Tag: USAF

USAF’s Sixth Generation Fighter Officially Enters Development

Defense News reports that Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said during an event at the Heritage Foundation that the service’s “secretive and highly classified Next Generation Air Dominance fighter program has started its crucial engineering and manufacturing development phase.” Kendall said that the service “began early experimental prototyping on NGAD in 2015, when he was the Pentagon’s top acquisition official. This was essentially an X-plane program, he said, designed to reduce risk and develop key technologies needed for the production program.” Kendall said that the technology has continued to progress and the “NGAD effort is now envisioned as a ‘family of systems’ incorporating several elements, including a handful of autonomous drone aircraft accompanying the manned aircraft in formation.” Kendall said, “The clock really didn’t start in 2015; it’s starting roughly now. … We think we’ll have capability by the end of the decade.”
Full Story (Defense News)

Next-Gen Fighter Still On Tap, But More Affordable Redesign Needed, Kendall Says

Defense News reports, “The U.S. Air Force has not abandoned its program to build an advanced next-generation fighter, but it does need a redesign to get costs under control and better integrate its planned drone wingmen, the service’s secretary told Defense News. Secretary Frank Kendall also said a revamped Next Generation Air Dominance fighter platform could end up with a less complex, smaller engine than originally intended to try to hold down its price.”
Full Story (Defense News)

USAF Science & Technology Chief: New Urgency to Embrace Digital Transformation to Strengthen the Force’s Resiliency and Ability to Compete Against Near-Peer Rivals

By Anne Wainscott-Sargent, AIAA Communications Team
Watch On Demand 

ORLANDO, Fla. – The ability to field critical capabilities in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) has never been more urgent, a senior Air Force official told AIAA SciTech Forum attendees.

“We are in competition with near-competitive nations and China in particular is now on par to deliver new capabilities in seven years or less,” said Kristen Baldwin, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force.

She noted that in comparison, USAF programs take an average of 16 years to deliver new capability. “We see digital transformation as a true disruptive business practice that we can bring to bear. We have to invest now – we have to invest in new capabilities.”

Baldwin, speaking via Zoom on the second day of the forum, oversees a $5 billion budget across multiple research sites worldwide, focusing on digital engineering, cyber resiliency, and the service’s science and technology portfolio.

She described the Air Force’s digital materiel management approach, which includes six key initiatives to enhance data security, training, and IT infrastructure. Baldwin also outlined the integration of digital strategies across the Air Force and Space Force, including putting the government’s Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) and other government reference architectures as requirements in contracts. MOSA is the cornerstone of new and legacy platforms and weapons.

Baldwin also mentioned the five pillars of the Air Force’s engineering strategy that has been embraced by U.S. allies, particularly in the UK and Australia. Her team’s Digital Materiel Management (DMM) approach has led to both schedule acceleration and technology improvements.

She stressed the need for continuous engagement with industry partners and international collaborations to drive digital transformation forward. The USAF has created two digital consortia – the Industry Association Consortium (IAC) and the Digital Acceleration Consortium (DAC). The IAC provides an open collaborative opportunity for the defense industrial base to help identify barriers and develop solutions associated with the rapid, full-scale adoption of DMM. The DAC recommends solutions modernizing IT infrastructure, compatible Integrated Digital Environments, secure access to data, and common data standards, policy, and contracting language.

During the Q&A, Baldwin agreed that as government goes more digital, it will be more vulnerable to cyber attacks.

“We have to implement that cyber resilience to really manage our data. We can’t rely on just network and perimeter defense. We’ve got to be able to implement and manage that security of our data, so these environments we’re building and the way we classify that data is a key foundational element of our digital transformation approach. We have to be agile in the way we can maneuver to respond to cyber threats. We have to be continuously aware and adapt,” she said.

The final question ended on a fun note: What did Baldwin consider the most feasible technological innovation from the Star Wars universe that could be developed within the next 50 years, and what challenges would engineers and scientists face in making it a reality?

“I love the idea of robotics and image holograms. The advancement of robotics as well as holograms can really help to transform the way that we support our forces. When we think of this urgency in national security, we’re going to find ourselves in situations where we are not going to have the ability to wait for delivery of future capability. We’ll have to reset and regroup in place.”

Responding to Baldwin’s presentation, Terry Hill, digital engineering program manager for NASA in Washington, D.C., said, “It’s good to hear the Air Force’s plan. Their approach to MOSA and their commitment to moving to a digital ecosystem is refreshing because that’s where NASA is wanting to go and we’re trying to work across agencies to best leverage all our different investments.”

Hill added that the Air Force’s emphasis on cybersecurity also benefits civil agencies like NASA. “Focusing on different areas and sharing solutions is definitely the way forward,” he said.

 On Demand Recording Available

Watch Full Session On Demand 

Boeing Expects Grey Wolf Helicopter Deliveries to USAF to Begin This Year

Air Force Times reports that The Boeing Company “expects to start delivering the Air Force’s first field-ready MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters later this year.” In a Friday release, Boeing “said it finished construction on the first low-rate initial production Grey Wolf in late December.” That helicopter “also started its flight testing at Italian aerospace firm Leonardo’s facility in Philadelphia, the company said.” Boeing “said the MH-130 is continuing the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification testing process.” The Air Force “plans to buy up to 80 MH-139s to replace its fleet of 63 UH-1N Huey helicopters.” Security forces airmen “will use them to patrol the service’s nuclear missile fields, and the service also plans to use these helicopters to transport senior military officials.”
Full Story (Air Force Times)

US Aerospace Manufacturers Join USAF’s Autonomous Fighter Effort

FlightGlobal reports that three major US aerospace manufacturers “have confirmed they will participate in a US Air Force (USAF) effort to develop autonomous fighter aircraft.” Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman “have all been selected for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, the companies tell FlightGlobal on 26 January.” The three defense giants “join start-up Anduril, which confirmed its participation in the effort on 25 January.” The CCA program “aims to deliver pilotless jet aircraft that can be produced at a relatively low cost and fielded in large numbers to supplement crewed fighters.” The USAF “plans to team CCAs with a secretive future sixth-generation fighter platform, known as Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD).”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

USAF Conducting “Ground Taxi Activities” with B-21 Raider Ahead of First Flight

Inside Defense reports the US Air Force said that it is “conducting ‘ground taxi activities’ with the B-21 Raider ahead of the bomber’s first flight.” According to a statement from the USAF, “Rigorous testing is a critical step in the B-21 flight test program. … Extensive testing evaluates systems, components and functionalities. This testing allows us to mitigate risks, optimize design and enhance operational effectiveness.”
Full Story (Inside Defense)

Reliable Robotics Completes Study for USAF Examining Autonomous Flight

Aviation Week reports that Reliable Robotics “has completed a study for the U.S. Air Force examining retrofitting the service’s large multi-engine jets with its autonomous flight control technology and says only ‘modest’ changes would be needed to accommodate its systems.” The study “did not focus on any specific airframe.”
Full Story (Aviation Week – Subscription Publication)

Overair Working to Complete First Air Taxi Prototype

An article in Aerospace America describes Overair’s facility and examines the eVTOL aircraft the company is producing and the differences from its competitors. Company Co-Founder and CEO Ben Tigner believes the company’s rotor design and proprietary technology will be what drives Overair’s success in a competitive market. Overair’s aircraft will use large rotors, and therefore require less than competitors like Joby, Archer, and Volocopter – using only four rotors while others use as many as 18. The rotors are large, but lightweight due to their utilization of carbon fiber composite.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

USAF Begins Testing of Joby Electric Air Taxi

Aerospace America reports that on Monday, the US Air Force (USAF) held a ceremony to formally introduce personnel “to the first electric air taxi to be stationed at an American military base: a Joby Aviation S4 tiltrotor.” The S4 will be operated at Edwards Air Force Base by the USAF, Joby, and NASA in order to test its ability to carry personnel and supplies. Edwards Air Force Base 412th Test Wing Commander Col. Douglas Wickert said, “We’re literally standing on the threshold here of a new era in aviation. There’s no doubt that the electrification of aviation is going to be a critical piece in the broader energy transition toward a sustainable future for humanity, and I’m proud that we get to the opportunity to contribute to that. There’s a transformative vertical lift industry that’s emerging, and we need to be partners in it.” The S4 at the ceremony is the first one delivered to the USAF under a $131 million contract between Joby and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s innovation arm AFWERX. The USAF will not officially own the aircraft, but the contract allows the USAF and partners to fly it.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

USAF Receives First Electric Passenger Aircraft Capable of Taking Off, Landing Vertically

The New York Times reports the US Air Force announced Monday that it had “received its first electric passenger aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically, a milestone for the companies that hope to one day sell thousands of such vehicles to serve as air taxis. Joby Aviation, an air taxi start-up, delivered the aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California … , Air taxis are typically powered by batteries and designed to lift off and land like helicopters, but include wings to fly like airplanes.” Joby “said that its electric aircraft is substantially quieter than helicopters or planes. Each can carry one pilot and four passengers and travel as fast as 200 miles per hour and as far as 100 miles, according to the company.”
Full Story (New York Times)

L3Harris, BAE Systems Deliver First EC-37B Compass Call to US Air Force

FlightGlobal reports L3Harris and BAE Systems have delivered the first EC-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft to the US Air Force. The article mentions that while the previous EC-130H Compass Call “was based on the Lockheed Martin turboprop transport,” the EC-37B is built on the Gulfstream G550 platform. BAE Systems “oversaw the production of the electronic attack package, while L3Harris was the prime contractor for integrating those mission systems into the Gulfstream jet.” BAE Systems “says the new aircraft will deliver much needed electronic attack capability to the USAF, which is in the process of reorienting its forces to survive in well-defended airspace contested by a modern adversary.”
Full Story (FlightGlobal)

EC-37B Compass Call Makes Debut Flight

Aviation Week reports that the USAF Compass Call eavesdropping and electronic attack suite has been successfully moved from the retired legacy EC-130H aircraft into the EC-37B. The new EC-37B Compass Call, a modified Gulfstream G550 business jet, recently conducted its first four-hour flight.
Full Story (Aviation Week)