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First USAF Officer Training School-Victory Graduates Take Flight

Tuesday, December 19th, 2023

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) —

The first Officer Training School-Victory class graduated at Maxwell Air Force Base Dec. 8.

The graduation ceremony marked the historic transformation of the Department of the Air Force’s Officer Training School, setting an elevated standard for the next generation of Air and Space Force leaders. OTS-V provides a competency-based course designed to develop warrior-minded leaders of character committed to the Air Force oath, values and creed.

The new course promotes transformative change through leadership reps and sets in the affective, cognitive and behavioral learning domains. This experiential learning includes 60 hours across 28 days of challenging mission command experiences, as officer trainees lead their teams in multiple demanding environments to achieve the commander’s intent. OTS MCEs are conducted in three primary environments: a new tactical level Multi-Domain Warfighting Lab, an innovative Combined Joint Task Force Wargame and a deployed field exercise to prepare graduates to serve and lead Airmen and Guardians through volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous challenges to accomplish difficult missions.

“All of it has changed to produce a better warfighter,” said Col. Derrick J. Iwanenko, deputy OTS commandant. “For the first time, we’re a competency-based course, executing mission command experiences. Within our condensed timeline, nobody is executing the level of reps and sets we’re able to induce for the trainees through mission command.”

OTS-V incorporates a physically, intellectually and emotionally rigorous five-module approach across 60 training days. OTS will conduct, on average, 20 classes per year with a new class starting every two weeks. The additional class start dates promote flexibility for stakeholders, reduce candidates’ wait time to attend training, and allow for increased trainee throughput. At any point, OTS will have up to five classes in session in various phases of training. The new training construct allows OTS to easily surge production to meet mission requirements in both steady state and a contingency mobilization posture.

“I’m extremely grateful and honored to have had the privilege to serve and to be a part of our OTS transformation,” said Col. Keolani Bailey, OTS commandant. “I’m sincerely appreciative of the entire OTS team for their innovation, passion, and commitment to the mission, each other and our trainees. Our OTS professionals are the best in the leader development business! I am also thankful for the officer trainees who invest their best to develop themselves, their peers, and our staff as we continually improve to become the premier leader development institution within the profession of arms. As warrior-minded leaders of character, our graduates emerge committed to living with honor, lifting others and elevating the performance of their teams to deter, fight and win our nation’s wars.”

By Airman 1st Class Tyrique Barquet, Air University Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, Profession of Arms | Comments Off on First USAF Officer Training School-Victory Graduates Take Flight

GAO Report Finds Special Operations Forces Should Slow Acquisition of Armed Overwatch Aircraft Until It Conducts Further Analysis

Monday, December 18th, 2023

Last week the Government Accountability Office issued a report regarding United States Special Operations Command’s Armed Overwatch program. In 2022, the command selected Air Tractor-L3Harris to provide 75 AT-802U Sky Warden aircraft to conduct Close Air Support, precision strike; and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance missions. The aircraft will be operated by Air Force Special Operations Command and organized into five squadrons, four operational and one for training.

Congress has never really been a fan of this program; there’s just not enough pork. It’s a propeller aircraft in an age of the Joint Strike Fighter which has components built in as many congressional districts as possible to spread the wealth.

Consequently, the House of Representatives issued House Report 117-118, accompanying the bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022, which included a provision for GAO to review the Armed Overwatch program. This is first of two reports.

What GAO found:

“GAO found that SOCOM is limited in its ability to justify this acquisition target for three reasons:

1 Documentation indicates that SOCOM decided on the size of the fleet before conducting the required analyses.

2 SOCOM did not assess how changes in the aircraft’s capabilities could affect the number needed for operations. Specifically, the aircraft selected is more capable than the one modeled. SOCOM is also determining how to adapt the aircraft to meet intelligence requirements that may affect demand.

3 SOCOM has not reevaluated its needs despite changes to operational missions (such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan) and force structure reductions under consideration.

Because of these reasons SOCOM is also not well-positioned to justify its acquisition timeline. According to SOCOM, changes to the acquisition timeline might affect the cost per aircraft. By ensuring that it thoroughly assesses its needs against adjustments in the cost per aircraft, SOCOM will be better able to make informed decisions and efficiently use the more than $2.2 billion it estimates that it will spend for the program through FY 2028.”

What GAO recommends:

“GAO is making two recommendations, including that DOD (1) analyze the number of Armed Overwatch aircraft needed using valid assumptions and taking into account changes in SOCOM’s operating environment, and (2) limit the acquisition of the aircraft until SOCOM completes the analysis. DOD concurred with the first recommendation and partially concurred with the second, describing its need for training aircraft.”

You can read the full report here.

While I personally feel that the Armed Overwatch capability was needed about 20 years ago, I’m pleased to see that it is finally being sought. What’s more, I reject the death spiral thinking that this GAO report supports. The US defense establishment has fielded fewer and fewer weapon systems over the years and it’s getting to the point where we can easily be overwhelmed by larger numbers of less capable threat systems. The AO force size is based upon what the command says it needs and that comes from decades of operations worldwide. What’s more, they’ve conducted more than a few studies to determine both capability and force size. But those weren’t good enough for Congress, or GAO.

Admittedly, I’ve been critical in the past of USSOCOM’s very expensive air force, but considering the exquisite suite of capabilities it offers the nation, the bang has been worth the buck. In other programs, particularly aviation programs, USSOCOM has initially shortchanged itself and had to incrementally buy more platforms at ever increasing costs. I don’t want to see this happen again. The Armed Overwatch aircraft can come online relatively quickly once they get moving and field a very robust capability. GAO recommends slow rolling this thing. That’s is a mistake. This investment of 75 airframes seems quite reasonable considering SOCOM is divesting of other, less capable platforms which cannot conduct both ISR and CAS functions.

Eric Graves

Editor

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, ISR, SOF | 4 Comments »

27th SOAOS Redesignates to 27th Special Operations Theater Air Operations Squadron

Saturday, December 16th, 2023

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. —

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — The 27th Special Operations Air Operations Squadron was redesignated to the 27th Special Operations Theater Air Operations Squadron during a ceremony on December 8, 2023, at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.

During the redesignation and change of command ceremony, Lt. Col. Adam Jones, 27th SOAOS commander, relinquished command to Lt. Col. Phillip Henrikson, 27th SOTAOS commander, making Henrikson the first squadron commander in the newly designated squadron’s history.

Over the last decade, the 27th SOAOS played a crucial role in the success of the 27th Special Operations Wing. Its mission has now been fully integrated integrated into both the Wing Staff functions and the 27th Special Operations Support Squadron. This restructuring enables the 27th SOTAOS to focus on its new mission and align the 27th SOW with Air Force Special Operations Command’s vision and priorities.

Current national defense and Air Force Special Operations Forces strategies directs the increased importance of shifting national defense priorities from Countering Violent Extremist Organizations to integrated deterrence efforts – which requires a deliberate campaign plan. This new operating environment has proven that relationships are essential and operations are likely to be multi-domain, meaning they are not limited to air, land, and sea, but may include space, cyberspace, and the information envrionment.

“I am exceptionally excited about the future of this squadron and the mission they will execute,” said Col. Jeremy Bergin, commander of the 27th SOW. It will no doubt have significant operational and strategic impacts and I can’t think of another officer I’d rather have leading this effort than Phil.”

Born from Air Force Special Operation Command’s Theater Engagement Construct, a framework that aligns AFSOF to Geographic Combatant Commands and Theater Special Operations Commands, the 27th T-AOS will leverage AFSOC’s competitive advantage – Air Commandos. Through partnerships and multi-domain efforts, the T-AOS will regionally synchronize, integrate, and employ AFSOF capabilities.

By focusing on one region, Africa in this case, the 27th T-AOS will bring three crucial distinct capabilities to its aligned region. The unit will work to determine SOF air capabilities and limitations, gain an advanced understanding of regional complexities, and utilize regional and AFSOF expertise to effectively execute the mission.

“T-AOSs are the first units of their type within AFSOC who are granted direct communications with their respective TSOCs and GCCs,” said Henrikson. “The 27th T-AOS team is already looking at ways to counter our adversaries’ efforts to gain a foothold in the turbulent content of Africa.”

The T-AOS will work to broaden and deepen the partnerships and alliances in United States Africa Command. These relationships require extensive collaboration and the unit will be the force that drives unique AFSOF strategy for TSOCs, and ultimately GCCs, by integration with partners and Allies in mind from the start.

To do this, the unit will house a multitude of Air Force Specialty Codes across several different types of career fields. From Special Tactics combat controllers to maintainers, the T-AOS will advise partner nations, recommend force employment, and conduct operations across several domains.

As an example, to support Special Operation Command Africa’s campaign support plan, the 27th T-AOS may be called upon to look at a specific problem set. From an air perspective, the T-AOS can assess the problem and offer potential solutions while applying regional expertise to ensure the offered solutions would be effective and realistic for that operating environment. With the potential course of action in mind, the 27th T-AOS will build a concept of operations alongside SOCAF, in support of AFRICOM’s campaign plan. In this construct, the Air Commandos who do the concept development could also be the same Air Commandos who then execute the operation.

The National Defense Strategy charges the Department of Defense to pivot to integrated deterrence and the T-AOS is AFSOC’s organizational answer. The 27th T-AOS offers an opportunity to leverage AFSOC’s decades of countering violent extremist experience to advise partners and Allies in AFRICOM. Increasing a partner nation’s ability to counter extremist organizations reduces their reliance on other external forces, forges relationships, and works to deter our adversaries.

“Strategic competition is a persistent and long-term struggle that occurs between two or more adversaries seeking to pursue incompatible interests without necessarily engaging in armed conflict with each other,” said Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind, AFSOC commander.

Addressing the challenges presented by today’s complex national security environment requires a multi-lens, multi-layer approach. The 27th T-AOS will address the complexity of these national security challenges by developing concepts of operations pairing AFSOF capabilities to a threat vulnerability in such a way that it generates the desired effect that best supports the joint force and our partners and Allies.

By Senior Airman Mateo Parra, 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Forces Focus, Guest Post, SOF | Comments Off on 27th SOAOS Redesignates to 27th Special Operations Theater Air Operations Squadron

Israeli Air Force – First Operational Employment of Guided Parachute System

Tuesday, December 12th, 2023

The Israeli Defense Firce has released a video of the first use of a guided resupply parachute system in Gaza. It is a precision system which utilizes ramair parachutes and the IAF has had the capability sonce 2015.

The drop was accomplished by the 103rd ‘Elephants’ Squadron of the IAF utilizing the C130J Shimson. The cargo for the mission was seven tons of water for troops fighting in Khan Yunis.

Posted in Air Force, International, Parachuting | Comments Off on Israeli Air Force – First Operational Employment of Guided Parachute System

AFSOC Commander Directs CV-22 Operational Standdown

Tuesday, December 12th, 2023

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AFNS) —

Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind, AFSOC commander, directed an operational standdown of the Air Force CV-22 fleet Dec. 6, 2023, to mitigate risk while the investigation continues on the Nov. 29, 2023, CV-22 mishap near Yakushima, Japan.

Preliminary investigation information indicates a potential materiel failure caused the mishap, but the underlying cause of the failure is unknown at this time. The standdown will provide time and space for a thorough investigation to determine causal factors and recommendations to ensure the Air Force CV-22 fleet returns to flight operations.

We extend sincere gratitude to the Joint Force and Government of Japan’s Self-Defense Force, Coast Guard, law enforcement and civilian volunteers for their tireless assistance in the search and rescue operations for our Air Commandos.

By Air Force Special Operations Command Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Guest Post, SOF | 1 Comment »

Fairchild AFB Demonstrates Strategic Deterrence Readiness During Titan Fury 24-1

Saturday, December 9th, 2023

FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFNS) —

Airmen assigned to the 92nd and the 141st Air Refueling Wings conducted exercise Titan Fury 24-1 at Fairchild Air Force Base, Nov. 13-17.

During the exercise, Airmen demonstrated how various support activities contribute to mobilizing KC-135 Stratotankers at a moment’s notice if called upon to support strategic deterrence and other National Defense Strategy priorities.

“It’s critically important that Fairchild Air Force Base conducts exercises like this for one reason only, and that’s deterrence,” said Lt. Col. William Dowd, 97th Air Refueling Squadron commander. “We have to send a clear message to our adversaries and allies alike that Fairchild Air Force Base stands ready to execute this mission. Without making sure our crews are ready and able—regardless of how hard it is and how fast we need them to be—we can’t ensure the delivery of deterrence worldwide.”

For decades, the KC-135 has been the backbone of Air Mobility Command’s air refueling capabilities around the world because of its ability to extend global reach and project U.S. airpower.

Dowd explained how teamwork and collaboration are the keys to Fairchild AFB’s ability to keep this proud tradition going strong.

“The teamwork that goes into executing a mission of this scale really boils down to the relationship between operations and maintenance, then everything else has to come up and build the support pyramid for those two,” he said. “It is a challenging week for everybody, from maintenance and operations to the defenders in security forces who protect the ramp and aircraft and the folks in the Force Support Squadron who are turning out meals for them and bringing food to the crews at the jet.”

Dowd also praised the hard work and long hours of airfield managers, fuel operations, safety, inspector general and the other essential functions of the exercise that enable mission readiness.

“We could tell they were getting tired, but there was a gleam in their eyes, and we knew they were ready to show the world that Fairchild is ready to execute this mission,” he said. “The 92nd ARW, along with our Guard partners, the 141st ARW, conduct these exercises to ensure we are always prepared because there isn’t an aircraft in our fleet that can kick ass without tanker gas.”

In addition to the 92nd ARW active duty and 141st ARW Air National Guard units at Fairchild AFB, TF-24-1 included aircraft and personnel assigned to the 912th Air Refueling Squadron who traveled from March AFB, California, to participate. The 912th ARS is a geographically separated unit of the 92nd ARW.

According to Lt. Col. Roque Zarate, 912th ARS director of operations, participating in the exercise enabled his unit to integrate with 92nd ARW Airmen and build interoperability in a training environment that resembles the manner in which they would operate during a real-world scenario.

“Titan Fury is important, not only for the aircrews and maintenance, but for our controllers as well,” he explained. “They have to practice things that maybe they’re not used to with the crews that are organic to the 92nd. So, for them to actually integrate us into the exercise, being a geographically separated unit, there’s a lot more planning and a lot more nuances. It’s important for everybody to exercise the way we would go to war, or really, to deter our adversaries from attacking us.

“It’s nice just for us to be able to come here and see how our parent wing executes the same [mission],” Zarate added. “We’re taking lots of notes on how we can do things better at March, and we’re also providing notes to Fairchild on what they can do better.”

Master Sgt. Dustin Brockman, a generation superintendent for TF 24-1, highlighted the importance of exercising to build both proficiency and speed.

“[Getting] the aircraft ready quickly is important,” he said. “If it was a real-world situation, we don’t know how fast we would need to act. If we take too long to get ready, then we might not be able to meet the mission requirements. We work quickly yet safely to get the aircraft generated as fast as possible.”

Like many Airmen, this exercise was a first for Capt. John Will, a KC-135 pilot assigned to the 97th Air Refueling Squadron. He said his first Titan Fury experience enabled him to develop at a steady pace in his role as an aircraft commander supporting Fairchild AFB’s mission.

“There’s still a lot of learning to be done,” he said. “I feel like with every step of the process, I’ve been slowly learning this mission and getting better at it. We do other smaller exercises and classes to get us ready for this, so it’s not just everything at once. Seeing it all come together has been really cool.”

This recurring total force exercise is an example of how the 92nd ARW and the 141st ARW at Fairchild AFB are engaged, postured and ready with a credible force to assure, deter and defend in an increasingly complex security environment.

“We ran 24-hour operations for a week, generated 21 aircraft and demonstrated our ability to deploy personnel and conduct our mission from anywhere,” said Col. Chesley Dycus, 92nd ARW commander. “We did this all by combining our efforts with our teammates in the 141st ARW, and the crews and jet here from the 912th ARS. I couldn’t be more proud.”

92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

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Department of the Air Force Leaders Emphasize Adapting AI for Warfighting Success

Wednesday, December 6th, 2023

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall made it clear that the Air Force and Space Force are fully committed — and pushing hard — to develop and deploy artificial intelligence as a key element in meeting security challenges posed by China and other adversaries Dec. 2.

Kendall’s remarks were not new, but by voicing them during a session at the influential Reagan National Defense Forum, he added additional weight to the Department of the Air Force’s efforts to use AI as part of a larger push to modernize.

“I care a lot about civil society and the law of armed conflict,” Kendall said. “Our policies are written around those laws. You don’t enforce laws against machines, you enforce them against people. Our challenge is not to limit what we can do with AI but to find how to hold people accountable for what the AI does. The way we should approach is to figure out how to apply the laws of armed conflict to the applications of AI. Who do we hold responsible for the performance of that AI and what do we require institutions to do before we field these kinds of capabilities and use them operationally.”

Kendall pointed out that China and other adversaries are aggressively using AI, and while the U.S. maintains an edge, it is shrinking. Kendall’s comments dovetailed with those from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin, who said at a separate session during the conference that the Air Force must modernize to properly meet the security threats of today.

Part of that effort, Allvin said, is diligently working to integrate AI and machine learning into new capabilities that mesh seamlessly with mission needs and proven technologies, while understanding performance tradeoffs.

“I do believe the future is going to be about human-machine teaming,” Allvin said. “Optimizing the performance and being able to operate at speed. That investment in our collaborative combat aircraft program is what is going to get us there.”

Speed and automation of AI systems have vastly shortened decision timelines. That’s why the DoD’s National Defense Strategy focuses on accelerating decision making and the way information is analyzed and shared.

“We are leveraging algorithms and starting with data fusion and being able to gain insights,” Allvin said. “The changing character of war is speed. If we are going to be privileging speed and have massive amounts of data, the ability to have algorithms and the tools that support and let the analysts do what only humans can do which is make that human decision.”

“Our job on the government side more than anything else is to thoroughly understand this technology, have the expertise we need to really get into the details of it and appreciate how it really works,” Kendall said. “To be creative about helping industry find new applications for that technology and developing ways to evaluate it get the confidence we’re going to need to ensure that it can be used ethically and reliably when it is in the hands of our warfighters.”

Replacing obsolete, legacy systems by harnessing emerging information, communications, and AI technologies to provide operational targeting and decision support with the speed, adaptability and resilience needed to fight in a highly contested environment is a priority for DAF and falls under Kendall’s Operation Imperatives.

“The critical parameter on the battlefield is time,” Kendall said. “The AI will be able to do much more complicated things much more accurately and much faster than human beings can. If the human is in the loop, you will lose. You can have human supervision and watch over what the AI is doing, but if you try to intervene you are going to lose. The difference in how long it takes a person to do something and how long it takes the AI to do something is the key difference.”

Rapid AI development requires DAF to be agile and adaptable in its approach, focusing on rapid testing, experimentation and deployment. The Department of Defense continues to maintain a robust regulatory and ethical framework to ensure the responsible use of AI in defense.

Both men stressed the importance of innovation. Allvin said that innovation is a critical element of modernization and is necessary for maintaining readiness.

“War is a human thing and the ability to leverage technology with human innovation is something we can never walk away from as we’re continuing to develop and more sophisticated systems,” Allvin said.

The Reagan National Defense Forum, celebrating “10 Years of Promoting Peace Through Strength,” brings together leaders from across the political spectrum and key stakeholders in the defense community, including members of Congress, current and former presidential administration officials, senior military leadership, industry executives, technology innovators and thought leaders. Their mission is to review and assess policies that strengthen America’s national defense in the context of the global threat environment.

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

Posted in AI / ML, Air Force, Guest Post | 2 Comments »

AFWERX, NASA Collaborate to Develop Digital Advanced Air Mobility Operations Center

Sunday, December 3rd, 2023

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) —

AFWERX is partnering with NASA to develop a digital operations center for future Advanced Air Mobility efforts through the Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program awardee, ResilienX.

With the fast-growing field of AAM technology, AFWERX’s Airspace Innovation and Prime Partnerships program has partnered with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration to fill in technological and administrative gaps that present themselves. Earlier in 2023, AFWERX formalized these partnerships with a Memorandum of Understanding and participation in the AAM Interagency Working Group to plot the future of AAM.

The CCRPP is a NASA Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program which takes mission-relevant technologies in development and infuses them with funding intended to foster commercialization.

This system is intended to enhance base security, special forces efforts, emergency disaster response, and passenger and cargo transportation planning. It is further being developed to include other technologies necessary for air domain awareness.

“CCRPP is a true example of public-private partnership where government stakeholders and an industry consortium are working together on the airspace efforts,” said Darshan Divakaran, AFWERX Airspace Innovation and Prime Partnerships program manager.

ResilienX is a company focused on the holistic safety assurance of AAM ecosystems and is leading the way with an industry consortium to create a digital system for AAM operations. The project intends to define and perform initial integration of an AAM Operations Center that is scalable, tactical and enables verification and validation of the various systems and sensors involved in uncrewed aerial systems, electric vertical take-off and landing operations, and other advanced aviation technologies. The initial AAM Operations Center will be built out in collaboration with NUAIR at the Syracuse Hancock International Airport, with an aim to test and transition it to additional locations by 2025.

Each company in the consortium contributes their industry expertise and technological advancements to create the most robust system possible. As additional requirements are included by military and other government stakeholders, AFWERX plans to bring in additional industry partners in the next phase.

“We are thrilled with the trust AFWERX has put in us to lead this consortium,” said Ryan Pleskach, CEO of ResilienX. “Through a dedicated systems engineering approach, we intend to develop a dual-use solution to the core digital infrastructure needed for advanced air mobility that is inherently scalable and extensible. Through this pioneering effort and with support of all the federal stakeholders that AFWERX is bringing to the table, we believe this solution will be turnkey and available to government and commercial markets in late 2024.”

Utilizing the research expertise of NASA and AFWERX’s subject matter experts, this collaborative project will attempt to meet the needs of the emerging field of AAM operations. It is informed by the U.S. Air Force AAM Operations Center requirements through testing and operator interactions.

“Agility Prime helped pave the way for government and industry to work together on aircraft certification,” Divakaran said. “The Airspace Innovation team is taking it a step forward with airspace integration, management and security efforts focused on emerging aviation technologies.”

The first phase of development will include a detailed need and task assessment, feature development with user interviews and observations, initial integration of baseline technologies, and testing. The second phase will see user testing of human factors, safety development, prototype testing, and a live demonstration of the system.

For this project, ResilienX has received $4.8 million in AFWERX and NASA funding through the CCRPP. The program is planned to progress through October 2025.

By Kristen Dennis, AFWERX

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