Latest news with #AirForceSpecialOperationsCommand
The Star
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Tom Cruise really did get a US aircraft carrier for his latest 'Mission' movie
For fans of Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible series, the Pentagon can answer the incredulous question at the climax of its latest trailer: 'You gave him an aircraft carrier?' Yes, the US Navy and Air Force Special Operations Command decided to accept the mission: help the American actor's secret agent Ethan Hunt save the world. Or, at least make a movie about it. For The Final Reckoning , showing at cinemas nationwide, Cruise and the crew spent three days in the Adriatic Sea filming aboard the USS George H.W. Bush, a nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carrier commissioned in 2009. It is the latest cinematic incarnation of Cruise's career-long affinity for the US military and its aircraft (as well as doing his own stunts). It is an example of the Pentagon's willingness to showcase its hardware and martial might through a classic piece of American soft power, the Hollywood blockbuster. The Pentagon has a long history as a supporting character, most famously the 1990 spy thriller The Hunt For Red October – the one where Scotsman Sean Connery plays a Soviet submarine captain. Before getting on board, the US Department of Defense reviews scripts for accuracy and depictions of the military. (The Pentagon declined, for instance, to support Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning 1986 Vietnam War drama Platoon .) The US military charges for equipment use, as well as transportation and lodging for personnel. For 2022's Top Gun: Maverick , for example, the Navy was paid as much as US$11,374 (RM48,125.05) an hour to use its F/A-18 Super Hornets – which Cruise could not control as he flew in the fighter jet's back seat. For The Final Reckoning , however, movie studio Paramount's reported blowout budget of US$400mil (RM1.69bil) got a break because the carrier and crew were already on scheduled training missions. 'Most, if not all, of the aircraft time was logged as official training requirements, and therefore not reimbursable,' the Pentagon said in a statement. The cast and crew – including Cruise, co-star Hannah Waddingham and director Christopher McQuarrie – were ferried to the carrier aboard Sikorsky Aircraft Corp MH-60S Seahawks, flown by the Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 5 based in Norfolk, Virginia. While aboard from Feb 28 to March 3, 2023, Cruise hosted a Top Gun: Maverick viewing in the ship's hangar bay and visited sailors, who had been deployed for about six months at that time. 'Given that we were on deployment, operational and safety plans were in place so that if called upon, we were ready to execute our mission on a moment's notice,' spokesman Lieutenant Commander Matthew Stroup said in the statement. The crew filmed flight sequences, a scene in the navigation bridge and Hunt's departure aboard a CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, from the 352nd Special Operations Wing out of Souda Bay, Crete, which was on a joint training exercise with the carrier group. The film 'supplemented the already scheduled training and did not interfere with any requirements', said Air Force Special Operations Command spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Rebecca Heyse. The USS Hyman G. Rickover, a Virginia-class attack submarine, makes a cameo, shot off the coast of Massachusetts. The interiors, however, were pure Hollywood: stage sets and actors for sailors. They did, however, have the help of a Navy representative and a retired submarine commander as a technical adviser. 'Being able to namecheck an aircraft carrier that you've filmed on lends a dimension of accuracy to the film that elevates it,' Paramount said, referencing a scene in which Hunt specifically requests the Bush carrier. The Pentagon's support 'lends authenticity to the military involvement necessary to help Ethan Hunt accomplish his mission'. – Bloomberg
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Electronic Warfare Lessons From Ukraine Informing Air Force Special Operations Future
As it looks to remain relevant in a future that could see conflict with a great power like China, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is seeking to apply key lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, a high-ranking U.S. Air Force official told The War Zone. The ability to operate in a dense electronic warfare environment and to adapt very quickly to new tactical challenges, in particular, are great areas of interest, spurring a review of how the command views training and new acquisitions, the official said. For the past two decades, AFSOC's arsenal of aircraft operated in largely benign electromagnetic combat environments, often guided by special tactics airmen on radios, in virtually uncontested airspace against insurgent groups possessing no electronic warfare (EW) capabilities. In Ukraine, both sides possess such robust EW abilities that each has resorted to fiber optic cables, impervious to jamming, for a significant portion of their FPV drone operations. Communications there are often highly degraded, and offensive and defensive measures are constantly being updated by the combatants in an endless game of whack-a-mole. Jammers exist on many individual vehicles, and GPS is also under constant electronic attack. Even U.S.-donated munitions like the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) have seen their effectiveness reported thwarted, at least in part, by EW. One of the major takeaways from Ukraine is figuring out how special operations forces (SOF) airpower can fight 'in environments that are heavily degraded, in terms of jamming, in terms of electronic warfare, electronic attack,' said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss planning issues. The command needs to 'increase our acumen and our skill set and our ability and capability and capacity' to ensure EW success, both offensively and defensively. In future 'GPS-denied environments, how do you have alternate [precision, navigation and timing] PNT? Resilient PNT? How do you fight and survive? Really, both of those sides of the coin in an environment like Ukraine have provided a wealth of information and lessons learned, and how you do that in an environment that is really unique to what we've seen over the last several decades?' The Russian 'Black Eye' EW system that jams FPV and Mavic video is now in mass production and is appearing across the whole is a serious development for Ukraine as one system can shut down radio drone operations across an area of 2-4 km when located high enough.1/ — Roy (@GrandpaRoy2) May 4, 2025 As a result of these takeaways, the official said AFSOC is considering changing the way it prepares for war. 'Our people are a decisive advantage, more important than hardware,' the official posited. 'So how do we train all the way from our ground forces, the Special Tactics units, how do we train them? How do we equip them to be relevant in the EW fight, but also then onto our platform? So we're looking at, how do you leverage aircrew back onto certain platforms? … What platforms might require some of our combat systems officers to be put back into the crew complement? Once you do that, how are you training them to be effective from day one, as they come to us out of their initial qualification training, what systems are those?' Beyond how it utilizes its airmen, AFSOC is also rethinking its acquisition process, with an eye on becoming far more nimble in this regard than in the past. 'This need to really be proactive and dynamic, to change the capabilities of either the platforms or just jump from platform to platform, in terms of capability to respond to the dynamic environment that you're experiencing. You've seen this probably plenty in your own reporting about how quickly both sides are adapting their capabilities to employ in combat, and the need to react to that rapidly. And so what that means to me, in the position that I'm in, you start to think about how do I apply this to – we talk in terms of programs of record, but maybe I need to be talking about programs of capability,' the official suggested. 'There's certainly your major platforms… But in some of the lower-level kinds of things – offensive asymmetric capabilities – what do you do there? You see… a lot of systems every day in that theater being employed, but if we are trying to plan to gain a capability, how are we flexibly able to determine what might be viable today that may not be viable, maybe in a few weeks or six months, or a year from now? So you want to have flexible programs of capability so that you can now leap to the thing that works today, may not work a year from now. So I've got to be able to make that leap in a very dynamic, rapid way to be relevant on the battlefield.' Moving away from so-called 'exquisite' systems that are very complex, expensive, and time-consuming to build to more affordable and attritable ones is also a possibility for some mission sets and capability needs, according to the official. 'Oftentimes, we think in terms of major weapon systems. Well, some of these capabilities we may need to think more of in terms of consumables, more like ammunition. That we can employ them [in a way] if we lose them, that's not a concern the way that it would be with a major weapon system platform, so that we can then either divest and move to the next thing, or we've employed them and we've lost some, and that's okay, too.' As for programs of record, the official said that AFSOC's recent acceptance of the last of the AC-130J Ghostrider gunships and MC-130J Commando II transport/tankers it plans to purchase 'is something to be celebrated, and that's a great milestone. But that doesn't mean we're anywhere near being done with the work that we would want to put into them to keep them relevant in the scenarios that you're asking about, certainly with what we're learning.' The need to be able to rapidly update these platforms and other systems to keep them relevant is growing larger by the day. Addressing this, too, via systemic procurement and development changes is also important, according to the official: 'And then, in terms of the systems themselves, this is where we're working with, both the service and SOCOM, where you have autonomous systems. You get into radios that we want to be software defined, so that you aren't constantly chasing what I call the 'Box of the Month Club,' where by the time you have laid a great deal of resourcing into a system, it's got to be so dynamic that you aren't vendor locked. Thereby. You need open systems architecture, you need modularity and this notion of government reference architectures between SOCOM and the Air Force, so that you can then rapidly iterate to change, in some cases, the actual functionality of the system itself to be responsive to now what you're seeing on the battlefield.' 'How are we training our people? Do we have the right systems on the airplanes? How are we integrating those with the broader SOF and joint force to make them relevant? Those are all really key foundational considerations' that AFSOC is working on. Contact the author: howard@
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
AFSOC command chief relieved amid investigation
Air Force Special Operations Command's top enlisted airman was removed from his post Monday amid an investigation. Chief Master Sgt. Anthony Green, AFSOC'S command chief, was relieved by AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Mike Conley, the command said in a statement. Conley told personnel in an email Tuesday that he relieved Green of his duties 'due to a loss of confidence in his ability to fulfill his duties.' The email was posted to the unofficial 'Air Force amn/nco/snco' Facebook page. AFSOC later confirmed the veracity of the email. 'I want to assure you that this decision was made only after careful consideration of the circumstances,' Conley said. 'As airmen, we are entrusted with incredible responsibility and held to the highest standards of conduct. Upholding these standards is non-negotiable, and maintaining good order and discipline is fundamental to who we are.' AFSOC spokesperson Lt. Col. Becky Heyse confirmed an investigation into Green is ongoing, but she could not comment on its nature or timing. She said Conley is 'committed to the welfare of all airmen in AFSOC.' AFSOC has about 21,000 airmen across 10 operational wings and two special operations groups. As AFSOC's command chief, Green served as its top enlisted leader and advised Conley on the readiness, training, education and resiliency of its enlisted airmen. Green, who enlisted in the Air Force in 1995, began serving as AFSOC command chief in May 2023. He has served as a maintenance technician on multiple aircraft, including the C-130, and as a flying crew chief — a specially trained maintainer that flies on an aircraft to troubleshoot and fix any problems that might arise during a mission. He previously served as the senior enlisted leader for force structure, requirements, resources and strategic assessments at U.S. Special Operations Command in Florida, as well as command chief for multiple units, including the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
First OA-1K Skyraider II Handed Over To Air Force Special Operations Command
The first OA-1K light attack aircraft — recently officially named as the Skyraider II — has been delivered to Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). While the command welcomed the militarized derivative of the popular Air Tractor AT-802 crop duster, there remain serious questions about how the Air Force will actually make use of the OA-1K, as the service increasingly prepares for future high-end contingencies. Air Force Special Operations Command announced today that it had officially received a first missionized OA-1K at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The handover ceremony was attended by Special Operations Command representatives, AFSOC leadership, elected officials, and community leaders. Also in attendance was retired Lt. Col. Bill Buice, an A-1 Skyraider pilot and Vietnam War veteran. In this previous story, you can read how the name of the original Skyraider was passed over to the OA-1K. As we have discussed in the past, the two-seat, turboprop-powered OA-1K can carry up to 6,000 pounds of munitions and other stores, including precision-guided missiles and bombs and podded sensor systems, on up to eight underwing pylons. According to the manufacturer, the OA-1K can fly out to an area up to 200 miles away and loiter there for up to six hours with a typical combat load. Once there, it can conduct its mission aided by a 'robust suite of radios and datalinks providing multiple means for line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) communications.' In a media release, AFSOC described today's delivery as marking 'the start of a new era in aircraft modularity.' The command noted that the OA-1K 'can adapt capabilities for required mission sets, be it close air support, precision strike, or armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Its flexibility ensures AFSOC can meet the needs set forth by the Secretary of Defense and the President.' 'Skyraider II represents not just a new platform, but a modular solution to our national security needs,' added Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, AFSOC commander, speaking at the ceremony today. 'It will redefine how we approach joint campaigning, crisis response, and the evolving landscape of modern warfare.' AFSOC's release pointed to the fact that the OA-1K is based on a proven aircraft platform, the AT-802, and that it requires a much smaller maintenance package and provides lower operating costs than other conventional or special operations aircraft. The command also made efforts to stress the relevance of the OA-1K in missions other than counterinsurgency and other low-intensity warfare scenarios for which it was originally envisaged. 'The Skyraider II is a dynamic aircraft that will allow operators to adjust effects quickly for required missions and create dilemmas for our adversaries across the spectrum of armed conflict,' the command said. 'The Skyraider II aims at delivering options in a new era of strategic competition, which requires adaptiveness,' it added. While it's not exactly clear how the OA-1K will be used for a broader range of missions 'across the spectrum of armed conflict,' there's no doubt that the utility of the aircraft is already being discussed at the highest levels. The OA-1K was discussed specifically today before the Senate Armed Services Committee, which included Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and Marine Corps Gen. Michael E. Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command. Addressing Gen. Langley, Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona identified what he said was a 'close air support gap' in the AFRICOM area of responsibility, amid an uptick in activities by violent extremist organizations. 'As our focus continues towards large-scale combat operations in INDOPACOM and in Europe, I'm concerned that our defense modernization and optimization will trend towards those theaters, but away from other issues that we can't ignore [including] the real threat of terrorism and gray-zone operations, especially in Africa,' Kelly said. Kelly then asked Gen. Langley whether the OA-1K could fill a particular armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) requirement for AFRICOM. 'Every combat commander needs more ISR in support of our operations,' Langley said. 'I would take any additional ISR and any enhanced technologies that would add to the credibility and the lethality of our forces.' Questions about the viability of an armed ISR platform in the class of the OA-1K are by no means new. Indeed, they have accompanied the development of this aircraft as well as various progenitors. This long-drawn-out process involved roughly two decades of mainly abortive light attack aircraft projects under different names, as well as combat experiments conducted across the U.S. military, in particular in the course of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the process, the Air Force stepped away from the light attack initiative, and it then fell exclusively within SOCOM, as you can read more about here. Throughout these years of lower-intensity operations, there was interest in the potential of cheaper alternatives to existing tactical platforms in the U.S. inventory to carry out missions such as close air support, armed overwatch, and ISR support, in permissive airspace. As well as being cheaper, aircraft in this class also promised to have smaller operating footprints, allowing them to be flown in and out of more austere sites closer to operating areas. At the same time, by having low-cost fixed-wing light attack platforms fly these kinds of missions, expensive-to-operate tactical warplanes could be held back for more challenging missions, reducing fatigue on these airframes. By the time of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, these kinds of concepts were looking far less relevant, although they didn't disappear altogether: the decision to procure the OA-1K was made after U.S. troops left Afghanistan in 2022. Since then, the Pentagon has been busy considering how best to prepare for a future high-end fight, especially one fought against China in the Indo-Pacific region. Against this backdrop, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a 2023 report, criticized SOCOM since it had 'not reevaluated its needs [for the OA-1K] despite changes to operational missions (such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan) and force structure reductions under consideration.' Another concern has been SOCOM's planned withdrawal of special operations U-28A Draco and Beechcraft King Air-based ISR aircraft while introducing the OA-1K. While funds from these divestments will help to procure the new platform, the command admits that the OA-1K will not be a direct replacement for either and that new intelligence-gathering platforms will still be required. Some would say this leaves the OA-1K as an aircraft increasingly in search of a role. Today's media release from AFSOC would seem to support that, with its vague descriptions of the OA-1K's potential to be used 'across the spectrum of armed conflict.' When the OA-1K received its Skyraider II name earlier this year, Air Force Brig. Gen. Craig Prather, AFSOC's director of Strategic Plans, Programs and Requirements, highlighted the aircraft's potential to 'take on missions' along 'the southwest border' with Mexico — in addition to operations across Africa. Again, this speaks to the command looking to find relevant missions for its new charge. At a media roundtable on the sidelines of the Air & Space Forces Association's main annual conference last September, Lt. Gen. Conley told TWZ last September that some thought was already being given to using the OA-1K for 'novel mission sets,' such as signals intelligence or electronic intelligence, although he admitted that this was 'not anything we've committed to yet.' Exactly how and where the OA-1K might be used in an operational context remains to be seen, especially as the focus of the current Trump administration seems to be much less on Africa and other areas of lower-intensity conflict. However, the delivery of the first missionized OA-1K to Hurlburt Field today is an important milestone. Further examples of the 75 aircraft now on order will go to Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, Oklahoma, 'in the coming months,' to equip the formal training unit. 'From when OA-1K was conceptualized and decided on until now, the world's changed a little bit,' Lt. Gen. Conley told TWZ last September. AFSOC will now hope that its new Skyraider II can keep pace with those changes. Contact the author: thomas@
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Air Force revives Skyraider name for new light attack aircraft
FORT WALTON BEACH, Florida — Air Force Special Operations Command has dubbed its newest aircraft Skyraider II, a nod to the Cold War-era propeller plane that delivered close air support during the Vietnam War. Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, head of Air Force Special Operations Command, announced the name of the OA-1K Skyraider II, a propeller-driven light attack airplane, at the Global SOF Foundation's annual Special Air Warfare Symposium in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, on Thursday. 'I see a bright future for the OA-1K,' Conley said. 'I think once our operators get their hands on it, it will be something different than what we expect it to be and that's a good thing when we developed this requirement five years ago.' Skyraider II? The Air Force may bring back Vietnam-style combat plane Conley emphasized the platform would be adaptable. The Skyraider II is able to change hard pods for various mission sets, from close air support to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. 'If we do this right, it'll be modular,' Conley said. Operators are already developing ways to break down the aircraft, stow it in a C-17 cargo plane and transport it where needed. 'I think we have lots of opportunities to help shape that platform into something different than what we had in the past,' Conley said. The plane is scheduled for delivery to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, this month, according to Conley. Conley concluded his remarks at a session that covered various aspects of AFSOC with a short video announcing the name of the new aircraft. The video announcer described the Skyraider II as a 'modern powerhouse inspired' by the A-1E Skyraider, which troops called 'Spads' during its Cold War-era service — a nod to the wood-and-wire World War I fighter plane, Air Force Times previously reported. 'From the jungles of Vietnam to the battlefields of tomorrow, the warrior spirit of the A-1 lives on in the OA-1K Skyraider II,' the announcer said. 'Ready to answer the call any place, any time, anywhere.' The aircraft has received criticism for using a propeller instead of a jet engine. Some media outlets have referred to it as a 'crop duster,' a reference to agricultural aircraft that sprays pesticides on crops. 'While we don't expect the Skyraider II to go mix it up with fifth- and sixth-generation fighters, it will provide value to our supported forces globally,' said Brig. Gen. Craig Prather, AFSOC's director of Strategic Plans, Programs and Requirements. The propeller operation allows the aircraft maximum maneuverability, extended loitering and other features that allow for real-time intelligence and immediate fire support to troops on the ground, Conley said. The aircraft can fly 245 miles per hour at 10,000 feet with a range of 1,500 miles at 8,000 feet, according to its manufacturer L3Harris. The platform can carry precision-guided munitions and a variety of weapons and sensing packages. 'That doesn't look like a crop duster, does it?' Conley asked the audience, some of whom responded with a chuckle.
