Latest news with #JasonArmagost
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
B-2 Bombed A Smiley Face Into The Ground Because It Ran Out Of Targets
A B-2 bomber left a smiley face made out of bomb craters on the 'runway' of a mock airfield during a test some two decades ago. This happened after personnel at the sprawling Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) had run out of shipping containers to turn into targets that a B-2 would hit during a single attack run. It's a reminder of just how much precision destruction America's upgraded stealth bombers can dole out in one pass. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost, who was part of the crew that flew the test mission, mentioned the smiley face during an online talk that the Air & Space Forces Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies hosted yesterday. Armagost, who is now commander of the Eighth Air Force, to which the Air Force's current B-2s, B-1s, and B-52s are all assigned, used the anecdote to highlight the unique capabilities offered by heavy bombers. 'I happened to fly an operational test mission where we tested the carriage of 80 500-pound JDAM [Joint Direct Attack Munition precision guided bombs] and released them all in a span of a little over 20 seconds on an airfield in the UTTR,' Armagost said. 'I mean, that's an amazing sight to behold, such that we even ran out of CONEX boxes to strike, and so [we] drew a smiley face across the runway with JDAMs.' Armagost said that this flight occurred in 2004, but this appears to be in error. The rest of his description aligns completely with a widely publicized test that occurred on September 10, 2003. The specifics of the event are detailed in the video below, which makes no mention of drawing the smiley face. The faux airfield constructed on the UTTR for the September 2003 test was just under a mile long. In addition to two mock runways, one graded and one just a desert strip, it included nine distinct simulated target areas. These were designed to represent an aircraft revetment, a helicopter landing pad, a control tower, a vehicle park, a generic structure, a hangar, an SA-6 surface-to-air missile system site, a fuel storage site, and a Scud ballistic missile launch site. The mock revetment, control tower, generic structure, and hangar were all made using arrays of shipping containers. The B-2 bomber, flying at an altitude of some 40,000 feet, released all 80 JDAMs in a single pass. The GPS-assisted guidance packages in the tail fin sections in each of the bombs were programmed to hit a separate aim point, and all of the impacts occurred within a span of approximately 22 seconds. The JDAM was still a relatively new weapon at the time, and the B-2 used in the test had to be specially modified with new 'smart' bomb racks to be able to drop the bombs. There were also safety concerns about dropping that many bombs from a B-2 in such rapid succession, and 11 other test flights were conducted to gather key data before the final 80-bomb pass on the mock airfield. Today, JDAMs, which consist of one of a number of low-drag bomb bodies combined with a new tail section that contains the guidance system, as well as clamp-on aerodynamic strakes, are among the most widely used air-to-ground munitions in the U.S. military. In addition to 500-pound-class types, there are also 1,000 and 2,000-pound-class versions. The Air Force had certainly demonstrated the B-2's ability to drop large numbers of bombs, in general, before the September 2003 test. The service has continued to show off the B-2's capabilities in this regard in training and testing, as well as real-world operations, since 2003, as well. As mentioned, during yesterday's talk, Maj. Gen. Armagost used the 80 JDAM test to highlight the immense and unique capabilities that heavy bombers offer. The B-2, with its maximum payload capacity of around 60,000 pounds, has especially cavernous bomb bays. It is notably the only aircraft currently certified to operationally employ the 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bomb, the heaviest conventional munition in U.S. service today. It can carry two MOPs in its internal weapons bays. The MOP has now become a household name after the bombs were dropped on real targets for the first time during the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. Armagost's remarks yesterday about the 80 JDAM test came in response to a question about what he would want fellow airmen to better understand about the differences between what fighters and bombers bring to the fight. 'Bombers are an order of magnitude difference [from fighters] in what you can do with them,' he also said. 'Now, they nest incredibly well together, right? We see that with our partners and allies, who … fly fighters as their power projection capability. But when we nest them together with bombers, it is a completely different animal.' The United States is currently alone in the West as an operator of bombers. It is a small club overall, with Russia and China being the only other countries that do so anywhere else globally. 'I'll reflect back to that, that B-2 example of 80 500-pound JDAMs in a matter of a little over 20 seconds, and that was one aircraft,' Armagost said later on in yesterday's talk. 'It's like the example we used to give of World War II attacks requiring massive formations with high numbers of people at risk to get a single target. And then, as we transition through the precision capability, kind of revolution, and then evolution, you get down to single aircraft with single targets. And then the B-2 with multiple targets per aircraft. And, so, most simply, the cost, the strike efficiency, and the cost per kill comes down to: it matters how big your weapons bay is.' Now it also 'matters what access you have bought with the platform or with the weapons, in the case of hypersonics from range, or a penetrating force bringing large numbers inside of denied airspace,' the Eighth Air Force commander added. The ability of a single B-2 to destroy, or at least inflict severe damage, on a large facility like an airfield with pinpoint accuracy on a single pass, even when flying miles from the target, remains a significant capability, although one that is waning with the advent of ever more advanced integrated air defense systems. Regardless, this unprecedented ability is something TWZ has highlighted in the past when talking about the B-2. In line with all of this, Armagost spent much of his time yesterday talking about the critical value he sees coming not just from the size of the planned fleet for forthcoming B-21 Raider bombers, as you can read more about here. The Air Force plans to buy at least 100 B-21s, if not many more. The service currently has just 19 B-2 bombers out of a total of 21 that were ever produced, which imposes significant limits on their operational capacity despite the highly valuable 'silver bullet' capabilities they offer, as was demonstrated during the Midnight hammer strikes. The B-21 is smaller than the B-2, and won't be able to carry as much gross tonnage of ordnance per sortie. Still, the Raider could have an even more impressive 'single pass' strike capability, all while offering enhanced survivability. While 80 JDAMs may not be on the weapons menu, with new smaller standoff munition options like the GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) or its successor, the GBU-53/B StormBreaker, the B-21 could exceed the quantity of the B-2's bomb load. And it could release those weapons at standoff ranges, eclipsing the B-2's impressive direct attack capabilities. The B-2 is not currently capable of employing the SDB or Stormbreaker. The ability to launch even small but just as accurate drones that can network together to swarm targets with deadly precision could take this capability even another step forward. Regardless of what the future holds, the smiley face anecdote that Maj. Gen. Armagost shared underscores why the Air Force's B-2s will continue to be prized for their unique ability to bring heavy ordnance loads deep into defended and deal massive, highly-efficient destruction in minimal time. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
For B-21, Quantity Is Its Most Critical Quality Top Bomber Officer Says
For all the new capabilities the B-21 Raider will bring as an individual aircraft, the U.S. Air Force's top bomber officer says he is most excited about the sheer numbers of those aircraft that are set to enter service in the coming years. The Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities underscored how vital existing B-2 stealth bombers are to U.S. national security, but also the inherent limitations imposed by how few of them were ever built. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost touched on the B-21 and related topics during an online talk that the Air & Space Forces Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies hosted today. Armagost is the commander of the Eighth Air Force, to which the Air Force's current B-2, B-1, and B-52 bombers are all assigned, as well as the officer in charge of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center (J-GSOC) at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. At present, the Air Force plans to acquire at least 100 B-21s, but senior U.S. military officials have been increasingly advocating for a fleet of 145 of the bombers. A single pre-production Raider is now in flight testing, with a second expected to join it soon. At least four other B-21s are in various stages of production, and a number of non-flying airframes are being used to support ongoing test work. The Raider is expected to eventually replace the Air Force's current fleet of 19 B-2 bombers, as well as its more than 40 remaining B-1s. 'So, the B 21, … it's in flight test now, it's a phenomenal capability,' Maj. Gen. Armagost said today. In 'the job prior to this … I was interacting with acquisition, RCO [the Air Force Rapid Capbilities Office], and Northrop Grumman in how we work together to drive the concepts, drive the requirements, drive the fielding and the manufacture, actually, of this airplane, so that it can become something different when we have it in numbers.' 'That's what I'm most excited about,' he continued. 'Sixth-generation stealth brings with it, it brings its own set of pretty amazing capabilities, but what I'm most excited about is the ability to build a campaign force.' In addition to its advanced broadband low-observable (stealthy) characteristics, the B-21 is expected to have an extremely long unrefueled range enabled by a highly efficient airframe optimized for high-altitude flight and advanced engines. This will notably impact the demand for aerial refueling tanker support during operations. As TWZ often points out, the B-21 will really be more than just a bomber with its extensive suite of networking, battle management, electronic warfare, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. The Raider could act as an aerial controller for uncrewed platforms in the future, too. The B-21 is smaller than the existing B-2, and will carry less ordnance per sortie as a result. The Raider is also not exquisite in all ways, with the design understood to be a balance between proven technology, as well as evolutionary and revolutionary developments, to create a capable platform that is affordable and sustainable. Keeping to schedule and cost targets has been a central focus of the program from the beginning. 'If we get our numerical force build-out correct, which is always going to be a thing we have to be concerned about, we can build a campaign tempo. We can build diversity of munitions and options for attack. We can build out a range of capabilities that not only hold one theater at risk in conflict, but can be a ready force available if there's … [other] things that are taking place around the globe,' he explained. 'I think it really does involve a diverse set of capabilities that are able to access contested or denied space together in different ways. And actually, the different ways piece is very important, and it requires adversaries to rethink their investments or be punished for the investments they have made, and how they try and deny airspace or deny our access to an airspace.' As part of this discussion, Armagost briefly highlighted the forthcoming F-47 sixth-generation stealth fighter as another important component of that future 'campaign force.' The B-21 is itself just one part of a larger Long-Range Strike (LRS) family of systems, details about which remain heavily classified, as you can learn more about here. The best known other element of the LRS ecosystem is the still-in-development nuclear-armed and stealthy Long Range Stand Off (LRSO) cruise missile. Armagost also used Operation Midnight Hammer as a real-world metric for the scale and scope of future missions he is envisioning. 'We got a lot of attention, I would say, for seven [B-2] aircraft, 14 aviators, flying a global power mission for hours and hours, right? But what goes past that is that there were 125 aircraft involved in that [Operation Midnight Hammer]. There was a global push to really make that happen in a way that showed we can access in ways that are surprising and interesting,' he said. 'All of that tracks into that moment where that [deeply buried hardened targets like Iran's nuclear facilities] can be now held at risk with assurance, with real predictability. And so it does go beyond that kind of, that flash moment of 14 aviators and seven airplanes, in that case, back to the system that is built that makes that possible. It really does involve a system of systems, and we can't assume that that is going to be a given.' To reiterate, the Air Force has 19 B-2s, so seven of them represent just over a third of the entire fleet. That number also doesn't include the B-2s that flew out in the Pacific as part of an elaborate deception effort to support the operation against Iran, or spares set aside in case any of the bombers had to abort after launch. In general, the B-2 fleet is also notoriously maintenance-intensive, and not all of them are ever available for operational taskings at any one time. TWZ's Tyler Rogoway previously highlighted how almost the entire available B-2 force was committed to Operation Midnight Hammer. Nearly the entire available B-2 fleet was used in this gambit, if you factor in the decoys in the Pacific (were actually there?). A portion of the tiny fleet is down for maintenance or in depot at any given time, although they had time to ready what they could. One test jet etc. — Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 22, 2025 During the talk today, Armagost further highlighted the small size of the B-2 fleet and acknowledged questions about the Air Force's current ability to execute missions like Midnight Hammer at any appreciable tempo, as well as the potential risks this raises, especially when it comes to nuclear deterrence. In addition to the unique conventional strike capability the B-2 offers, especially when paired with 30,000-pound GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker busters, which were first employed operationally in the strikes on Iran, the bombers are a key component of America's nuclear arsenal. 'It's somewhat miraculous to me, actually, that we even have 19 B-2s at this point, because, you think about when that airplane was fielded, and in the [post-Cold War] 'peace dividend' that could have gone to zero very easily,' he said. 'The original plan was for 132 B-2s to ultimately replace the B-52. Clearly, that didn't happen, and the fact that we have 19 was again, somewhat of a minor miracle.' It should be noted here that the Air Force originally expected to buy 165 aircraft as part of the Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB) program, which led to the B-2, before that number shrank first to 132, and then down to just 21. The current fleet of 19 reflects the total loss of two of the bombers in separate mishaps in 2008 and 2022. 'My position as [head of] the numbered Air Force for bombers, right, is, I can never assume that any single strike is going to be enough,' Armagost continued. 'Many might imagine we would get to inhale a little bit on June 23 [after Operation Midnight Hammer], and that was not the case, right? We had to be ready for what was the next question to be asked, or what was the next problem to be confronted.' 'In this specific case, it resulted in a ceasefire about 30 hours after the strike,' he noted. 'You can't count on that, though.' In particular, sustaining B-2 combat operations in the Pacific during any future high-end fight with China would be very challenging. A much larger fleet of B-21s will allow for great overall flexibility, including for supporting a more persistent forward presence, if needed, as well as less predictability. Expected greater reliability and lower maintenance and sustainment demands will also help contribute to a higher operational tempo for the Raider. Speaking more broadly, and in the context of potentially being called upon to execute nuclear strikes, 'you have to be able to operate on the worst day that the world has ever seen, not even just our nation has ever seen, but the worst day the world has ever seen,' the Eighth Air Force Command explained. 'We have to be able to operate, because if we can't, then that calls into question our very ability to deter.' Armagost took this opportunity to also underscore his view of the importance of 'organic kill chains,' which is to say his command's ability to execute missions in a highly independent manner if required, especially due to any loss of connections with various critical networks. 'On the worst day ever, where there's been attacks in space or [an] electromagnetic pulse, where communications or GPS, for example, are denied, it is not optional for a nuclear-capable bomber to get to a target and hold it at risk. So you have to have, inherent to the systems on the airplane, the ability to know where you are, know kind of your status, and your ability to command and control and communicate,' he said. 'Any resilience you gain from the long-range kill chain or long-range nuclear command and control communications is a bonus, and it actually increases your ability to deter.' As it stands now, the Air Force's goal is for the B-21 to begin entering operational service before the end of the decade. Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota is set to be the first operational Raider base, with the new bombers replacing B-1s stationed there now. At least a portion of the pre-production B-21 test fleet could form part of this initial operational force. The operational B-2 fleet also includes a number of aircraft originally built as test jets. In the meantime, the Air Force's top office in charge of the service's bomber fleets is already eager to begin reaping the benefits that the Raider fleet will bring, including just by virtue of its overall size. Contact the author: joe@
Business Insider
30-06-2025
- General
- Business Insider
America's oldest bombers have officially been flying for the Air Force for 70 years
This past weekend marked another decade in service for America's oldest bomber. The B-52 Stratofortress,affectionately nicknamed the "Big Ugly Fat Fellow," has been flying for the US Air Force for 70 years. The air service has been upgrading the strategic bomber for years, allowing it to continue to play a key role in the Air Force's long-range strike capability. Far from a relic, the plane can serve as a conventional missile truck and a nuclear deterrent. Over the weekend, Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs celebrated the 70th anniversary of the delivery of the first operational B-52, which was originally delivered on June 29, 1955, to the 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle Air Force Base in California. "For seven decades, the B-52 has stood as a symbol of American airpower," the command said in a press release. "With its unmistakable silhouette and dual-capable nature, the Stratofortress continues to serve as a visible and credible strategic deterrent for the United States and its allies." There are 72 B-52 bombers active with the Air Force, with some in conventional roles and others still able to serve in a nuclear capacity. Others that are no longer in active service remain in long-term storage at the Air Force's "boneyard" in Arizona. Since the 1950s, the B-52 made by Boeing Military Airplane Co. has undergone numerous upgrades that have preserved the lumbering aircraft as a formidable bomber for the Air Force. The B-52 remains a reliable platform for long-range strategic bomber missions even though it lacks the speed of the B-1 Lancers and the stealth of the B-2 Spirits, which were used to drop bombs on three of Iran's nuclear facilities earlier this month. The bomber boasts a lighter maintenance lift, lower operational costs, and a heavy payload. The B-52 can carry an estimated 70,000 tons of mixed ordnance, from stand-off cruise missiles to weapons like naval mines. Emerging hypersonic weapons have also been tested on the bombers. Though built during the Cold War to function as a high-altitude strategic bomber, it can serve a range of missions. The B-52's airframe and durable design have kept the planes in good condition over the decades. And upgrades to their weapons capacities, communications and radars, hardware, and software have kept the planes modern, as well as capable of receiving future updates. "Since its creation, the B-52 has anchored strategic deterrence for the nation," said Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost, Eighth Air Force and Joint Global Strike Operations Center commander, per the release. He added that the Air Force is looking "to the next model to serve as the physical embodiment of the idea of peace through strength and carry us into the 2050s." Plans for the next version of the B-52, the J-model, include engine and radar upgrades, as well as a new long-range stand-off missile that will replace the plane's aging air-launched cruise missiles. But these planned updates have faced challenges. A US Government Accountability Office report said last year that the engine replacement program, which seeks to substitute the B-52's older engines with new military-configured commercial ones, was delayed "in part due to funding shortfalls to complete the detailed design." The operational capability date for these engines was delayed to three years after initially planned. The Air Force originally announced plans to update these engines back in 2021 for improved fuel usage and easier maintenance. The cost, too, jumped from $8 billion to about $9 billion. Costs to replace the radars of the B-52s to provide greater range and resistance to electronic warfare countermeasures also saw an increase, per the GAO. The upgrades are critical for the Air Force to follow its plan of keeping B-52s active into the 2050s, a plan that would see the plane fly for a century. Last year, the B-52 bomber successfully conducted a first-of-its-kind test of the All-Up-Round AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, a hypersonic missile, in the Western Pacific. The missile is a multi-stage, boost-glided weapon with a hypersonic glide body that can maneuver at high speeds. Such weapons are difficult to intercept, and the US military and its rivals have heavily prioritized the development of hypersonic weapons in recent years. While the missile received mixed results throughout testing, leaving its future in the Air Force's arsenal unclear, it marked an interesting moment for the B-52, which continues to be important for long-range strategic missions.
Korea Herald
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
US can respond in 'overwhelming' way in case of NK ICBM attack: official
A senior US military official warned Wednesday that America can respond in an "overwhelming" way in the "time, place and manner of our choosing" in the event of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile attack as he underscored the strength of the United States' nuclear deterrence system. Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost, the commander of the Eighth Air Force and of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, made the remarks, responding to a question regarding what would happen to America's nuclear umbrella for South Korea when North Korea successfully acquires bombs capable of striking the continental US. "It is problematic for them (North Korea) to have an ICBM ... With current and imaginable capabilities, it is extremely difficult to attack that system of systems," Armagost said during a forum hosted by The Korea Society, a non-profit organization based in New York. "What that system allows us to do is to say that use of an ICBM would not result in the benefit that you are seeking because we can respond in a way that is overwhelming in the time and place and manner of our choosing," he added. Armagost was referring to the US' nuclear triad system consisting of ICBMs, strategic bombers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles -- three key nuclear delivery vehicles. "It's why we have a triad: ICBMs on alert, SLBMs for an assured second strike capability and bombers to be a forward and, or visible presence with regards to that ... what the triad does for a spectrum of capability for strategic deterrence," he said. A second strike capability refers to a nuclear retaliatory strike capability that remains alive even after a country sustains a first nuclear strike from an enemy. An SLBM is the centerpiece of that capability. The official underscored the importance of maintaining a "resilient" triad system. "The numbers of ICBMs matter greatly. The numbers of on-alert submarine-launched capabilities matter greatly. And the numbers of bombers matter," he said. "Because unless you have a resilient system, the triad becomes a tricky thing." Pyongyang's push to have credible ICBM missile capabilities have raised concerns that the US might dither on coming to the aid of its treaty ally, South Korea, as it could fear that continental American cities would become a target of a North Korean ICBM attack. To dispel such concerns, Seoul and Washington have been working to strengthen the credibility of America's "extended deterrence" commitment to South Korea in recent years through a set of measures, including the Nuclear Consultative Group, the allies' key nuclear deterrence body. To further deepen deterrence cooperation, the allies have been pushing for a "conventional-nuclear integration" initiative under which South Korea mobilizes its conventional military assets to back America's nuclear operations in a crisis scenario. Whether such training cooperation would continue to develop remains to be seen as during his first term, President Donald Trump described military exercises between the two allies as "expensive." In a separate press event later in the day, Armagost described allied efforts to work together in an integrated manner as a "powerful" thing, while refusing to comment specifically on examples of CNI operations between Seoul and Washington. "When I talk about habitual training and planning and exercise relationships, what we see is the ability to seamlessly integrate those operations across the spectrum of conflict all the way from competition activities through crisis and conflict," he said during the event hosted by the Foreign Press Center in New York. "That relationship of working together, planning together and operating militarily together is an extremely powerful thing to practice and to conduct. So that translates all the way from conventional operations to nuclear operations." (Yonhap)
