USAF.

Biden said Israel is not allowing enough assistance into the beleaguered enclave during its war with Hamas.

“We’re going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need,” Biden said. “No excuses, because the truth is aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now—it’s nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and children’s lives are on the line”

Two U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft fly information in preparation to release 66 bundles of humanitarian aid over Gaza, March 2, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza says over 30,000 people have died in the conflict. Civilians in Gaza have struggled to get food, water, medicine, and other essential supplies.

The Biden administration, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been working to broker a roughly six-week pause in fighting.

“Probably not by Monday, but I’m hopeful,” Biden said Feb. 29 when asked about progress on the ceasefire talks, the same day he spoke to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Dozens of civilians were killed racing to an aid convoy in Gaza City, which is in the north of the Strip, on Feb. 29. The Israel Defense Forces fired weapons during the incident, but the circumstances of the deaths are disputed.

Biden and the Egyptian and Qatari leaders “discussed planning to surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza and how the ceasefire under the hostage deal would further help enable those efforts and ensure that assistance reached civilians in need throughout Gaza” and “the tragic and alarming incident” of the civilian deaths on Feb. 29, according to White House readouts of the calls.

“Hopefully, we will know shortly,” Biden said of the ceasefire March 1. “We are trying to work out a deal between Israel and Hamas—the hostages being returned and the immediate ceasefire in Gaza for at least the next six weeks, and to allow the surge of aid to the entire Gaza Strip, not just the south.”

The White House blamed Hamas for failing to reach an agreement.

“The framework is there,” a senior administration official said March 2. “The Israelis have basically signed on to the elements of the arrangement, and right now, the ball is in the court of Hamas.”

A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules conducts an airdrop of humanitarian assistance over Gaza, Mar. 2, 2024. U.S. Air Force photo
Wilsbach Takes Command of ACC, Vowing to ‘Create Dilemmas’ for China

Wilsbach Takes Command of ACC, Vowing to ‘Create Dilemmas’ for China

March 1, 2024 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach assumed leadership of Air Combat Command on Feb. 29, succeeding Gen. Mark D. Kelly, during a change of command ceremony at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. And the former Pacific Air Forces commander underscored the Air Force’s pivot toward the Indo-Pacific by emphasizing China in his first address.

“We’re going to work on creating dilemmas for China,” Wilsbach said. “How will we create those dilemmas for China in ACC? First of all, we have to work on readiness, we have to work on modernization, we’ve got to work on Agile Combat Employment. And all those things, are the things Gen. Kelly has been working on. We’re going to pick up where he left off, and we’re going to carry and expand the envelope on all of those.”

In more than three years at PACAF, Wilsbach stressed combat readiness and creating strategic challenges for China, which is now the U.S.’s “pacing challenge,” according to the National Defense Strategy, and has indicated it plans to take Taiwan by force, if necessary. Under Wilsbach, PACAF leaned into the Agile Combat Employment concept, deploying fifth-generation fighters to Tinian and the Philippines for the first time, as well as deploying bombers to train with South Korean and Japanese fighters.

“China has been very clear about what their intentions are towards Taiwan,” Wilsbach said. In contrast, he said, the people of Taiwan “are pretty happy with the way things are.” It’s the mission of the Air Force to deter conflict and protect stability in the region.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin passes the Air Combat Command guidon to Gen. Ken Wilsbach at ACC’s change of command ceremony, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Feb. 29, 2024. During the ceremony, Wilsbach assumed command of ACC from Gen. Mark Kelly.

In his role new role, Wilsbach assumes oversight of nearly 80,000 Active-Duty Airmen. He will lead several ongoing initiatives, including the transition of units to the F-35, the deployment of the F-15EX to operational units, the phased retirement of the A-10 and F-22 aircraft, and the rapid development and integration of Collaborative Combat Aircraft into the fleet.

He will also be responsible for leading the Air Force’s largest major command by active-duty personnel and combat aircraft as the entire Department of the Air Force starts to “re-optimize” for Great Power Competition.

Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin said ACC will play a key role in that re-optimization, particularly given the urgency of the task.

“We are reoptimizing for Great Power Competition, and we are not starting from scratch,” Allvin said. “Many of the key elements associated with the reoptimization began in Air Combat Command, and we will proliferate them throughout the Air Force, because that is where the future is taking us.”

Wilsbach commended Kelly’s leadership for fostering collaboration among the major commands and leaving ACC well situated for the road ahead. Kelly assumed command of ACC in August 2020 and is retiring after nearly 40 years of service.

With all these changes coming, Wilsbach also reaffirmed his dedication to personnel. Referring to the ACC slogan, “People First, Mission Always,” he pledged to prioritize Airmen’s quality of life.

“We will continue to put an emphasis on the people,” Wilsbach said. “It’s because the people are the ones who do the mission and if the people are hurting, if the people don’t have what they need, they can’t do the mission. So, we will continue to put an emphasis on making sure that those high performing team members can continue to be high performing.”

Wilsbach also acknowledged enlisted Airmen as fundamental to ACC’s capabilities, prompting a round of applause from the audience.

“The enlisted force of the United States military is the reason that we are as good as we are,” Wilsbach said. “It’s not the fact that we’re the richest country in the world, it’s not the fact that we have good officers. It’s because we have good enlisted—those good enlisted that allow us to be able to employ the way that we do, and to execute the way that we do.”

New Air Force Grooming Standards Charts: What’s OK, What’s Not

New Air Force Grooming Standards Charts: What’s OK, What’s Not

March 1, 2024 | By David Roza

From neck tattoos to ponytails, the Air Force has revamped its dress and appearance standards in recent years. To tamp down on confusion, the service republished its dress and personal appearance instructions Feb. 29, complete with new graphics to serve as visual guides.

The graphics show authorized and unauthorized styles for things like:

Nail Polish Color

Eyelash Extensions

Neck Tattoos

Mustaches

Hair

“We’ve reviewed the policy in whole to make certain we are communicating standards clearly, making it an easier tool for commanders, supervisors, Airmen, and Guardians,” Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services, said in a statement. 

“Revisions were made over a number of years, but we felt the need to revisit the entire document to remove redundancies, out-of-date information, and decrease subjectivity,” she added.

Space Force Guardians must adhere to the regulations laid out in the revised DAFI 36-2903, though they also have Guardian-specific guidance for their unique nametape, badges, patches, rank insignia, and other features laid out in a separate document. 

Other recent changes include:

  • Authorizing installation commanders to designate Child Development Centers as a no-hat, no-salute zone. Salutes are also not required when either person is carrying children.
  • Adding headbands to the list of authorized cold weather accessories, such as scarves, earmuffs, watch cap, and gloves.
  • Authorizing a one-inch maximum logo on purses and handbags and any size logo on gym bags.
  • Allowing cold weather parkas to be commercially purchased, as long as the parkas are OCP pattern Coyote Brown and have the same authorized configuration of name tapes, service tape, rank, and patches.
  • Maternity cold weather outerwear can also be purchased commercially and with fewer restrictions. 
  • Organizational emblems are authorized on the back of morale shirts and heritage morale patches can be work on the flight duty uniform.

Female Airmen and Guardians can also now wear mess dress trousers or slacks instead of skirts. Commanders can authorize Airmen to wear caps while indoors due to baldness or hair loss from a medical condition. Security Forces Airmen can wear their Security Forces shield on their OCP uniform, and mustaches can extend up to a quarter inch beyond a vertical line drawn from the corner of the mouth, though they still cannot extend below the upper lip. Beards are still not authorized without a waiver, though the new regs clarify that wing commanders are authorized to approve waivers for religious regalia, including beards.

Airmen and Guardians around the world often tote oversized water bottles and energy drinks to stay hydrated and caffeinated. The new regs clarify that they can now consume those beverages while walking in uniform, though eating while walking in uniform is still not allowed.

Many of the changes made over the past few years were intended to help with recruiting and diversity efforts. For example, braids and ponytails were authorized for female Airmen in 2021 in part because the mandatory tight buns often led to migraines and even hair loss. Small hand and neck tattoos were authorized in part to try to bring in more qualified recruits.

The updated policy comes about a year after Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne Bass wrote an open memo urging Airmen to abide by standards. 

“These changes and updates to the publication are meant to clarify professional military appearance and uniform standards across the Air Force and empower all Airmen to hold themselves, and others accountable,” she said in a Feb. 29 statement. “Part of being a Profession of Arms is embodying the higher set of standards that comes with serving our great nation. Accountability matters. Standards matter—and the ones we walk by, the ones we ignore, are the ones we accept.”

USAF Logs First Flight of General Atomics’ Autonomous XQ-67 Drone

USAF Logs First Flight of General Atomics’ Autonomous XQ-67 Drone

March 1, 2024 | By Greg Hadley

The XQ-67A, a new autonomous collaborative combat aircraft, flew for the first time Feb. 28, its maker, General Atomics, and the Air Force Research Laboratory announced. 

The aircraft took off from General Atomics’ Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, Calif., a key milestone for AFRL’s Off-Board Sensing Station, or OBSS, program, which in turn is part of the Air Force’s larger effort to team autonomous collaborative combat aircraft with crewed fighter jets. 

AFRL described the XQ-67 as “the first of a second generation of autonomous collaborative platforms,” in a release, aircraft that build on the success of demonstrators like the XQ-58 Valkyrie. It is exemplifies a new approach that the General Atomics and Air Force see as enabling greater flexibility by combining a common chassis and other standard systems with mission-specific features and payloads.  

“This approach will help save time and money by leveraging standard substructures and subsystems, similar to how the automotive industry builds a product line,” said Doug Meador, autonomous collaborative platform capability lead with AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate, in a statement. “From there, the genus [or common elements] can be built upon for other aircraft—similar to that of a vehicle frame—with the possibility of adding different aircraft kits to the frame.” 

AFRL’s release disclosed a second autonomous collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) concept under development—an Off-Board Weapons Station, or OBWS. 

“The OBSS was viewed as slower while carrying sensors but have longer endurance, while the OBWS was considered faster and more maneuverable, with less endurance but better range,” AFRL’s release noted. 

“We wanted to design both of those but figure out how much of the two you can make common so we could follow this chassis genus/species type of approach,” Meador said. 

Trenton White, OBSS program manager, said the XQ-67 is only the first variant to be built on the General Atomics’ “genus.” 

Two General Atomics’ Gambit Series CCA variants operate with a B-21 Raider bomber in this conceptual illustration. Courtesy of General Atomics

General Atomics has been talking up its common core concept for multiple kinds of autonomous drones since unveiling its Gambit concept two years ago. The company maintains the aircraft’s core components account for roughly 70 percent of its price, with the remaining share paying for its mission systems, be they sensing, communications and electronic warfare, or ground attack. 

The Air Force has said it plans to build at least 1,000 Collaborative Combat Aircraft to fly alongside crewed aircraft, greatly expanding combat capacity without putting more personnel at risk. The exact functions of those unmanned aircraft may vary, but experts and officials have said they could include ISR, electronic warfare, and carrying extra weapons. 

In January, the Air Force announced it had selected General Atomics as one of five contractors to design CCAs, alongside Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Anduril. Officials said in February at the AFA Warfare Symposium that they hope to cut that list down to two or three companies to build the first increment of drones. 

The CCA program is drawing upon years of experiments, analysis, and testing the Air Force has done on the unmanned, autonomous “wingman” concept. The OBSS program, for example, started with AFRL’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Platform Sharing program, which itself is rooted in the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technologies initiative that started in late 2014. The lab has also spent years working on Skyborg, an artificial intelligence-enabled system to control unmanned aircraft. 

The Air Force first awarded General Atomics and Kratos contracts for OBSS in 2021, then picked General Atomics to move forward on the program in February 2023. 

The XQ-67A Off Board Sensing Station, or OBSS, designed and built by General Atomics under contract to AFRL, took its maiden flight Feb. 28 from Gray Butte Field Airport, Palmdale, Calif. Courtesy photo
German Navy Mistakenly Fires Missiles at USAF MQ-9 Over Red Sea

German Navy Mistakenly Fires Missiles at USAF MQ-9 Over Red Sea

March 1, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

A U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper came close to being shot down by a German warship in a friendly fire incident over the Red Sea on Feb. 27, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

The USAF MQ-9 was targeted by the German frigate Hessen as the drone was conducting a mission for Operation Prosperity Guardian, the U.S.-led maritime operation that is protecting international shipping from Houthi attacks, a U.S. official said.

The German ship fired two missiles at the MQ-9, but they missed the drone. “The UAV did not receive damage and continued its mission,” according to a U.S. defense official.

The episode points to the challenges in coordinating Operating Property Guardian with the more recent European Union effort to protect shipping, Operation Aspides, which the Hessen has been supporting.

The Iran-backed Houthis have mounted more than 45 attacks against vessels in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, according to the Pentagon. No military vessels have yet been damaged. But approximately 15 commercial ships—including four U.S. ships—have been “impacted,” said Maj. Pete Nguyen, a Pentagon spokesperson. Yemen’s internationally recognized government said March 2 the U.K.-owned Rubymar, a cargo ship carrying over 40,000 tons of fertilizer, sunk.

Ships and aircraft deployed to the U.S. Central Command region have been shooting down Houthi drones and missiles that threaten commercial vessels on a near daily basis. CENTCOM has also conducted strikes against Houthi military facilities in Yemen to try to preclude the Houthis from launching missiles or drones. 

To support such efforts, four to eight U.S. and allied navy ships are patrolling the Red Sea at any given time, the Pentagon says. Operation Aspides consists of four frigates, according to the European Union’s Naval Force. U.S. officials have not spelled out how the U.S. coordinates and deconflicts its operations with Operation Aspides, but note that the American military has lots of experience working with allies and partners.

The German frigate Hessen, which mistakenly fired on a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper on Feb. 27. Bundeswehr/Jule Peltzer

“As I understand it, they do coordinate and communicate on a daily basis,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told reporters on Feb. 29.

MQ-9s have played an important role in the effort to monitor and respond to the Houthis’ missile and drone attacks. The Iran-backed Houthis have shot down two Air Force MQ-9s since November.

On Feb. 28, German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius acknowledged there was a “situation in which a drone was shot at but missed.”

“Attempts to make contact were unsuccessful, the frigate then, consistent with the rules of engagement, then engaged,” Pistorius said. “But a successful strike did not ultimately occur.”

Pistorius did not say that the drone that was targeted was a U.S. aircraft. A German Bundeswehr Joint Forces Operations Command spokesman told Air & Space Forces Magazine they would “not provide any further operational detail.” But U.S. officials confirmed that an American MQ-9 was fired upon and added that CENTCOM was working on ways to prevent friendly fire incidents in the future.

“CENTCOM is in close coordination with the E.U. and Operation Aspides to investigate the circumstances that led to this event and to ensure safe deconfliction of airspace,” a U.S. defense official said. “Operation Prosperity Guardian and Operation Aspides continue to operate alongside each other as we continue our mission to ensure freedom of navigation.”