JULY/AUGUST 2019 AIRFORCEMAG.COM 25■ The War on Terrorism
Casualties:
As of June 27, 71 Americans had died in Operation
Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan, and 79 Americans had
died in Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq, Syria, and other
locations.
The total includes 145 troops and five Defense Depart-
ment civilians. Of these deaths, 69 were killed in action with
the enemy while 81 died in noncombat incidents.
There have been 408 troops wounded in action during
OFS and 81 troops in OIR.Photo: SrA. Keifer BrownPhoto: SrA. Donald Hudson
Airmen load a Humvee onto a C-130J at Yokota AB, Japan.
C-130s will be assessed for cyber vulnerabilities by the end
of the year.A B-52H over Southwest Asia. New modifications proposed
for the venerable bomber may make the H models into Js.Raytheon to Conduct Cyber Assess-
ments of USAF Aircraft Systems
LE BOURGET, France—
Raytheon and the Air Force are working on a type of “bug
bounty,” focused on addressing cyber deficiencies—but this
time on aircraft.
The company is contracted to conduct cyber vulnerability
assessments on several aircraft subsystems and then work
to mitigate the issues through resiliency instead of simply
aiming to be impervious to attacks, said Dave Wajsgras, Ray-
theon’s president of Intelligence, Information, and Services.
Raytheon will begin working on the C-130J and F-15 in the
fourth quarter of this year.
“The Air Force is taking the threat quite seriously,” Wajs-
gras said.
The threat assessment process will look at how vulnerable
aircraft systems, such as the mission computers, avionics, and
navigation, are to attack. The objective is to strengthen those
systems enough so that if one comes under a cyber attack,
it doesn’t simply go offline, leaving the aircrew without that
capability.
“Resiliency says that even if something were to breach, and
malware does enter, the system is resilient and can continue
to function as intended,” he said. JDAYTON, Ohio—
The Air Force is likely to redesignate the B-52H as the B-52J
once it receives upgrades that add up to a “major modifica-
tion,” Brig. Gen. Heath A. Collins, service program executive
officer for fighters and bombers, told reporters June 20.
Typically, the Air Force makes a letter-change desig-
nation to an aircraft—what Collins described as “rolling
the series”—only when it adds enough new equipment to
constitute a virtually new system, he said at the Life Cycle
Industry Days here.
For example, when the B-52 gets new engines beginning in
about 10 years, “that probably would be enough” to warrant
a letter change, he said. But the venerable bomber will also
get new digital systems, communications, new weapons,
and a new radar, as well as a variety of other improvements.
Collins also said Air Combat Command is considering the
possibility of reducing the number of aircrew on the B-52—
now that some functions that used to require weapon systems
officers can operate autonomously.
“Discussions continue with Global Strike Command about
crew size,” Collins said.
A B-52 test aircraft has been receiving modifications since
2015 to evaluate new systems, including the Long-Range
Standoff weapon and several hypersonic systems, according
to slides shared at the symposium. Collins said hypersonic
missiles will be a key new capability of the B-52 in the 2020s.
The first captive-carry flight test of a new hypersonic
weapon, launching a prototype from a B-52 out of Edwards
AFB, Calif., took place June 12. The sensor-only version of the
AGM-183 Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW)
was carried externally on the B-52 to evaluate the drag and
wind impacts on the weapon, which was not launched during
the flight, according to an Air Force release.
While the B-52 is going through “the most active” period
of modification in its history, the B-1 is entering a fairly quiet
time regarding modifications, Collins noted. The emphasis
with the B-1 for the next few years will be on readiness, he
said, after a prolonged period when the B-1 was heavily used
in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
The B-2, meanwhile, is also going through an intensive
modification program as the defensive management system
suite is upgraded. The upgrade constitutes a Major Defense
Acquisition Program—an ACAT-1D—Collins noted, meaning
it gets supervision at the undersecretary of defense for acqui-
sition and sustainment level. After some delays, the program
will be “re-baselined this summer.” Collins said, the “quality
of the software has been high” and is substantially better
than the earlier version. JNew Mods Mean B-52s May Add a ‘J’
By Brian W. EverstineBy John A. Tirpak