Cyber is in virtually everything the Air and Space Forces do, from high-flying weapons to barracks thermostats. But if you asked how well the department’s cyber efforts were going a year ago, no one person had the answer—including the services’ brand-new principal cyber adviser. “On day three, the [Air Force] Secretary asked me a question: ‘What is the cybersecurity and cyber defense posture of the enterprise?’ And he was talking [about] everything: weapon systems, critical infrastructure, our networks, our supporting business systems. That's a huge question,” said Wanda Jones-Heath.
Funding for new and emerging technologies is featured heavily in several Senate amendments proposed for the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, underscoring Capitol Hill’s enthusiasm and technology’s increasing role in modernizing national security. Among the leading topics present in the slew of the more tech-centric amendments is artificial intelligence.
The U.K. Royal Air Force has provided details of a major exercise that saw the largest-ever number of Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or ASRAAMs, launched against target drones. In all, 53 of the missiles were fired over a 10-day period, by pilots from multiple RAF squadrons flying an undisclosed number of Typhoon multirole fighters and F-35B stealth fighters. Each of those missiles reportedly costs around £200,000 (or approximately $225,500 based on the current conversion rate).
Eight Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drones and more than 150 Airmen have started a yearlong deployment to southern Japan and will begin surveillance flights within weeks, according to U.S. and Japanese officials. Members of the 319th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron held an assumption-of-command ceremony Oct. 23 at Kanoya Air Base to kick off their mission.
In Episode 99 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, John Baum chats with retired Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem and Christopher Stone of the Mitchell Institute along with Christina Back of General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems. They explain why it’s crucial to pursue next-generation propulsion technologies to enhance space maneuvering. Current Space Force designs are based on constellation architectures with limited maneuverability and few countermeasures. This means assets in orbit are increasingly vulnerable to attack as China and Russia both deploy new anti-satellite weapons and multi-layered counterspace architectures. However, this does not have to be our future.
As cheap, unmanned drones proliferate on both sides of the Ukraine conflict, new air superiority tactics are emerging almost daily. In this op-ed, the Stimson Center’s Kelly Grieco and the Atlantic Council’s Julia Siegel describe how the new era of aerial warfare could favor a savvy Taiwan, should China decide to invade.
Fourth- and eighth-grade students in Defense Department schools scored better in a national assessment of math and reading skills than their civilian counterparts as nationwide averages dropped in the first comprehensive appraisal since the COVID-19 pandemic. In data released for the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading and Mathematics Assessments, students in Department of Defense Education Activity, or DODEA, schools scored an average of 15 to 23 points higher than the national averages and held steady or increased from the previous assessment in 2019, even as most jurisdictions saw decreased scores.
With sights ultimately set on accelerating the making of the world’s first utility-scale (or “useful”) quantum computer, the Air Force Research Laboratory has formally partnered with PsiQuantum via a $22.5 million contract to co-design and manufacture quantum photonic chips, according to a press release shared with DefenseScoop.
After overcoming developmental delays, the first prototype of the Air Force’s new combat trainer—the T-7A Red Hawk—rolled off the production line this year, hitting a major milestone. But the program still faces an uphill climb. As Boeing moves toward the production phase of its T-X program—which includes aircraft, ground simulators, and other training technology—to replace the aging T-38 Talons, the company is fighting to make sure it stays on schedule and on cost, an executive said.
A U.S. Space Force infrared sensing demonstration satellite launched in July will soon start receiving data, Space Systems Command announced. “The Wide Field of View (WFOV) geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) demonstration satellite is set to receive ‘first light’ data from its sensor after calibration is completed,” the command said.
The safety stand-down that has grounded the Navy’s fleet of T-45C Goshawk training jets happened after one of the trainers experienced “a low-pressure compressor blade failure” before takeoff, officials have confirmed. Officials said no prior Goshawk mishaps are being attributed to this type of engine blade fault, although a mishap from August remains under investigation. The Navy initiated the safety stand-down Oct. 14. Goshawks are used to train Navy and Marine Corps fighter pilots.
Fans of fighter jets and freedom will love a new F-15C paint scheme unveiled by the California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing, which on Oct. 22 posted photos of an aircraft bedazzled in the stars and stripes. “That’s Tail Flash #113, which recently reached more than 10,000 flight hours,” the wing wrote on its Facebook page. “To celebrate, members of the 144th Fighter Wing painted the aircraft with this special paint scheme.”