13th AWACS Jet Flies West to Boneyard, Last of 2023 Divestments

13th AWACS Jet Flies West to Boneyard, Last of 2023 Divestments

Oct. 11, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The Air Force’s E-3 Sentry AWACS fleet is down to just 18 aircraft with the retirement of the last of 13 aircraft to be divested from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., this year.  

The jet left Tinker for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. on Sept. 21. Of the 13 jets, a dozen AWACS aircraft went to Davis-Monthan over the past six months; the remaining one will remain as a static display at Tinker. 

That leaves fewer than 15 AWACS still active at Tinker, long been the Air Force’s main hub for E-3s. The other remaining airframes are assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and Kadena Air Base, Japan. 

“By retiring the E-3, the 552nd Air Control Wing can focus on prioritizing the health of the remaining fleet,” the wing said in a release. “Divesting part of the fleet will improve sustainability by adding high demand, low availability parts back into the supply chain, providing a temporary improvement for aircraft availability.” 

The E-3’s mission capable rates plunged below 65 percent in recent years, largely because they’re based on a 707 airframe that first flew in 1957 and has long become commercially obsolete. The Air Force’s AWACS fleet averages more than 40 years old. 

Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mark D. Kelly called the E-3s “unsustainable without a Herculean effort” last year, praising “miracle worker” maintainers for getting the aircraft to fly at all. 

The Air Force plans to replace the E-3s with new E-7 Wedgetail aircraft, based on the Boeing 737.

In a Facebook post, Tinker officials noted that the maintainers with the 552nd ACW are working to “ensure the remaining fleet of AWACS are operationally ready to provide air battle management capabilities anywhere around the globe.” 

The Air Force first announced plans to retire 15 E-3s from Tinker in April 2022, but Congress paused the push with a provision in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act approving only 13 retirements, which were contingent on USAF demonstrating progress acquiring its replacement.    

The Air Force formally awarded a contract to Boeing for the E-7 Wedgetail in late February, clearing the way for the AWACS retirements to begin. Looking ahead to 2024, the Air Force plans to divest two more AWACS to reach its original goal of 15 aircraft divestments. 

“The E-3 is a legacy airframe which can’t compete in a peer or near-peer conflict and cannot be modified to be part of the next generation of Command and Control (C2)/Airborne Moving Target Indicator (AMTI) systems,” Pentagon budget documents state.

The departures from Tinker are bittersweet for Airmen who spent years working in and on the venerable aircraft. The 552nd Air Control Wing noted in a release that Martha “Fran” Stephens, one of the first women to work on the AWACS, got to tour tail number 83-0009 before it departed Sept. 21. 

“If someone tells you they worked on an AWACS, that probably means they worked like a dog,” said Stephens. “They should be respected for that.” 

The E-3 is among a number of aging airframes the Air Force is retiring from active service. Others include KC-10 tankers and E-8 JSTARS battle management and targeting aircraft. Both fleets are set to be retired for good in fiscal 2024. 

Why Recruits Now Deadlift to Join the Air Force

Why Recruits Now Deadlift to Join the Air Force

Oct. 11, 2023 | By David Roza

A tweak to the Air Force accession process meant to help recruits stay safe has also made it easier for women to join more physically-demanding career fields. The Air Force changed its strength aptitude test in January from a clean-and-press style strength test to a deadlift test. While the mode of lifting has changed, the minimum weight required to join the Air Force, 40 pounds, has not.

Air Force Times first reported the change.

Recruits take the strength aptitude test on an incremental lifting machine at Military Entrance Processing Stations to prove they are strong enough for day-to-day military life. The minimum weight requirement increases for career fields that are more physically demanding, though the maximum weight caps off at 110 pounds. Security forces requires 70 pounds, while munitions systems (the Airmen who assemble bombs) requires 60 pounds, and firefighting requires 100 pounds, according to a 2018 study conducted by RAND.

The Air Force Recruiting Service (AFRS) told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the change was made in part due to policy guidance from the 711th Human Performance Wing at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The 711th in turn took guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising “a neutral position” where minimal twisting at the legs, torso, or shoulders allows recruits to lift more weight more safely compared to the clean-and-press.

“It has increased our applicant pool, but the most significant impact has been to the job specialty qualifications which are now more gender diverse,” the AFRS public affairs office said.

Since the change took effect in January, 4,111 women have gone through the new strength test, of whom 1,162 accessed into ‘operational’ specialties such as aircraft maintenance, munitions, security forces, and special warfare/combat support, AFRS said, though it was not immediately clear how much of an increase that represented over previous years. 

The Air Force acting chief of staff, Gen. David W. Allvin, referenced the change in written testimony sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee in September, saying the updates “better reflect the actual demands of the career fields thus expanding career field opportunities, especially for our female recruits[.]”

Allvin referred to other changes in the recruiting process, such as body composition and tattoo standards, to help reduce barriers to service. The Air Force missed its Active-Duty recruiting goal by about 10 percent this year, with slightly worse numbers for the Guard and Reserve. The body composition and tattoo standards have allowed in 700 Airmen who might not have been able to join otherwise, the general said.

“Throughout, we have maintained the focus on quality and will follow-up long term to ensure that any changes made thus far have not had a negative impact on readiness or fitness of the force,” he said. “If confirmed, I will ensure continuous review of accession standards and also apply judgment as to when and where we can adjust or waive as appropriate.”

USAF C-17s Fly In and Out of Israel, Fighter Jets En Route to Middle East

USAF C-17s Fly In and Out of Israel, Fighter Jets En Route to Middle East

Oct. 10, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall revealed Oct. 10 that C-17 Globemaster III aircraft have carried out several missions to and from Israel since the militant group Hamas launched surprise attacks over the weekend, sparking an all-out war.

“We’ve had a couple of missions I’m aware of where C-17s have brought some people back from Israel that were there. Beyond that I really can’t get into that area,” Kendall said in an interview with the Atlantic Council, confirming reports from open source flight trackers that noted C-17s flying in and out of Tel Aviv on Oct. 8.

U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to queries from Air & Space Forces Magazine requesting more details about the missions. Kendall declined to reveal more specifics in the interview.

In addition to the C-17s, Kendall did note other adjustments in Air Force deployments in the region as a result of the conflict.

“Some of the units that were due to rotate back to the United States are staying in place and their replacements are going to come in as well, so that they’ll increase our force posture in the region,” Kendall said.

Kendall’s comments follow on an Oct. 8 statement from Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III that stated F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft would flow to the region. A Pentagon official told Air & Space Forces Magazine Oct. 10 that U.S. fighter jets are currently on their way to the region, and it will take days for the aircraft to take situated.

As Air & Space Forces Magazine reported on Oct. 6., F-35 stealth fighters from Hill Air Force Base that had deployed to the Middle East left the region last week. The fighters were there to deter Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf and push back against Russian bullying in the skies over Syria.

U.S. Central Command and the Department of Defense have yet to respond to Air & Space Forces Magazine’s queries regarding whether F-35s jets will deploy to the region in the coming days and if so, where they will come from. F-16s and A-10s are already in the region, but the stealthy F-35 provided more advanced capabilities.

As USAF looks to bolster its force posture in the region, President Joe Biden reaffirmed that the U.S. stands with Israel as he delivered remarks from the White House on Oct. 10. Biden said he reassured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. response to the events will be swift, decisive, and overwhelming.

“We’re surging additional military assistance, including ammunition, and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome. We are going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens,” he said.

On the same day, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also noted the provision of interceptors for the Iron Dome missile defense shield. Sullivan also expressed Washington’s commitment to exploring further ways to enhance Israel’s air defense capabilities at a White House news conference.

“We will be flowing in additional Iron Dome interceptors so that [the Israelis] have the capabilities they need to sustain their Iron Dome defense systems,” he said. “We’re also looking at other ways that we can help augment their air defense capabilities.” 

A Pentagon senior official previously stated that there is continuous and close coordination with Israeli counterparts to address their most pressing needs, adding that “planes have already taken off” with equipment.

During his White House address, Biden also confirmed 14 Americans were killed among more than 1,000 civilian deaths in the surprise Hamas attack, and others were taken hostage. Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan told CNN that the number of hostages is estimated at between 100 and 150 as of Oct. 9.

After 30+ Years in Middle East, KC-10 Completes Final Deployment

After 30+ Years in Middle East, KC-10 Completes Final Deployment

Oct. 10, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

The KC-10 Extender took another step toward retirement last week, as the venerable tanker finished off its last ever deployment. 

A KC-10 from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., conducted the aircraft’s final combat sortie from Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 3. The 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, which has flown the KC-10 since 2003, then held a formal deactivation ceremony Oct. 4, and the last KC-10 departed the base Oct. 5. 

A spokesperson from Air Mobility Command confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine that the KC-10 fleet has no more planned deployments before September 2024, when the last Extender will be retired. It may still be used for off-station training, contingency responses, or coronets—missions in which a group of fighters are assigned one or multiple tankers to fly with them over an ocean to ensure the smaller aircraft have enough fuel.

The KC-10 has been flying in the Middle East for Air Forces Central for more than 30 years, starting with Operation Desert Storm, though the aircraft has not always been permanently stationed there. The airframe moved to PSAB in March 2022, after previously operating from Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Aircraft and Airmen from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and Travis Air Force Base, Calif., have regularly rotated through the base. 

AFCENT still has the KC-135, which flies from Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as part of the 379th Expeditionary Air Wing. The AMC spokeswoman told Air & Space Forces Magazine that the command is “confident we can continue to meet Global Combatant Command requirements with our current tanker fleet. Our KC-135 fleet will provide tanker support from Al Udeid and Prince Sultan Air Base.” 

Demand for aerial refueling in the region may increase in the coming weeks, as both the Air Force and Navy move additional fighters into the area in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel. 

The KC-10’s departure from the Middle East continues a steady winddown for the Extender fleet, which is being retired to make way for the KC-46 Pegasus. Back in May, the aircraft flew its last sortie from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and the final tanker departed the base in June—leaving Travis as the last home base for the fleet. 

The Extender, referred to by many Airmen as “Big Sexy,” has been in the USAF fleet for 42 years. It can carry more than 356,000 pounds of fuel, almost twice the amount a KC-135 can haul, and nearly 170,000 pounds of cargo, almost matching the capacity of a C-17. 

The Air Force is in the midst of modernizing its tanker fleet. In addition to the KC-46, the service has launched a KC-135 Tanker Recapitalization Program and started work on the Next Generation Air-refueling System, or NGAS. 

Now comes the work of transitioning to the new KC-46 Pegasus.

“The KC-10 will continue to fly for the next year until all the tails have retired and crews have cross-trained into the KC-46,” said Maj. Joseph Rush, the last commander of the 908th EARS, in a statement. “It’s exciting for our community, as we get to take a lot of the best parts of the KC-10 culture we’ve built over the last 42 years and bring those best practices and experiences to a brand new weapons system.” 

NRO, Space Force Partner to Craft New Moving Targeting Strategy

NRO, Space Force Partner to Craft New Moving Targeting Strategy

Oct. 10, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

It took five years of collaboration for the National Reconnaissance Office and the Department of the Air Force to launch the SILENTBARKER satellites that are now tracking and monitoring activity in geosynchronous orbit. And it will take a similar effort between NRO and the Space Force to develop next-generation moving target tracking capabilities in space, the No. 2 NRO official said Oct. 10. 

NRO Deputy Director Maj. Gen. Christopher Povak, a Space Force officer, said NRO and the Space Force will build on the “magnificent partnership” that yielded SILENTBARKER, from the crafting of requirements through design, acquisition, and deployment, to produce a future targeting system.  

“That same strategy is exactly what we’re doing with moving target indication, or MTI,” Povak said. 

The NRO’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance satellites are crucial assets, but their primary mission is intelligence gathering rather than real-time targeting. With the creation of the Space Force, however, leaders have voiced growing interest in providing tactical targeting from space, especially as the Air Force looks to retire aging ISR platforms like the E-8 JSTARS, noted retired Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, Explorer Chair at AFA’s Mitchell Institute, who moderated the event.  

Space Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting said in May that discussions were still ongoing on whether or not the Space Force would field its own targeting satellites, rely on the NRO, or turn to commercial industry. Povak said the analysis is progressing, but not yet complete. 

“NRO has decades of experience with ISR development, ISR operations,” said Povak. “Now that, coupled with the operational mindset and the capabilities of Space Force, and with our partners across the IC, are going to be relevant in how we define the requirements, which is certainly being led by the Department of Defense. How we manage the acquisition and the milestone decision authority for every key activity as we get from where we are in design into operational delivery, will be led by the DOD. And NRO will be responsible for now contracting and acquiring that [moving target indication] capability.” 

Throughout the process, officials will use SILENTBARKER as a model, Povak said, even when it comes to operations. While much of the program remains shrouded in secrecy, Povak offered some details, explaining that it will allow the NRO to track smaller objects than previously possible and that the resulting data will be fed into U.S. Space Command’s National Space Defense Center. 

Echoing Whiting’s prior comments, Povak said the NRO and Space Force have already agreed on a concept of operations for SILENTBARKER, ensuring both get the operational data they need. The program will work in concert with the Space Force’s existing Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP), Povak said, which also monitors objects in the geosynchronous belt. 

“SILENTBARKER is looking at the entirety of that geosynchronous belt consistently. And GSSAP is responsible for doing characterization to detect anomalies or provide intricate characterization of satellites in geosynchronous orbit,” Povak said. “It’s looking at one satellite at a time and … provides us intricate understanding of specific satellites: What they are, and do they pose a threat or not? Now you partner that with our ability now to continuously monitor the geosynchronous belt with SILENTBARKER, and that’s a really powerful combination.” 

While the NRO and Space Force build on their own partnership, they’re also looking to industry for help with other programs. Both organizations have embraced a strategy of “buy what we can, build what we must,” and both are finding valuable commercial capabilities are increasingly available. Now, they’re “doing the same calculus,” said Povak: “How do we bring all of these new capabilities to the market, to integrate them with the capabilities that the DOD and the IC are building?” 

Both the Space Force and NRO are working on sharing and honing their collective acquisition expertise, in part by exposing their experts to each others’ organizations, Povak said. 

“We certainly have a great collaboration with [Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein] and Space Systems Command in how we recruit talent from SSC, from our acquirer pool, and then, once they’ve had a tour of the NRO, how they go back to Space Force,” Povak said. “We’re seeing that in the operational and the cyber domains as well.” 

B-52 Pilots Test New Instruments To Make BUFF Flying Easier

B-52 Pilots Test New Instruments To Make BUFF Flying Easier

Oct. 10, 2023 | By David Roza

As the B-52 fleet prepares for new engines, radar, and other tech upgrades, a team of test pilots and engineers at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., wants to make the aging bomber easier for crews to operate.

Specifically, they are testing out new instrumentation, including digital engine gauge clusters to replace the current analog gauges. 

The gauge clusters show information such as fuel flow and exhaust temperature for each of the B-52’s eight engines, which helps pilots check for problems and identify malfunctions. The goal is to make the cockpit more intuitive so that pilots can devote more attention to accomplishing missions.

“Flying the airplane is the first step and using it as a weapon system is the ultimate step,” said Lt. Col. Scott Pontzer, commander of the 419th Flight Test Squadron and director of the Global Power Bombers Combined Test Force, in an Aug. 22 press release. “So if I can lower workload for the pilot … I can lower that overall task on the brain.”

b-52
A B-52 Stratofortress test pilot operates a flight simulator while using one of three new flight instrumentation prototype gauge clusters at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Air Force photo by Giancarlo Casem

The concept of human systems integration, where systems are adapted to the operator rather than vice versa, did not exist when the B-52 cockpit was first designed in the late 1940s, Dave Prakash, a former B-52 operational test pilot and flight surgeon, told Air & Space Forces Magazine

“Whether it’s the engine instruments or the navigation instruments, they are all designed to fit compactly in the space there, but they are not designed to be easy to use,” he said. 

For example, pilots routinely perform cross-checks, where they rapidly check their airspeed indicator, vertical velocity indicator, bank angle, and other instruments in order to make a decision. Time is of the essence, especially during a delicate procedure like landing at night or in inclement weather. But the way the B-52 cockpit is laid out can cost precious half-seconds or quarter-seconds.

“The instrument clusters are not designed in the most efficient way for a pilot to do a cross check,” Prakash said. “Moreover, the gauges and instruments are not even consistent between the left and right pilots’ seats, so you have to do a different cross check depending on which seat you’re in.”

The problem extends to the engine gauges, which display engine pressure ratio (EPR), fuel flow, exhaust gas temperature, revolutions per minute (RPM), and oil pressure. During his time as a test pilot, Prakash analyzed how those and other systems like navigation might be optimized for the operator. 

“If there are 20 button pushes required to do one thing, is there a way to make it into just two button pushes?” he asked. 

The test team at Edwards are working on those same questions as the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program comes online. The shift to digital gauges should make it easier for operators to rapidly check the engines. 

“This provides better accuracy, readability, and error indications (e.g., color changes), to name a few things,” Maj. Darin Flynn, a B-52H test pilot with the 370th Flight Test Squadron, told Air & Space Forces Magazine. “We also have EPR demand pointers which greatly reduces workload during precise throttle setting.”

Pilots tested out three different prototype gauge clusters in a simulator, then were given a questionnaire to record what they liked or did not like about it. 

“We are actually measuring their performance on these displays and we’re getting really good comments too, because now they’ve actually seen what the displays look like,” Flynn said in the release. “That’ll help us to select hopefully the best design choice for the B-52.”

The new B-52 engines are militarized versions of Rolls-Royce’s commercial BR725, and the software in the B-52J will be a mix of commercial and military software, explained Flynn and Eric Treadwell, B-52 crew systems/human factors lead. Beyond the engine gauge clusters, the entire cockpit is getting a makeover as analog displays are replaced with large, color, multifunction screens.

“What they’re doing is fantastic and it’s absolutely critical,” Prakash said of the human systems integration effort.

There are still some dangers in better technology: Prakash warned that issues may arise from automation bias, which is when users do not notice failures in automated decision-making systems (like when spell-check suggests the wrong word); and from alarm fatigue, where users become desensitized to the recurring beeps and alarms that may indicate real danger. Flynn was not overly concerned about the former.

“I don’t think automation bias will really be too much of a factor because even though we are getting new [full authority digital engine control] engines, there is little automation involved,” he said. “There will be no auto-throttles.”

Military standards provide guidance to head off problems such as automation bias and alarm fatigue, Treadwell explained. A working group of government and contractor engineers is also collaborating with B-52 pilots to evaluate and refine the design, a best practice in Air Force development programs.

“We have different levels of alerts that will be displayed or inhibited depending on their severity and phase of flight,” Flynn said. “We have already identified some warnings that are commercial in nature and not applicable to military use.”

Going forward, the team at Edwards hopes to collaborate with maintainers to get their input on the digital instruments and whether it would affect their work.

“We can solve problems before they ever become problems,” Pontzer said in the press release. “Being on the leading edge, between Boeing, the 418th FLTS and [Test Pilot School], all of us working together to use robust systems and proven test methodologies to make good decisions is awesome for the warfighter.”

Space Force Conducts Its Biggest Electronic Warfare Exercise Ever

Space Force Conducts Its Biggest Electronic Warfare Exercise Ever

Oct. 6, 2023 | By Unshin Lee Harpley

The Space Force wrapped up its largest-ever exercise focused on electromagnetic warfare, Black Skies 23-3, on Sept. 23, with more than 170 participants.

Introduced last year, Black Skies is an electronic warfare-focused evolution of the Space Flag exercises. Organized by Space Training and Readiness Command, it prepares participants to safeguard critical parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as those that can disrupt GPS and communication signals. The exercise also allows tactical units to grasp the complexities between operational planning and tasks.

The inaugural edition of the exercise was held in September 2022, followed by its second iteration in March this year in Peterson Space Force Base, Colo.

Lt. Col. Scott Nakatani, commander of 392nd Combat Training Squadron, called electronic warfare an “integral piece” to the joint environment and emphasized the need to practice teamwork among units from various branches, especially in challenging conditions.  

 “It is inevitable that the U.S. Space Force should continue to integrate, communicate, and coordinate with other services in the EW environment to ensure combat capability of our forces in a contested, degraded, and operationally-limited (CDO) environment,” Nakatani said in a statement released Oct. 4.

The electromagnetic spectrum is a key domain that involves everything from radar to communication waveforms. It plays a crucial role in ensuring communication within the U.S. military, allowing for the transmission of imagery, coordinates, and messages across the joint force, For units such as the 4th Space Control Squadron stationed at Peterson Air Force Base, it serves as an essential tool to prohibit an adversary from doing the same.

Black Skies 23-3 offered the Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) a chance to coordinate and control various multi-service units in open air. This involved live-fire exercises and closed-loop operations.

In live-fire scenarios, space operators transmit signals from Earth to satellites. These exercises enable participants to engage with operational space systems and better prepare for combat situations.

On the other hand, closed-loop operations occur in a controlled environment without any impact on space assets.

The drill also included staged threat scenarios led by the Air Force’s 26th Weapons Squadron. These scenarios were designed to simulate potential risks to Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) operations. The Army’s 1st Space Brigade demonstrated its ability to handle data from various sensors.

Nakatani said that the previous installment, Black Skies 23-1, sparked interest in integrated domain warfare and invited partnerships. As a result, Black Skies 23-3 tripled in size, including over 170 individuals from a broad range of units including:

  • Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC)
  • 16th Electronic Warfare Squadron
  • 3rd Combat Training Squadron
  • 25th Space Range Squadron
  • 527th Space Aggressor Squadron
  • Air Force Reserve Command’s 428th Electromagnetic Warfare Flight
  • Air National Guard’s 138th Electronic Warfare Squadron
  • Air National Guard’s 138th Space Control Squadron
  • Air National Guard’s 114th Electronic Warfare

“Black Skies has been a massive success in training our forces and testing warfighting readiness,” Nakatani said. “We will continue to evolve the delivery of realistic combat training to space warfighters.” 

F-35s Leave Middle East After Deployment to Deter Iran and Russia

F-35s Leave Middle East After Deployment to Deter Iran and Russia

Oct. 6, 2023 | By Chris Gordon

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Oct. 9 following the U.S. response to attacks on Israel.

U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters that deployed to the Middle East to deter Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf and push back against Russian bullying in the skies over Syria have left the region, according to service officials. 

“What the F-35s did is they gave us additional capacity,” Air Forces Central (AFCENT) commander Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich told reporters Oct. 4 at a Defense Writers Group event.

The deployment wrapped up in late September, according to the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. All the aircraft have left the Middle East and are “in transit home,” according to a spokesperson for the 388th Fighter Wing.

Operating as the 421st Air Expeditionary Squadron, the F-35s first deployed July 26, when the fifth-generation fighters were rushed to the region by the Pentagon after Iranian attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which 20 percent of the world’s oil flows. 

Additional U.S. Navy vessels, led by the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group with thousands of Marines, followed the F-35s. The USS Bataan amphibious assault ship brought more airpower into the region with a squadron of vertical or short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) Harriers.

The U.S. still has F-16s and A-10s in the region. However, the stealthy F-35 provided more advanced capabilities. 

The F-35s allowed the U.S. to “continue doing the missions we were doing up in Iraq and Syria and elsewhere in the region, and increase what we were doing in support of the Navy doing basically combat air patrols over the Straits of Hormuz,” said Grynkewich, who added the Navy deployment was particularly important.

“That increase in surface vessels combined with our airpower has deterred Iran from taking any actions against maritime shipping,” he said.

In addition to their mission in the Gulf, the F-35s were helpful in discouraging Russian warplanes from harassing American aircraft over Syria. The F-35s also integrated with U.S. allies over Syria, including flying with French Rafael fighters.

Russia’s aggressive tactics emerged as a major concern in July when Russian fighters dropped flares that damaged U.S. MQ-9 drones carrying out missions against Islamic State militants. 

After the U.S. released video of the Russian harassment and deployed the F-35s, Russia has moderated its tactics and has become less aggressive.

“They still fly in the airspace, but not directly overhead of our forces, so I welcome that shift in behavior,” Grynkewich said. “The flares being dropped on our MQ-9s, we don’t see that behavior anymore.”

The U.S. military footprint in the region is very modest compared to the years in which Americans were fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. But U.S. air operations over Syria have also been bolstered by coalition partners, including the French and British.

“We are still under danger of terrorist attack in our capitals or in our land,” Gen. Stéphane Mille, Chief of the French Air and Space Force, told reporters in September. “We are flying together.”

Not all of the challenges the U.S. has faced come from adversaries. America’s fellow NATO member Turkey has been pummeling Kurdish groups in northern Syria it blames for a bombing in the capital of Ankara on Oct. 1, in operations that could put American troops at risk.

On the morning of Oct. 5, a Turkish drone struck targets inside a U.S. military-declared restricting operating zone (ROZ), according to the Pentagon. Strikes got within one kilometer of U.S. forces, forcing them to take cover in bunkers. 

When a Turkish drone returned to the area roughly four hours later and headed towards U.S. forces, it was shot down by a U.S. F-16 within half a kilometer of U.S. personnel in an act of self-defense, according to U.S. officials.

On Oct. 6, the Turkish foreign ministry downplayed the episode in a statement, saying its drone “was lost due to different technical assessments in the deconfliction mechanism with third parties.” 

The bigger worry, however, remains Iran. Despite the departure of the F-35s, which Grynkewich noted was always planned to be “temporary,” the U.S. is prepared to flex forces to the region. 

“My view is that deterrence is temporal,” Grynkewich said of Iran. “We’ve surged forces in response to a specific threat. That shows American commitment to the region. It shows that our American strategy has been, with our posture being less than once was, we’ve shown a commitment to bring forces in for either major exercises for assurance purposes or when a threat required it. And we certainly did that in this case.”

Just days after those comments, the militant group Hamas conducted a surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7, killing at least 900 people, mostly civilians. In response, Israel’s government declared war against the group, which rules the Gaza Strip, and the Biden administration pledged to provide Israel with military aid.

On Oct. 8, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced the Pentagon was bolstering the U.S. presence in the region by sending the Gerard R. Ford aircraft carrier and cruise missile-carrying ships to the Eastern Mediterranean. The next day, a senior defense official warned the militant group Hezbollah to “think twice” about opening a northern front against Israel and said the U.S. is in a position to intervene militarily.

“These posture increases were intended to serve as an unequivocal demonstration in deeds and not only in words of U.S. support for Israel’s defense and serve as a deterrent signal to Iran, Lebanese, Hezbollah, and any other proxy across the region who might be considering exploiting the current situation to escalate conflict,” the defense official said.

The Defense Department is also reinforcing the U.S. Air Force’s role in the area.

“We have also taken steps to augment U.S. Air Force F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region,” U.S. Central Command said in statement issued on Oct 8.

Though no F-35s have yet been sent, the Pentagon said such a step might be taken in the future.

“We’re delaying the redeployment of some of our F-35s, so those assets will be among the fighter capabilities available,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder told Air & Space Forces Magazine on Oct. 8.

Airmen assigned to the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings reunite with family and friends upon their return to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Sept. 30, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by R. Nial Bradshaw
Divesting Fighters Now Undermines USAF’s Capacity to ‘Fight and Win’ Later

Divesting Fighters Now Undermines USAF’s Capacity to ‘Fight and Win’ Later

Oct. 6, 2023 | By Maj. Gen. Philip Killey, USAF (Ret.)

Since 9/11, the No. 1 priority of the National Military Strategy (NMS) has been to “Defend the Homeland.” Some 94 percent of that mission falls to Air National Guard squadrons sitting 24/7 alert in Reagan-era F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft.  

The Air National Guard is the Air Force’s “Ace in the Hole.” Its Airmen are experienced, with more than half its pilots being former Active-Duty members who are now flying with the airlines while still serving in the Air Guard. Its units are more stable, with almost all of its people staying in the same unit for 20 years or more; 70 percent part-time members who live and work in the community, bringing with them civilian skills and values. That makes them a more cost-effective force, one that is equally trained and ready to fight and win anytime, anywhere, as the active-duty force.  

This unique capability is now threatened.  

The Total Air Force is now the oldest, smallest, and least ready in its 76-year history. It possesses only 2,176 fighter aircraft, less than half the 4,556 fighters USAF had in 1990. With only 48 fighter squadrons today, the Air Force is too small to successfully accomplish its NMS requirements and the needs of the nation’s six regional combatant commanders. Those requirements call for 60 fighter squadrons to fight and win.

Modernization to replace our 40-year-old fighters with new fifth-generation fighters is an absolute must given the high-threat environment posed by our adversaries, primarily China and Russia, in all domains—air, land, sea, space, and cyber.  The Air National Guard’s 25 fighter squadrons, almost all flying legacy F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighters, are operating under duress. At least 12 of these squadrons are in jeopardy of losing their aircraft as the Air Force seeks to save the money needed to invest in new F-35s and F-15EXs, and eventually sixth-generation Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighters and unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), which are dependent on artificial intelligence capabilities that remain not fully developed.

This “divest to invest” strategy will leave 12 or more Air Guard squadrons without the “Ace in the Hole” capabilities that have long been key to U.S. national defense.  Divesting the aircraft in these squadrons before we have replacements undermines domestic security at a time when we should instead be building toward the 60-squadron requirement dictated by the NMS.  

Since “Defense of the Homeland” is the No. 1 priority of the NMS, and the Air National Guard does 94 percent of the air defense mission with 16 of its 25 fighter units sitting 24/7 alert, it is imperative these units be modernized with F-35s and F-15EXs as soon as possible. These Guard squadrons need the required capabilities to defeat the potential combined threats of China and Russia and their advanced weapons, including hypersonic missiles. Every combatant commander knows that airpower, especially air superiority, is essential to dominate in today’s complex battle space.  

For the past 30-plus years, the Air Force has received less funding than the Army or Navy in annual appropriations, primarily because of the priorities dictated by the War on Terrorism. Now, with China as the nation’s pacing threat, war in the Pacific looms far more likely. That calls for a change in priorities, such that the Air Force must take priority for funding. The threat of war on a global scale is as high today as virtually any time since World War II. We cannot afford to cut any of our Total Air Force fighter units at a time when we don’t even have enough fighters to meet our combatant commander requirements and successfully execute our National Military Strategy. 

The United States homeland has been attacked three times since becoming a sovereign nation—in 1812 by the British, in 1941 by the Japanese, and in 2001 by al-Qaida. We must not allow another. Future attacks can and must be prevented by the critically needed modernization of our Total Air Force, and then continually keeping our military exceptionally organized, trained, equipped and totally focused on readiness to defeat any and all adversaries. Then—and only then—can we maintain the nation’s vision of “Peace through Strength.”  

Retired Maj. Gen. Philip Killey was Director of the Air National Guard from 1988 to 1994, and Commander of the First Air Force from 1994-1998. A fighter pilot with over 6,500 hours, he flew 100 missions to North Vietnam with the 555th Fighter Squadron. The Killey Center for Homeland Operations, the First Air Force headquarters at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., is named in his honor.