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19 Sept 24. Combatant Commanders Detail Range of Emerging Threats, Highlight Role of Partnerships in Maintaining Edge. Partnerships are key to defending against a rapidly evolving threat landscape and assuring the United States’ advantage for the long term, senior Defense Department leaders said this week.
The commanders of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Space Command and U.S. Transportation Command detailed a complex range of threats posed by U.S. adversaries as a part of a panel discussion during the Air, Space & Cyber Conference hosted by the Air & Space Forces Association just outside of Washington.
“What we face today is a variety of threats in all domains, from multiple adversaries and from all avenues of approach,” said Northcom commander Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot.
That multifaceted threat environment, he said, has evolved significantly in recent years, and stands in stark contrast to one where Northcom was primarily concerned with air threats posed by the Soviet Union.
“And these threats can threaten us from much further away than even just a couple of years ago,” Guillot added, noting the persistent and rapidly growing adversarial capabilities in the space and cyber domains.
Transcom Commander Air Force Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost echoed Guillot’s concerns, noting the urgent need, especially, to defend against cyber vulnerability.
“About 85% of what we do uses the commercial networks, the commercial industry,” she said.
She added that China’s growing military and economic coercion continues to pose significant risk to the U.S. and global logistics lines.
Cybercom Commander Air Force Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, also noted the persistent threat China poses in the cyber domain.
“We have now done extensive reporting at an unclassified level around what type of threat that is to both our economy, to the department and to our critical infrastructure,” he said, adding that such cyber risks threaten the foundation of the economy and U.S. security.
Spacecom Commander Space Force Gen. Stephen N. Whiting further highlighted the rapid development of counter space weapons, particularly by Russia and China.
Those threats, he said, include reversible, non-kinetic capabilities such as GPS jamming as well as kinetic threats such as anti-satellite weapons.
“All of that has moved breathtakingly fast,” he said. “It’s not a future possibility, it’s the reality of the domain that we operate in. And now, we have to operate successfully in the face of that to achieve space superiority.”
The leaders said partnerships across the department and with industry and foreign allies are key to maintaining the United States’ warfighting edge in the face of these challenges.
“We think partnerships are absolutely vital, and it’s part of our secret sauce that our competitors don’t have,” Whiting said. “We like to say in space, it’s a team sport. No one country, command, service, agency, department or company can do all that needs to be done in space. So, we’ve got to work together, and that’s what really makes us stronger.”
Whiting’s fellow combatant commanders share that same commitment to partnerships.
Van Ovost said she works around the clock with her colleagues to accomplish Transcom’s mission.
The same holds true, Haugh said, when defending the cyber domain.
“It really comes down to partnerships,” Haugh said. “And what we all talk about routinely is, how do we get unity of effort in our ability to secure our networks, but also to ensure that we have the ability to command and control. And we have to think about that globally.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
19 Sept. 24. Commission Says U.S. Needs More, Different Resources for Defense Strategy. The United States must increase spending to levels not seen since the Cold War to deter the threats of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, said the leaders of a bipartisan commission examining the National Defense Strategy.
Former Congresswoman Jane Harman chaired the effort with Ambassador Eric Edelman as the vice chair. They spoke to the Defense Writers’ Group on Tuesday highlighting the conclusions of the congressionally chartered commission.
Harman said the United States is facing the most serious and challenging threats since the end of World War II, and Americans are not prepared to face those threats.
This conclusion mirrors the 2018 commission report. “In the 2018 report, we concluded that if trends didn’t change, the United States could find itself on the losing end of a conflict,” Harman told reporters. “When we got together for this report … began to realize that the situation was even worse than it was in 2018 and that we were at the risk of having our authoritarian adversaries outpace us and that we really run the risk of … a global conflict because of the incredibly dangerous international situation that we face.”
The commission members discussed a rethinking of the definition of security in an interconnected world and a massive change in the way Americans think of innovation. They also concluded that the United States needs to dedicate more resources to defense due to the scale of the challenge ahead.
“We have been optimizing a system for acquiring extremely expensive, vulnerable platforms that we can’t afford to lose right when we’re on the cusp of a huge revolution in warfare,” Edelman said. “The Pentagon builds to the speed of bureaucracy. That’s not an industrial base or a business model that’s going to sustain us.”
The report looks to bring together the Pentagon and the greater tech community to spur innovation at scale. Edelman pointed to the Defense Innovation Unit, the Department of Defense’s Strategic Investment Office, and the Replicator initiative championed by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. These are the right ideas, but they are way too small, Harman and Edelman said. Replicator, for example, will build tens of thousands of drones. Ukraine and Russia are using ms of drones. Edelman said any conflict in the Indo-Pacific would dwarf those numbers.
The commission called for a review of the systems in United States’ inventory with an eye to their use on the battlefield. These systems should be agile, interoperable and survivable, Harman said. DOD should be empowered “to cancel programs, determine needs for the future, and invest accordingly,” the report says.
The commission also recommends rebuilding the defense industrial base that has atrophied since the end of the Cold War. Edelman noted that China has 10 shipyards building vessels for their navy. “We’ve got kind of 1 1/2 ,” he said.
The problems run far beyond mere cost. Edelman pointed to the new Sentinel missile system. This is one of the legs of the nuclear triad and will modernize the U.S. ground-based deterrent. The program is in Nunn-McCurdy breach right now, which means it’s over budget and delayed. “Is it because Northrop Grumman … doesn’t know how to make an intercontinental ballistic missile … on time and on schedule?” Edelman asked. “No, that’s not the issue.
“The issue is pouring highly specialized reinforced concrete to create the control rooms and silos for the new missiles,” he said. “We don’t have enough people to do that in the Upper Midwest, where all of this is going to be located.”
There are not enough welders or electricians or pipefitters for many of the projects or systems or infrastructure DOD needs. “We have to look at our educational system to produce the kind of workforce we need to be able to sustain the effort that’s going to be required,” Edelman said. “This sort of human investment will take time, possibly the most precious resource.”
The U.S. has no shortage of energy, innovation, knowledge and more once it has been awakened. Unfortunately, this usually happens only after a crisis. Edelman pointed to the U.S. response to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. military answer to Task Force Smith in Korea in 1950, the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957, and the unified response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. “Wouldn’t it be nice to do this before there is a crisis?” Harman asked.
“It is expensive to defend the United States of America, but what we’re talking about in this report is restoring our ability to deter conflict, and failure to deter conflict is always more expensive than spending the money that’s necessary to deter and defend,” Edelman said. “Our effort has been to try and create a moment of national discussion before the fact, rather than waiting till after the fact when it will cost more.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
17 Sept. 24. ‘One Air Force’ Concept Key to Service’s Reoptimization, Chief of Staff Says. Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. David W. Allvin on Monday explained how reoptimizing the United States Air and Space forces into a ‘one Air Force’ approach will be key to prevailing in the era of great power competition with our adversaries across the globe.
Allvin, who was speaking to a large in-person and remote audience composed primarily of Air and Space Force personnel at a convention just outside of Washington, explained that the ‘one Air Force’ concept came about in the seven months since the branch of service announced sweeping plans for reshaping, refocusing and reoptimizing the Air Force and Space Force to ensure continued supremacy in multiple warfighting domains.
“In order to reoptimize for great power competition, we need to integrate into one Air Force that can be agile as an entire force that can move at the speed and scale of technology and the pace of the threat; and we’ve been doing a lot of that,” Allvin said at the beginning of his remarks.
Released in February, the Air Force’s plan to reoptimize recognizes the need for a branch-wide, holistic approach to restructuring.
Allvin said that, while he sees the Air Force as the “most dominant force on the face of the planet,” it’s necessary to question the cost of such dominance as it relates to personnel and capabilities, and whether the Air Force is positioned to be competitive over time.
“This is the background behind our reoptimization for great power competition, and this is the energy that keeps us moving,” Allvin explained.
The one Air Force reoptimization plan focuses on four key areas: power projection, generating readiness, developing capabilities and developing people.
During his remarks, Allvin provided examples of the progress the Department of the Air Force is making in each of those areas.
“In the area of projecting power, we’re starting in the right spot,” Allvin said, before then explaining plans to have 60 air wings — or 40% of the Air Force — capable of performing beyond just the tactical level of warfare and at a more advanced operational level by 2025.
“And we will continue ,” Allvin said. “This is not an intellectual exercise.”
Along the lines of generating readiness, Allvin discussed the recently established Air Task Forces, which are built to “experiment with ways to more effectively provide deployable, integrated units” and provide “the Air Force with a definable unit of action at a sustainable pace for employing and posturing forces,” according to Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs.
Allvin also spoke about developing people, noting that, “We not only have to manage our talent differently and make sure we have the right talent; but we also need to develop our force aligned against the threat.”
As examples, Allvin discussed the development of technical training tracts for officers; the redesignation of Air Education and Training Command to Airman Development Command; and the establishment of a warrant officer program for airmen in the information technology and cyber career fields.
While discussing developing capabilities as part of reoptimization efforts, Allvin announced the provisional standup of the service’s Integrated Capabilities Command, which will serve to accelerate force modernization efforts against a backdrop of evolving global threats.
“The Secretary and I have authorized the standup of ICC provisional effective today,” Allvin said. “We are going as fast as we dare because this is something we absolutely have to get right, but we know we have to get right fast.”
Allvin wound down his remarks by cautioning that, though such a massive reoptimization project may be challenging, it is necessary to have the boldness and courage to take such sweeping actions.
“I believe that these actions will result in what … the nation demands, which is one Air Force to meet the challenge; ensure we can continue to fly, fight and win; and deliver air power anytime, anywhere.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
18 Sept 24. With Two Nuclear-Armed Strategic Competitors, U.S. Modernization Top Priority. With two nuclear-armed peer competitors — Russia and China — and with both advancing their nuclear capability, the U.S. now, more than ever, must move at full speed to modernize its nuclear deterrence capability. That effort is not just for U.S. national security, but as well for partners who depend on the U.S.
“The security environment we face today is unprecedented,” said Melissa Dalton, undersecretary of the Air Force. “We face for the first time in our nation’s history, two strategic competitors that are nuclear states with large and growing nuclear arsenals. When we look at the and its breathtaking modernization over the last two decades, we see today they have over 500 operational nuclear warheads, far exceeding prior projections.”
Speaking Wednesday at the Air & Space Forces Association’s 2024 Air, Space & Cyber Conference just outside of Washington, Dalton said that in coming years, the U.S. expects China’s warheads to exceed 1,000. At the same time, she said, Russia also remains a challenge.
“We see Russia brandishing its nuclear weapons in the context of the Ukraine conflict and also possessing novel nuclear capabilities that are designed to challenge our escalation calculus,” she said. “The stakes are incredibly high.”
During the Cold War, the U.S. maintained top-notch nuclear deterrence, and the domestic defense industry stood ready to provide whatever was needed. But since the fall of the Soviet Union, and with the U.S. focused on other parts of the world for the past 20-plus years, the U.S. must now up its game.
“We mortgaged our nuclear modernization for 30 years, and for a lot of understandable reasons,” Dalton said. “We had the post-Cold War peace dividend. We were fighting counterterrorism globally. But the fact is, the bills are now way past due, and in that time, our competitors went to school on us, and they caught up.”
With U.S. defense underpinned by its nuclear deterrent, modernization of that capability is a top priority for the Department of Defense.
“The 2022 nuclear posture review reaffirmed our commitment to delivering a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent, and that security guarantee extends to our allies around the globe, and that can never be in question,” she said.
The department is now engaged in a recapitalization of its nuclear triad, which involves new submarines, such as the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines; new bomber aircraft, such as the B-21 Raider; and a new ground-based system, called Sentinel, to replace the 400 silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Air Force Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said that while two-thirds of the nuclear triad, the ground systems and the aircraft-based systems belong to the Air Force — the submarine systems belong to the Navy — modernization is not just an Air Force effort or even just a Navy effort.
“It is imperative that we understand that it’s not a Department imperative that we maintain the nuclear security and nuclear triad,” he said. “It is a national imperative. It’s national policy that the foundation of what we hold dear, the framework of that is nuclear deterrence. And to add to that, and I’ve seen this in the last 19 months of being in command, our allies and partners are counting on us more than ever.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
16 Sept 24. USAF plans to bed down 25 F-35s in FY26, report says.
The U.S. Air Force plans to bed down 25 F-35As in fiscal 2026, according to a recent Defense Department report outlining how the service plans to field an inventory of nearly 700 of the aircraft by the end of the decade.
The Selected Acquisition Report, effective as of Dec. 31, 2023, was cleared for public release in August. It outlines the number of fighters the service intends to field each year through fiscal 2029, with expected losses of between two to four F-35As per year, for a total inventory of 664 aircraft.
An Air Force official told Air & Space Forces Magazine, which first reported on the report, that the figures should not be considered as an exact reflection of planned Air Force budget requests, but they relate to “a number of factors” impacting how fast aircraft can be purchased, delivered and absorbed into existing units and fielded to new locations. The official also said there have been adjustments to the program since late 2023 when the report became effective, which were not captured in the report.
The Pentagon’s plan is for the fleet of F-35s, including the F-35B variant for the U.S. Marine Corps and the F-35C variant for the U.S. Navy, to replace the various services’ legacy fleets and complement their other aircraft.
For fiscal 2026, the report outlines a plan to bed down 16 F-35Bs and 20 F-35Cs, with the services reaching an inventory of 245 and 219 of those respective aircraft by fiscal 2029. Expected losses for the Marine Corps and Navy fleets range from zero to two per year, about half of what the Air Force anticipates.
Additionally, the report describes a procurement plan for the F-35As, with an intention to buy 42 in both fiscal 2025 and 2026, 47 in fiscal 2027 and 2028 and then 48 per year through fiscal 2048. Then, in fiscal 2049, it plans to buy 34, bringing the total number of aircraft acquired since 2007 to 1,763.
The Air Force’s 2025 budget request also outlines the service’s ask for 42 F-35As, a procurement document shows. The Pentagon cleared the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for full-rate production earlier this year, Defense News previously reported. (Source: Defense News)
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