Category: Defence Intelligence

Source: United States Air Force

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. (AFNS) —  

The 56th Fighter Wing conducted Instructor Pilot War Day in conjunction with a larger joint-force exercise hosted by the 944th Fighter Wing, Exercise Desert Hammer, Nov. 3-4, over the Barry M. Goldwater Range, Arizona.

Source: United States Air Force

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNS) —  

At 100 years old, World War II and Korean War airpower legend, retired Lt. Col. James H. Harvey III., one of the nation’s first African American fighter pilots with the famed Tuskegee Airmen, received an honorary promotion to the rank of colonel Nov. 4. The honorary promotion took place on Denver’s Empower Field during halftime of the game between the U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons and the U.S. Military Academy Black Knights.

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet initiated the promotion this past summer, and Harvey’s daughters, Alysyn Green and Kathy Harvey, and his niece Karen Jackson pinned on the silver eagle rank of colonel.

“Lieutenant Colonel James H. Harvey III led a distinguished career as a 22-year Army veteran and member of the renowned Tuskegee Airmen,” Bennet said. “Having served in a military that was still segregated, he faced no shortage of obstacles, but his incredible courage, skill, and perseverance led him to earn repeated honors, including as the military’s first [African American] fighter jet pilot to fly in Korean airspace and the winner of the military’s original ‘Top Gun’ competition.”

In 1949, at the first Top Gunnery Meet at (then) Las Vegas Air Force Base, Nevada, fighter groups nationwide flew in to participate. Then a lieutenant, Harvey and fellow 332nd Fighter Group Tuskegee Airmen were among the competitors. They executed magnificently in all phases of the meet and were the overall winners. For decades, the record was unceremoniously missing, and official Air Force records listed the winner as unknown. In 1993, the Air Force corrected the record when retired Col. Harry Stewart, from the 1949 team, returned to now-Nellis AFB, Nevada, with proof of the 332nd Fighter Group win.

“I’m honored to have supported Lieutenant Colonel Harvey’s honorary promotion and to recognize his contributions to our country’s history and the advancement of civil rights,” Bennet said.

To honor Harvey and all the Tuskegee Airmen, two planes embodying their legacy flew overhead during the Air Force-Army game. The P-47 Thunderbolt, the plane flown by Tuskegee Airmen from the 332nd Fighter Wing to win the first ever William Tell competition in 1949, and the P-51 Mustang, made iconic by the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, soared overhead in celebration of the Tuskegee Airmen’s legacy. 

Source: United States Air Force

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) —  

Beale Air Force Base recently piloted its first Multi-Capable Airman course, with members from career fields across the 9th Reconnaissance Wing participating Oct. 16–27.

Wing leadership directed the course’s creation to support the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment concept. ACE requires the expedient movement of personnel and equipment to support the recovery, refueling, and launching of assets with a smaller footprint.

The intent of the course is to develop Airmen who are proficient in their primary AFSC by equipping them with expeditionary skills and training which they can employ in deployed environments or on home station if needed, according to Maj. Matthew Mays, 9th Reconnaissance Wing A4 (Logistics, Engineering and Force Protection) director.  

“Not only does this training help prepare our Airmen for successfully supporting the day-to-day mission downrange, but it also helps support the future of Agile Combat Employment operations at forward operating sites and contingency locations,” Mays said. “It is part of an Air Force initiative to move away from large-scale force packages and prepare units to operate as leaner, more agile forces within a permissive environment.”

The class was comprised of 24 students ranging from maintainers to paralegals who had prepared by completing Ready Airman Training, covering combat arms and training maintenance, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives training and other combat topics, before beginning MCA training.

Instructors considered subject matter experts in their respective fields were chosen to teach concepts necessary to qualify graduates as multi-capable Airmen. Staff Sgt. Clayton Johnson, 9th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels mobile distribution supervisor, was one of the instructors during the course.

“I was here to teach [all-terrain] forklift operations,” Johnson said. “This portion is important because when we go downrange, if we have to drive a forklift and do not have a certified forklift operator, we can still move cargo that comes in and out of aircraft.”

In the two-week course, instructors taught concepts including tactical combat casualty care, air base ground defense, aircraft familiarization and safety protocols. The course culminated in an all-day field training exercise where Airmen applied their new knowledge.

 
The exercise involved a small shelter system setup, entry control point setup, tactical movements and complex assault and recovery actions. Students were tasked with successfully passing every event presented to them both in the classroom and field training event to receive the MCA qualification.

The 9th RW plans to provide this course for Airmen once per quarter. Airmen who become certified in the course must also participate in at least one certifying event, such as a large-scale readiness exercise, every two years during their ready phase to retain their proficiency.

Beale has employed these concepts during exercises such as Dragon Flag East and Dragon Fang, which tested the wing’s ability to employ ACE and MCA capabilities. The new course allows Airmen to receive MCA training in a formal setting for the first time.

“Being a Multi-Capable Airman is about generating airpower,” said Chief Master Sgt. Breanna Oliver, 9th RW command chief. “We can all contribute to that no matter what our function is because at the end of the day, we need to get planes in the air. That is what we bring to the joint force.”

MCA provides a critical role in sustaining a more lethal force ready to face near-peer adversaries and efficiently execute the mission around the globe.

Source: United States Air Force

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) —  

In this week’s look around the Air Force, Gen. David W. Allvin is confirmed as the 23rd Chief of Staff of the Air Force, U.S. Space Force assumes responsibility of the missile warning mission in the Indo-Pacific from the U.S. Army, and the Alia electric aircraft arrives at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, for capability testing. (Hosted by Staff Sgt. Jazmin Granger)

Watch on DVIDS | Watch on YouTube
For previous episodes, click here for the Air Force TV page.

Source: United States Air Force

ROME, N.Y. (AFNS) —  

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall and leaders from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Northern Command, Joint Staff, Royal Canadian Air Force and Office of the Secretary of Defense were recently in attendance at NOARAD’s Eastern Air Defense Sector in Rome to underscore the Air Force’s commitment to modernizing its air defense capabilities.

The event marked a pivotal milestone in the service’s modernization of tactical command and control capabilities as part of the Advanced Battle Management System portfolio of efforts.

The NORAD’s EADS performed the initial operating capability rollout of the ABMS’ Cloud-Based Command and Control system, or CBC2, a platform that will provide greater decision space for decision makers and end users.

CBC2 incorporates a large number of tactically relevant data feeds as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning to assist decision makers with maintaining detailed situational awareness of the battlespace. The platform uses this data to develop courses of action from which leaders can make higher quality and faster decisions that improve operational outcomes.

During his remarks, Kendall recognized the extraordinary progress achieved by the CBC2 team, highlighting their dedication and technical expertise

“The successful deployment of the CBC2 system is a testament to the hard work and ingenuity of our Airmen,” he said. “Their dedication to advancing our command-and-control capabilities is instrumental in achieving the department’s second operational imperative — achieving operationally optimized Advanced Battle Management Systems — while maintaining technological superiority in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.”

CBC2 is being developed through the USAF’s agile software development methodology, which enables software developers to work with end users throughout the development process, in a collaborative approach encouraging adaptive planning, evolutionary development, continuous delivery and continual improvement.

NORAD’s and USNORTHCOM’s participation in combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control through CBC2 helps to eliminate stovepipes of information and data, and ensures operational users take part in developing future C2 systems essential to homeland defense.

EADS is the first NORAD and USNORTHCOM Air Defense Sector to launch the platform in what will be a continuous and iterative approach that consistently provides new capability in response to user-generated feedback. As CBC2 transitions into its next phase of development, the program will focus on delivering the next release of capability to Canadian Air Defense Sector, or CADS. Both EADS and CADS should have the new system in place by mid-2024. Future releases are planned to take place at Air Defense Sectors in Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington throughout 2024.

EADS Commander Col. Joseph Roos said the new system could enhance the ability of operators to defend North America.

“The capabilities that the CBC2 platform could bring to our operators ensures they will have the most advanced and effective technologies to find, fix, track and target airborne threats,” Roos said.

EADS is permanently assigned to NORAD and reports directly to Continental U.S. NORAD Region, located at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. The bi-national sector, comprised of New York Air National Guard members and a Canadian Forces detachment, is responsible for the aerospace defense of the eastern United States to include the National Capital Region around Washington, D.C., and supports NORAD’s Integrated Tactical Warning and Attack Assessment and Northern Command’s homeland defense missions.

Source: United States Air Force

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) —  

Roughly 120 service members and five KC-46A Pegasus tankers assigned to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, participated in JB MDL’s first certification event for the KC-46A during Neptune Series exercise at Travis Air Force Base, Oct. 21-Nov. 2.

Throughout the two-week exercise, 305th Air Mobility Wing Airmen certified the KC-46 Mission Generation Force Element in preparation for the upcoming Air Force Force Generation deployment cycle. Evaluations on the ability to successfully accomplish Air Mobility Command competencies, maximize joint air interoperability, and strengthen global warfighting capabilities, were priorities during the exercise.

“Our team did not disappoint. [The Neptune Series] accomplished the first AFFORGEN model proof of concept in the KC-46 enterprise and set the framework for future certification events on this airframe,” said 1st Lt. Britton Beasley, KC-46 Aircraft Maintenance officer in charge during the exercise. “We showed that we’re capable of executing an entirely organic large force movement to a deployed location. We proved that we can generate, recover and perform up to intermediate-level maintenance on deployed aircraft for the 2nd ARS to execute their certification in the air.”

The joint air interoperability exercise was composed of multiple JB MDL squadrons, including the 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 305th MS, 305th Operations Support Squadron, 2nd Air Refueling Squadron, and 87th Logistics Readiness Squadron.

Jointly, these squadrons sharpened their skills to generate, fly and deliver airpower superiority. Airmen implemented agile combat employment concepts in simulated deployed scenarios, testing their proactive and reactive responses with limited personnel and equipment.

“The most challenging part of this exercise is being away from home station without home-station support,” said Staff. Sgt. Daniel Myers, 605th AMXS KC-46A crew chief. “This Neptune Series, for maintenance, has proved that we can all be muti-capable Airmen in the generation of this aircraft.”

Flexibility, adaptability and endurance were vital to mission success. JB MDL Airmen increased proficiency by applying cross-functional training to scale down the number of participants while also preserving high-end readiness essential for training to win today and tomorrow.

“Our Airmen and our aircraft are ready,” said Lt. Col. Joshua Crockett, 2nd ARS commander and MGFE commander. “This experience tested and validated our ability to rapidly project global airpower from home station anywhere at any time. Throughout this certification event I’ve witnessed the team’s ability to deliver with high levels of precision, consistently and over an extended duration. Without a doubt, our MGFE will fuel the joint force mission and maneuver at the tempo required to win.”

Multiple aspects of real-life deployment scenarios were incorporated to simulate a realistic atmosphere for the exercise, aiding in crew preparation for future missions. This training opportunity strengthened warfighter capabilities and successfully integrated AMC priorities.

“My primary role as intel was to integrate with the mission planning cell and provide knowledge of potential threats to our tankers, ensuring the safety and success of the mission,” said Airman 1st Class Antonio Ramirez, 305th OSS KC-46 Intelligence Support. “We contributed to this certification by providing a threat picture, which allowed our tankers to conduct strategic maneuvers to avoid said threats while conducting air refueling.”

The Neptune Series of events invested in readiness and strengthening global warfighting capabilities. This joint air interoperability exercise ushers JB MDL into a new era of rapid air mobility.

Source: United States Air Force

ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —  

Newly appointed Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin released his first letter to Airmen.

In the letter, Allvin expresses humility, pride, and a sense of urgency in assuming the role and lays out the need for follow-through on key readiness and innovation initiatives while also acknowledging the challenges faced by the Air Force.

The letter serves as a rallying call for Airmen to continue their exceptional service and adapt to the evolving demands of national security.

To read the full letter, click here.