Government Oversight

Why the Air Force Research Lab is so important: Weapons and Warfare

Apr 03, 2024 at 08:39 AM CDT

In this episode of Weapons and Warfare, learn about the Air Force Research Lab and what it does to meet the needs of airmen and guardians. — Image credit: DVIDS

In this episode of Weapons and Warfare, host Ryan Robertson checks in with the director of Strategic Partnering at the Air Force Research Laboratory. From fifth-generation fighters to the B-21 and drones to missiles, learn about all things AFRL and find out how the lab is working to meet the needs of today’s airmen and guardians.

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Also featured in this episode:

A new report from the Government Accounting Office details a troubling trend for the U.S. military.
Australia makes a deal to bring nuclear-powered subs to its navy.
“Band of Brothers” actors are training to parachute into Normandy on the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
For this week’s weapon of the week, a critical mission gets a major upgrade — check out the EA-37B Compass Call.

You can subscribe to the Weapons and Warfare podcast on the platform of your choosing here.

Ryan Robertson is the anchor of the Straight Arrow News video podcast Weapons and Warfare. He wore many hats in his career — from photographer to news director — and firmly believes honest journalism will save our Republic.

Tags: Air Force, Air Force Research Lab, Government Accountability Office, U.S. Air Force, U.S. military, Weapons

Make SAN preferred on Google Show Transcript

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

HELLO AND WELCOME TO WEAPONS AND WARFARE, FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS I’M RYAN ROBERTSON.

THIS WEEK WE TAKE A RIDE INTO THE DANGER-ZONE. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE GROWING FIELD OF AI PILOTS AND VISIT WITH TWO COMPANIES LEADING THE WAY WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE COCKPIT.

ALSO–WE CHECK-IN WITH ANDURIL FOR OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK– WHICH LET’S JUST SAY RECENTLY MADE A BIG IMPRESSION AND IT WAS ALL CAUGHT ON CAMERA. PLUS I ANSWER SOME VIEWER QUESTIONS IN COMMS CHECK AND WAX PHILOSOPHICAL ABOUT INTELLIGENCE IN THIS WEEK’S WRAP.

BUT FIRST, SOME HEADLINES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED.

A NEW REPORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE SHOWS AMERICAN TROOPS AREN’T GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP!

ACCORDING TO THE GAO, SURVEYS CONDUCTED BY THE DOD OVER THE PAST DECADE REVEAL MOST SERVICE MEMBERS REPORT GETTING LESS THAN SIX HOURS OF SLEEP A NIGHT. THE DOD RECOMMENDS AT LEAST SEVEN.

THE GAO SAYS THE LACK OF Zzzzs HAS LED TO FATAL ACCIDENTS AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE TO SHIPS, VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT.

“Fatigue and sleep deprivation among active-duty service members continues to be more the rule than the exception. Impairment from fatigue can be equivalent to the effects of alcohol intoxication and increases the risk of collisions and mishaps.”

THE GAO MADE NINE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE DOD BUT ACKNOWLEDGED HAVING MADE SIMILAR RECOMMENDATIONS IN A 2021 STUDY THAT MILITARY LEADERSHIP SAID THEY HAD NO PLANS TO IMPLEMENT OR MONITOR.

AUSTRALIA AND BAE SYSTEMS ARE GOING INTO THE SUBMARINE BUSINESS TOGETHER. UNDER THE AUKUS SECURITY PACT AUSTRALIA WILL BUY UP TO FIVE NUCLEAR SUBS FROM THE BRITISH FIRM. THE PACT, SIGNED IN 2021 BETWEEN THE LEADERS OF AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND THE UNITED STATES IS A TRILATERAL SECURITY PARTNERSHIP.

[Grant Shapps, British Defence Secretary]

“No matter where you are, whether it’s in the Indo-Pacific, whether it is in the South China Sea, the Red Sea or the North Atlantic, it is vital that that freedom of navigation is continued, now and forever into the future. That is why this enormous commitment by all three countries, working together in AUKUS, is so critically important..”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

THE DEAL WILL SEE AUSTRALIA BECOME THE SEVENTH NATION TO OPERATE NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES.

BUT DON’T EXPECT TO SEE THEM ANYTIME SOON. WORK IS EXPECTED TO START IN THE LATE 2020s AFTER AT LEAST ONE POINT THREE BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF NEW SHIPBUILDING FACILITIES IN ENGLAND ARE COMPLETED.

80 YEARS AFTER THE FAMED ‘EASY COMPANY’ OF THE 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION JUMPED INTO NORMANDY, FRANCE TO BEGIN THE LIBERATION OF EUROPE, THE MEN WHO PORTRAYED THOSE HEROES IN THE HBO MINI-SERIES ‘BAND OF BROTHERS’ WILL FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS.

THE BBC IS REPORTING A GROUP OF ACTORS FROM THE SERIES THAT AIRED IN 2001 ARE TRAINING IN GEORGIA TO MAKE THE JUMP ON JUNE 6.

EVERY YEAR THOUSANDS FLOCK TO THE FRENCH COAST TO HONOR THE TROOPS WHO LANDED THERE. WHILE THERE ARE NO SURVIVING MEMBERS OF EASY COMPANY, THE ACTORS WHO PORTRAYED THEM CONTINUE TO HONOR THEIR LEGACY AND SACRIFICE BY RETURNING TO THE AREA.

ALEX SABGA-BRADY, WHO PLAYED CORPORAL FRANK MELLET, TOLD THE BBC:

“If we can in some way, shape or form keep these stories going and keep these memories alive then that is exactly what we tried to do and it does mean a lot to us as a cast.”

BAND OF BROTHERS WAS A 10-PART MINI-SERIES RELEASED IN 2001, WHICH RECOUNTED THE EXPERIENCES OF EASY COMPANY’S PARATROOPERS DURING WORLD WAR TWO.

———————————————————

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

WHEN YOU THINK OF THE WORD LABORATORY WHAT COMES TO MIND? CERTAINLY HOLLYWOOD HAS PROVIDED SOME INSPIRATION OVER THE YEARS.

ENTERTAINING NO DOUBT, BUT FAR FROM THE SILVER SCREEN, THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO MAKE UP THE AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY ARE WORKING ACROSS THE U.S., FROM NEW YORK TO MAUI ON VERY REAL SOLUTIONS, TO VERY REAL PROBLEMS.

SINCE 1997 THE AFRL’S MISSION HAS BEEN TO DISCOVER, DEVELOP AND BRING NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO THE FIGHT FOR THE AIR FORCE, AND STARTING IN LATE 2019, THE SPACE FORCE..

[James Bieryla, Director, AFRL Strategic Partnering]

“I would say if you look at just about any airplane, or any spacecraft that’s out there, there’s technology embedded in that that started out right here at the lab. And to be to be clear to the laboratory is not just one building. It’s it is spread across the United States.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

HEADQUARTERED AT WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, IN OHIO, THE LAB’S DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERING, JAMES BIERYLA SAYS YOU CAN FIND AFRL RESEARCH SITES IN TEN STATES WITH A WORKFORCE OF MORE THAN 12,500 PEOPLE.

[James Bieryla, Director, AFRL Strategic Partnering]

“We do that on purpose, right? Because we want to, we want to make sure that we’re out there, both close to the warfighter, but also close to the different organizations that might have technology that that we’re interested in.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

IF YOU WANT EASY EXAMPLES OF WHERE YOU CAN FIND THE AFRL’S WORK BIERYLA SAYS LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE F-35 OR THE B-21 THAT’S CURRENTLY TESTING AT EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE. THEY’RE ALSO WORKING ON MANY OTHER PROJECTS THAT MAY NEVER BECOME HOUSEHOLD NAMES, BUT WILL STILL PLAY A BIG PART IN HELPING THE US STAY IN FRONT OF NEAR-PEER ADVERSARIES LIKE RUSSIA AND CHINA. PROJECTS LIKE THE MUTANT MISSILE THAT WE FEATURED IN FEBRUARY.

[Dr. Ben Dickinson, Weapons Dynamics & Controls Sciences Branch]

“We have a great team leads, we got great engineers, we have a vast pool of people, cross director today FRL and cross service that are all making significant contributions to this, this, this system would not be where it is today, if we did not have the partnerships that we’ve created, and that has been crucial to our success”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

THERE ARE 12 DIRECTORATES THAT FALL UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF AFRL. EVERYTHING FROM HUMAN PERFORMANCE TO SPACE VEHICLES. ALL OF WHICH HAVE THE SAME END GOAL. HELPING THE WARFIGHTER, WHEREVER THAT FIGHT MAY BE.

[Dr. Brian Beal, Principal Aerospace Engineer]

“I know. It’s a great source of pride for the lab and for myself, to be able to support both the Air Force and the Space Force. But I’ll say from my perspective, there were really no seams between the two. I don’t, I don’t worry from day to day of the people. I’m working with our Air Force or Space Force. It’s all part of one big team and that’s been great.”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

NOT UNNOTICED BY THOSE DOING THE WORK AT THE AFRL, ARE THE WINDS OF CHANGE SWIRLING AROUND THE AIR AND SPACE FORCES, BUDGETING CONCERNS FROM WASHINGTON D-C., AND EVOLVING THREATS FROM AMERICA’S ADVERSARIES IN BEIJING AND MOSCOW. DESPITE ALL OF THAT, BIERYLA SAYS THE CORE OF THEIR MISSION REMAINS UNCHANGED.

[James Bieryla, Director, AFRL Strategic Partnering]

“Everything we do has a fierce focus on making sure that ultimately, our airmen or guardians, our warfighters, get that technology and get it into their hands and get it into their hands quickly. And as affordably as possible. ”

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

WHILE THE AFRL’S EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON MILITARY APPLICATIONS, THERE ARE ALSO CIVILIAN BENEFITS, LIKE THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM, OR GPS, WHICH STARTED OUT AS PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY THAT EVENTUALLY MADE ITS WAY INTO YOUR SMARTPHONE.

———————————————————

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

THERE’S AN OLD SAYING THAT GOES “LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING”, AND THAT’S NEVER BEEN MORE TRUE THAN WITH OUR WEAPON OF THE WEEK.

MEET THE EA-37B COMPASS CALL. IN THE SIMPLEST TERMS IT’S AN ELECTRONIC ATTACK WEAPON SYSTEM. IF IT LOOKS VAGUELY FAMILIAR, THERE’S A GOOD REASON FOR THAT. UNDERNEATH ITS BULKY EXTERIOR IS THE SLEEK GULFSTREAM G5-50. ONE OF THE MOST EXCLUSIVE PRIVATE JETS IN THE WORLD, OWNED BY THE LIKES OF ELON MUSK, MARK CUBAN AND, HIS AIRNESS, MICHAEL JORDAN.

NEEDLESS TO SAY THE AIR FORCE DIDN’T PICK IT TO KEEP PACE WITH THE CELEBRITY JET SET.

AFTER UNDERGOING AN EXTENSIVE RE-FITTING THE G5-50 IS CONVERTED INTO THE EA-37B. WHILE SPECIFICS OF WHAT GOES INTO THE AIRCRAFT ARE HELD CLOSE TO THE VEST BY THE AIR FORCE, WE DO KNOW THE COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF ELECTRONICS IS BUILT BY L3-HARRIS AND BAE SYSTEMS. THE JOB OF ALL THAT HARDWARE, AND THE CREW OF NINE, IS TO PREVENT ENEMY COMBATANTS FROM EFFECTIVELY USING ANY SYSTEM THAT REQUIRES OPERATOR INPUT.

BASICALLY–IT’S AN INTERRUPTER, USING TECHNOLOGY TO DENY THE OTHER SIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE THEIRS. DISABLE THE LINK BETWEEN OPERATOR AND DEVICE–AND YOU CAN EFFECTIVELY DISABLE THE DEVICE…OR DEPENDING ON THE SOFTWARE, HACK INTO IT AND TAKE IT OVER.

THE EA-37B REPLACES THE LONG-SERVING, EC-130.

IN SWAPPING THE 130’S FOUR PROPS FOR THE 37-B’S ROLLS ROYCE ENGINES, THE AIR FORCE IS BRINGING A MAJOR UPGRADE TO THE TABLE.

THE 37-B CAN FLY PAST 40,000 FEET AND CRUISE AT MORE THAN 600 MILES AN HOUR, WHICH iS MORE THAN 15,000 FEET HIGHER, AND NEARLY TWICE THE SPEED OF ITS PREDECESSOR.

RIGHT NOW THE AIR FORCE HAS AN ORDER FOR TEN OF THESE ELECTRONIC ATTACK AIRCRAFT, HAVING TAKEN DELIVERY OF THE FIRST LAST YEAR, AND THE NEXT FIVE SOMETIME THIS YEAR.

AT LAST WORD THE FIRST WAS UNDERGOING EXTENSIVE TESTING BEFORE HEADING TO ITS PERMANENT HOME AT DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE NEAR TUCSON, ARIZONA.

———————————————————

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

Hello, folks, and welcome once again to comms check. It’s one of my favorite segments of the show because it’s our opportunity to check in with you, the audience, see where your head’s at answering any questions that you might send to us in our comment section below, or into our email inbox, which is weaponsandwarfaresan.com. Weapons and warfare all spelled out at san.com. So let’s go ahead and get started. With this week’s comms check.

First one comes to us on a story that we had done about Ukrainian air defense systems, Patriot air defense systems, shooting down Russian jets in great numbers in late January, early February. In that story, I had called the war an illegal Russian war that Russia had illegally invaded. We got this question from PETER OLDEMENGER. Who made those laws that say it’s illegal to invade another country? Armed conflicts happen all over the world, but this one is illegal.

It’s a good question, Peter. It’s actually the rules governing armed conflict come to us from Article Two of the U.N. Charter. Specifically, the violation that Russia committed was article two, section four, which prohibits members from using force against the territorial integrity and political independence of any state. So when Russia invaded Ukraine, they violated the territorial integrity as a means to impose its will upon the political independence of that state. It’s a violation of the U.N. Charter.

There are times where the U.N. says it’s okay for a nation to go into another dimension. Usually, that’s limited situation. Self Defense is one of those. So if the if Ukraine were to attack into Russia, which has happened a few times, the U.N. would consider that legal because Ukraine is acting in self defense, by invitation. So if Ukraine were to invite, say, France, or Poland and say, “Hey, guys, if you want to fight come on down,” then the U.N. would say that would be okay. Or authorization directly from the U.N. Security Council, which is unlikely to happen in this event because the U.N. Security Council, it’s made up of 15 member nations 10 seats on the council, it’s kind of an at large bid, and the kind of rotates around. But there are five permanent seats on the U.N. Security Council, and they are the U.S., the UK, France, China and Russia. So Russia is unlikely to authorize the U.N., to, you know, send troops in peacekeeping troops into Russia, or into Ukraine.

So Peter, to answer your question, who decides those rules? The U.N., which Russia is a member nation have decided the rules they agreed to them. They know what they were breaking when they broke them. So that’s why this war in Ukraine is illegal. Thanks for your question, Peter, hope that answered. answered your question.

So the next one, the next comms check we have comes to us on a story that we have done here on weapons and warfare about Sweden becoming officially official within NATO. And we got this question from DMT 8192. We’ll call him Devin. Yeah, let’s go with Devin. “Too bad us Swedish people did not get to vote on this.”

Devin is saying that, you know, had he been able to vote on Sweden’s membership into NATO, he probably would have denied it. But I will answer you, Devin. The Swedes did get to vote on their membership into NATO. If you look at it, yes, Sweden does have a monarchy, but it’s a limited constitutional monarchy, meaning the monarch is just a figurehead. The real power lies in the parliament, the Swedish parliament. And the Swedish parliament, for those who don’t know, it’s it’s a, a coalition, you need a coalition to lead. Much like Israel, where it’s multiple parties, and you have to have a, a, you know, totality of the votes not a totality a a plurality of the votes in order to lead a government. And the Swedish government is led by the moderate party. They’ve been in power since 2007. So had the Swedes not liked the direction that the moderate party was taking the country in than they could have voted to take the country into a different direction.

Also, it shouldn’t really come as a surprise that Sweden, after years of neutrality, decided to join join NATO or, you know, apply to join NATO. You know, once the once the Russians launched their illegal war, as we just learned into Ukraine, that kind of gave the Swedes all the and Finland all they needed to know, hey, we should join this multi nation alliance that will help protect us and that we can help protecting our neighbors.

Also, when you look at the Swedes participation in NATO activities NATO exercises, Sweden was the number one partner number one non NATO partner to participate and take part in NATO exercises for last 30 years. There’s also a an organised group, a partnership called the Partnership for Peace started in 99. Before Sweden joined that they there was another EU partnership that Sweden joined that had a lot of NATO member nations as well.

So to answer your question, Devin, while it might not have been up for a vote directly in Sweden to join NATO, if you pay attention at all to Swedish politics over the last 30 years, then you you kind of knew where things were going. And it should not have come as a surprise necessarily that Sweden did, in fact, join NATO. And just as a reminder, anytime our as because we live in democracies, if we don’t like the way that the government is going, we can tell them that each and every time we vote, which I encourage you to do as often as possible.

So that’s our comms check for this week, folks. As always, if you have something that you would like us to respond to if you have a question for us, please send it to us in the comment section below, or once again by emailing us weaponsandwarfare@san.com

———————————————————-

[RYAN ROBERTSON]

ALRIGHT FOLKS–FOR THIS WEEK’S WRAP I’M GOING TO CONTINUE A THEME I PICKED UP ON AS WE WERE PUTTING TOGETHER THE SHOW–INTELLIGENCE.

FOR MILITARIES AND GOVERNMENTS–INTELLIGENCE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF ANY VICTORY. AND A LACK OF INTELLIGENCE OR FAILURE TO ACT APPROPRIATELY ON A PIECE OF INTEL–LIKELY MEANS FAILURE.

SINCE THE FALL, WE’VE SEEN A FEW NOTABLE CASES OF GOVERNMENTS FAILING TO ACT ON INTELLIGENCE. THE ISRAELI’S HAD PRIOR KNOWLEDGE HAMAS WAS PLANNING AND TRAINING FOR SOME SORT OF MAJOR OPERATION PRIOR TO THE OCTOBER 7 ATTACKS.

ISRAEL’S LEADERS DIDN’T THINK THE THREAT WAS WORTHY OF WORRY.

WHAT HAPPENED? THE JEWISH PEOPLE SUFFERED THEIR SINGLE DEADLIEST ATTACK SINCE WORLD WAR II…THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN GAZA ARE DEAD…AND PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU IS BEING ACCUSED OF PROLONGING THE WAR TO PREVENT ANSWERING FOR HIS GOVERNMENT’S FAILURE TO ACT ON THE INITIAL INTELLIGENCE.

AND IN MARCH, TERRORISTS FROM THE ISLAMIC STATE ATTACKED CONCERT GOERS IN RUSSIA. MORE THAN 130 PEOPLE DIED AND EVEN MORE WOUNDED. PUTIN WAS WARNED ABOUT POTENTIAL ISIS ATTACKS. THE CIA GAVE THE KREMLIN THE INTEL. PUTIN PUBLICLY DERIDED THE WARNINGS…BELITTLED THE INTELLIGENCE.

THE U.S. EMBASSY PUT OUT A PUBLIC ALERT THAT EVERYONE IN RUSSIA COULD SEE IF THEY WANTED TO—WARNING OF A PENDING ATTACK AT PLACES LIKE CONCERTS.

THE INTELLIGENCE WAS IGNORED. PEOPLE DIED.

AND NOW PUTIN AND HIS CRONIES ARE TRYING TO SAY UKRAINE WAS SOMEHOW INVOLVED– PASSING OFF BAD INTELLIGENCE AS THE TRUTH. WHAT’S TRULY SAD, IS HE’LL PROBABLY SUCCEED IN CONVINCING PEOPLE OF THE LIE.

PEOPLE TEND TO HEAR WHAT THEY WANT…GO WITH AN INTELLIGENCE SOURCE THEY LIKE–RATHER THAN RISK HEARING THE TRUTH FROM SOMEONE OR SOMETHING THEY DON’T.

WHILE HOPEFULLY NONE OF THE DECISIONS YOU OR I MAKE ON A DAILY BASIS ARE AS DIRE AS THOSE FACING WORLD LEADERS…THOSE CHOICES STILL HAVE AN IMPACT. AND COMING UP THIS FALL–AMERICANS WILL ABSOLUTELY HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE AND IT WILL ABSOLUTELY IMPACT THE WORLD.

SO, WE SHOULD LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF NETANYAHU, AND PUTIN, AND PLENTY OF OTHER WORLD LEADERS–INCLUDING AMERICANS–WHO FAILED TO LISTEN TO GOOD INTELLIGENCE.

HOPEFULLY, WE WERE ABLE TO IMPART SOME INTELLIGENCE TO YOU DURING THIS EPISODE OF WEAPONS AND WARFARE. AS A REMINDER, YOU CAN ALWAYS LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW OR EMAILING US AT WEAPONS AND WARFARE AT SAN.COM.

FOR SENIOR PRODUCER BRETT BAKER, VIDEO EDITOR BRIAN SPENCER AND GRAPHICS DESIGNER DAKOTA PITEO, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON WITH STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS SIGNING OFF.

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