Re-invigorating nuclear enterprise a top priority

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Maintaining accountability and improving stewardship of the Air Force’s nuclear program is the top priority, said the service’s 19th chief of staff recently.

Gen. Norton Schwartz said the Air Force has gone through some “rough” air in the realm of nuclear deterrence, but the service is already on the path to recovery.

“The nuclear enterprise is getting a lot of my own and Secretary of the Air Force Michael B. Donley’s attention,” he said.

As a result, Air Force officials have a rigorous accountability and “back to basics” approach for compliance, precision and reliability within the nuclear arena. The goal is to restore the Air Force’s nuclear mission to the standard of excellence for which it was known throughout the entire Cold War.

“We will train, organize and inspect to that standard,” General Schwartz said. “The bottom line is we lost focus, and we’re bringing that focus back.”

One way the service plans to accomplish this is by setting up a nuclear-only major command, called the Global Strike Command. This organization will include both the 8th and 20th Air Forces and will be responsible for the management of the Air Force’s nuclear assets.

“We will have the nuclear missiles and the nuclear-capable bombers in the same organization and the focus will be on the nuclear mission,” General Schwartz said. “We’re going to make sure that we’re focusing on doing our nuclear mission the right way, which is the Air Force way.”

In addition to establishing this new command, Air Force leaders also created a new Air Staff directorate, or A10, for nuclear matters. Called the Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration Office, and led by Maj. Gen. C. Donald Alston, the office will be the focal point on the Air Staff for the Air Force nuclear enterprise.

“The new directorate provides policy oversight, increased institutional focus and staff integration for nuclear issues,” General Schwartz said. “The A10 will be instrumental in managing the overall nuclear enterprise and will be directly involved in implementing the Air Force nuclear roadmap as well as preparing to stand up Air Force Global Strike Command.”

Other changes to the Air Force’s nuclear enterprise are also under way. The Nuclear Weapons Center at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., has been revitalized and expanded, with clearly understood chains of command to prevent repeats of past problems, the general said.

“The Nuclear Weapons Center now has complete control over the whole sustainment supply chain,” General Schwartz said. “That wasn’t the case earlier, and so now we will have a single entity that is responsible for ops and employment and a single entity that is responsible for sustainment.”

The chief of staff also pointed to efforts within the Air Force to develop a more centralized inspection process to ensure nuclear material is handled properly.

The general has been impressed with the progress made in the past three to four months and looks forward to tackling the other large nuclear enterprise issues such as how the Air Force can systematically rebuild its nuclear expertise within its ranks of Airmen through training and career development.

According to the general, all these changes are a vital part of Air Force stewardship of the strategic nuclear deterrence capabilities, which serves as an important national security backdrop for America and its allies.

“While today’s fight is vitally important to our Air Force, the capabilities that we provide in support of our nation’s nuclear deterrent force is just as, if not more, important,” he said.

“We have to return our focus to the fundamental capabilities of supporting deterrence,” he said. “Air Force capabilities help dissuade and deter our adversaries and it is always best to win without fighting.”
Matthew Bates (AFNS)

USAF Aggressors

An F-15 Eagle and two F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets of the US Air Force 64th Aggressor Squadron (64th AGRS) soar over Nevada.

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ACC Officials Want Air Force Irregular Warfare Fleet of Aircraft

Aviation Calendar 2009

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Senior Air Force officials will likely decide next month whether the service will pursue a light-attack plane effort in response to the persistent irregular warfare missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to service officials. The long-term RC-12 mission goals will likely be addressed at that time as well, reports Inside Defense.

Recommendations for the two efforts — in addition to other initiatives — are all part of a rapid capabilities-based assessment on irregular warfare being conducted by Air Combat Command. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz ordered the study in September.

Read the full article at Inside Defense (Subscription Required)

Propeller-Driven Light-Attack Aircraft at ‘Forefront’ of ACC Plans

Aviation Calendar 2009

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Inside Defense reports that the Air Force is considering acquiring a propeller-driven light-attack aircraft to meet current surveillance and firepower needs on the battlefield, according to the general in charge of Air Combat Command’s requirements division.

Read the complete article at Inside Defense (paid subscription required)

B-52 Stratofortress Bomber

B-52

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Air Combat Command’s B-52 is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000 feet (15,166.6 meters). It can carry nuclear or precision guided conventional ordnance with worldwide precision navigation capability.

Features
In a conventional conflict, the B-52 can perform strategic attack, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations. During Desert Storm, B-52s delivered 40 percent of all the weapons dropped by coalition forces. It is highly effective when used for ocean surveillance, and can assist the U.S. Navy in anti-ship and mine-laying operations. Two B-52s, in two hours, can monitor 140,000 square miles (364,000 square kilometers) of ocean surface.

All B-52s are equipped with an electro-optical viewing system that uses platinum silicide forward-looking infrared and high resolution low-light-level television sensors to augment targeting, battle assessment, and flight safety, thus further improving its combat ability and low-level flight capability.

Pilots wear night vision goggles (NVG) to enhance their vision during night operations. Night vision goggles provide greater safety during night operations by increasing the pilot’s ability to visually clear terrain, avoid enemy radar and see other aircraft in a covert/lights-out environment.

Starting in 1989, on-going modifications incorporates the global positioning system, heavy stores adapter beams for carrying 2,000 pound munitions, and a full array of advance weapons currently under development.

The use of aerial refueling gives the B-52 a range limited only by crew endurance. It has an unrefueled combat range in excess of 8,800 miles (14,080 kilometers).

The aircraft’s flexibility was evident in Operation Desert Storm and again during Operations Allied Force. B-52s struck wide-area troop concentrations, fixed installations and bunkers, and decimated the morale of Iraq’s Republican Guard. The Gulf War involved the longest strike mission in the history of aerial warfare when B-52s took off from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., launched conventional air launched cruise missiles and returned to Barksdale — a 35-hour, non-stop combat mission.

During Operation Allied Force, B-52s opened the conflict with conventional cruise missile attacks and then transitioned to delivering general purpose bombs and cluster bomb units on Serbian army positions and staging areas.

Background
For more than 40 years B-52 Stratofortresses have been the backbone of the manned strategic bomber force for the United States. The B-52 is capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory. This includes gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided missiles and joint direct attack munitions. Updated with modern technology the B-52 will be capable of delivering the full complement of joint developed weapons and will continue into the 21st century as an important element of our nation’s defenses. Current engineering analyses show the B-52’s life span to extend beyond the year 2040.

The B-52A first flew in 1954, and the B model entered service in 1955. A total of 744 B-52s were built with the last, a B-52H, delivered in October 1962. Only the H model is still in the Air Force inventory and is assigned to Air Combat Command and the Air Force Reserves.

The first of 102 B-52H’s was delivered to Strategic Air Command in May 1961. The H model can carry up to 20 air launched cruise missiles. In addition, it can carry the conventional cruise missile that was launched in several contingencies during the 1990s, starting with Operation Desert Storm and culminating with Operation Allied Force.

General Characteristics
Primary Function: Heavy bomber
Contractor: Boeing Military Airplane Co.
Power plant: Eight Pratt & Whitney engines TF33-P-3/103 turbofan
Thrust: Each engine up to 17,000 pounds
Wingspan: 185 feet (56.4 meters)
Length: 159 feet, 4 inches (48.5 meters)
Height: 40 feet, 8 inches (12.4 meters)
Weight: Approximately 185,000 pounds (83,250 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 488,000 pounds (219,600 kilograms)
Fuel Capacity: 312,197 pounds
Payload: 70,000 pounds (31,500 kilograms)
Speed: 650 miles per hour (Mach 0.86)
Range: 8,800 miles (7,652 nautical miles)
Ceiling: 50,000 feet (15,151.5 meters)
Armament: Approximately 70,000 pounds (31,500 kilograms) mixed ordnance — bombs, mines and missiles. (Modified to carry air-launched cruise missiles)
Crew: Five (aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer
Unit Cost: $53.4 million (fiscal 98 constant dollars)
Initial operating capability: April 1952
Inventory: Active force, 85; ANG, 0; Reserve, 9

Data courtesy USAF

Bomberpalooza

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Catering to approximately 40 bomber fleet representatives, a bomber summit will be held at Tinker AFB (OK) Sept. 11 and 12.  Topics will include the health of the aircraft, sustainability, capability upgrades and modernization efforts. Additionally, Air Combat Command officials will present a bomber roadmap briefing and information about field-level maintenance and operation issues.

“Our bomber fleet is facing a number of challenges because of the age of the aircraft and the increased flying hours in support of the global war on terrorism,” said Col. Keith Weyenberg, 747th Aircraft Sustainment Group commander and point-of-contact for the summit. “These challenges are affecting our ability to meet the warfighter’s aircraft availability and sortie generation rates needed to support the war on terrorism.”

The summit is hosted by Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, 8th Air Force commander at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.; Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, 12th Air Force commander at Davis-Monathan AFB, Ariz.; and Maj. Gen. Loren Reno, Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center commander.

According to planners, the concept of the summit began as an e-mail exchange to discuss the current state of the bomber fleet. E-mail traffic flowed between Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander of Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and Gen. John Corley, ACC commander at Langley AFB, Va.

The bomber fleet includes the B-52 Stratofortress, which debuted in 1955; the B-1 Lancer, which was introduced to the Air Force in 1986; and the B-2 Spirit, which debuted in 1997. 

Sustainment of the entire fleet, approximately 180 aircraft, is managed at Tinker. Additionally, Tinker maintainers provide B-1 and B-52 depot maintenance. The B-2 depot maintenance is performed by Northrop Grumman specialists under a performance-based logistics contract in Palmdale, Calif.

Brandice Armstrong (AFPN)