Enlisted Airmen, rejoice: You may be able to take your promotion test on a computer this year. The Air Force’s top enlisted leader, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass, said in an exclusive interview that she wants to give a select group of Airmen access to digital exams in a pilot program at the end of 2022.
The United States is ramping up support for Pakistan and beginning a days-long military airlift into the country as it struggles to battle devastating floods that are expected to take years to recover from. The military began airlifting supplies into Pakistan as part of an additional $20 million the Biden administration is providing for humanitarian aid.
Ukrainian forces have capitalized as Russia has repeated some of the strategic missteps that halted Moscow’s initial advance on Kyiv, and some Russian troops seem to have retreated to their home country, Pentagon officials said. In Kharkiv, “we assess that Russian forces have largely ceded their gains to the Ukrainians and have withdrawn to the north and east. Many of these forces have moved over the border into Russia,” a senior U.S. military official said.
It’s no secret that America’s Air Force fields the oldest, smallest set of capabilities since its founding in 1947. These sorts of realities repeatedly prompted service officials to pursue “divest to invest” modernization strategies, taking significant risk with too little money available to effectively balance modernization, force size, and readiness. Joining the Mitchell Institute’s discussion is former Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations retired Lt. Gen. Joseph T. Guastella Jr.
General Electric Aviation said it and the Air Force finished testing the firm’s second adaptive engine, which it hopes the military will adopt for the F-35 jet, and that the engine is ready to move into the engineering and manufacturing development phase. The Defense Department is considering whether to replace the F-35A’s F135 engine with a new adaptive model, which uses advanced composites and new technologies such as a third stream of air to improve fuel efficiency, thrust, speed, range, and heat management.
American F-22 fighters are training in northern Australia alongside the host nation’s F-35A jets as part of an initiative meant to improve interoperability between their armed forces. Six F-22s from the 15th Wing based at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, arrived at Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal in the Northern Territory in mid-August, with training beginning soon after.
Leonardo and prime contractor Boeing have delivered the first of four MH-139A Grey Wolf test helicopters to the control of the Air Force’s Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, as the service looks to replace its aging fleet of Bell UH-1N Hueys. The delivery comes after the FAA issued the last supplemental type certificate necessary to complete Department of Defense Form 250 and formally commence aircraft acceptance.
Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice has previously hinted about possible military applications for the company’s Dream Chaser space plane. Sierra Space has since announced that it signed an agreement with U.S. Transportation Command to develop concepts for using Dream Chaser space planes and its Shooting Star cargo modules for “timely global delivery of Department of Defense logistics and personnel.”
As defense companies grapple with soaring inflation, the Pentagon is working on new guidance that would give contracting officers more flexibility to make adjustments, the Defense Department’s top acquisition official said. “I’m worried about the small supplier who signed a firm, fixed-price contract. It’s got 50 employees and all of a sudden is dealing with 11 percent inflation,” said William A. LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.
The U.S. Air Force and industry partners are ramping up efforts to add the newest electronic warfare gear to as many as 43 already-operational F-15E fighters. The Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System will let the F-15E monitor, jam, and deceive threats in highly contested environments, according to manufacturer BAE Systems. It uses sensors, electronic countermeasures, and algorithms to provide integrated radar warning, geolocation, situational awareness, and self-defense technology.
In Episode 93 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, “The Future of Autonomy and Combat Airpower: Understanding the Imperative,” host John Baum chats with Mike Benitez of Shield AI, Andrew Van Timmeren of Blue Force Technologies, and Heather Penney and Caitlin Lee of the Mitchell Institute about one of the most exciting developments in combat air power: autonomy. It’s been the subject of science fiction for decades—the ability for aircraft to operate with a level of independent decision-making that allows them to execute missions on their own. This first of three episodes looks at the imperative: Why do we need to pursue increased autonomy?
Idaho-based pilots of the 190th Fighter Squadron at Gowen Field in Boise are some of the nation’s best to fly the A-10 fighter jet—and they proved as much during this year’s Hawgsmoke competition. The A-10 Thunderbolt II, known as the “Warthog” fighter jet, has played a pivotal role for the Idaho National Air Guard since the late 1990s. This is the fourth win for the 190th Squadron’s “Skullbangers,” which puts them in the lead among all A-10 squadrons globally.
Quality of gear aside, when the U.S. military is equipping its troops, it tries to ensure that they have everything they need to defeat the enemy and—if funding permits—not be entirely miserable in the meantime. Operationally, however, the troops figure out very quickly what's going to work and what they need to improvise.