Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Jan. 29, 2020

View in your Web Browser: [link removed]
Edited by Brian W. Everstine and Rachel S. Cohen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Crew Remains Recovered From E-11A Crash
By Brian W. Everstine

Remains of the two crew members aboard the E-11A Battlefield Airborne
Communications Node aircraft that crashed this week in Afghanistan were
recovered Jan. 28, a US defense official confirmed. At first, Afghan special
forces couldn't reach the site of the crash—a snowy field in Ghazni Province
north of the aircraft’s operating base of Kandahar Airfield. A US defense
official confirmed to Air Force Magazine that two people were onboard the
aircraft when it crashed, despite earlier reports that the E-11 was carrying
more.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TRANSCOM: Refueling Capacity a Major Shortfall, Made Worse by KC-46 Delays
By Brian W. Everstine

Aerial refueling tanker availability remains a major roadblock to readiness for
US Transportation Command, prompting the military to look at retaining even more
aging tankers as well as the possibility of relying on private contractors to
fill the gaps, the head of TRANSCOM said. Army Gen. Stephen Lyons said Jan. 28
that problems with the KC-46 Pegasus program are causing ripple effects that
could ultimately shrink the number of aircraft that are available for
operations. “We’ve got to figure out a way to mitigate the delayed fielding
of the KC-46,” Lyons said at an Atlantic Council event in Washington, D.C.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
Empowering Disaster Response and Recovery From Space
When a natural disaster or emergency occur, an immediate and seamless response is necessary to
save lives. Operational and situational awareness becomes increasingly important to responders.
If critical infrastructure is down in the disaster zone, then the systems and networks required for
powering the relief efforts are compromised. Ground operations must look to space to solve their
communication needs. Read the full story.
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USAF Plans First Steps for Space Acquisition Reform
By Rachel S. Cohen

A space architecture enterprise summit in mid-February will bring together
stakeholders like the Space Development Agency, Air Force Space and Missile
Systems Center, Space Rapid Capabilities Office to determine how each group fits
into the DOD’s new military space vision, according to a top Air Force space
adviser. “The summit will bring together key organizations with architecture
responsibilities to define a common lexicon, address architecture roles and
responsibilities, and facilitate an integrated national security space
architecture,” Shawn Barnes, deputy principal assistant to the Secretary of
the Air Force for space, said in a statement following a Jan. 24 meeting with
reporters. Barnes also said he expects the Pentagon in the next six months will
lay out a single, department-wide plan for fielding and operating a network of
space-based missile defense and missile warning systems.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reserve Considers Potential Homes for New C-130Js
By Brian W. Everstine

Air Force Reserve Command is mulling where to place four newly funded C-130Js,
prioritizing two wings with specialized missions. The fiscal 2020 defense
spending bill provided an additional $730 million for 8 C-130J aircraft,
including four for the Air Force Reserve and four for the Air National Guard.
The Lockheed Martin-produced airlifters are slated for delivery to the Reserve
in 2023. For the planes' new homes, the Reserve is looking at the 910th Airlift
Wing at Youngstown ARS, Ohio, and the 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson AFB, Colo.
The 910th AW offers the military’s only large-area, fixed-wing aerial spray
capability that controls disease-carrying insects, pests, “undesirable
vegetation,” and to disperse oil spills, according to AFRC. The 302nd AW is
the Reserve’s only wing that flies the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System
for the US Forest Service.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
SimpliSafe
Save on SimpliSafe Home Security.
Exclusive AFA Member Holiday Savings
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radar Sweep

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cockpit Oxygen Problems Persist in Air Force Trainer Flown in San Antonio

In the summer of 2018, the Air Force’s top commander said he had “high
confidence” that a research team had finally figured out why the service’s
basic training aircraft, the T-6A Texan II, suffered repeated failures of its
cockpit oxygen system. But the problem has persisted, even as inexperienced
pilots are still learning to solo over populated areas near San Antonio and
other cities.

[link removed]
(Subscription Required)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to Work for Space Force? Civilian Positions Are Now Hiring

Federal employees interested in working for the military’s newest,
space-focused branch now have opportunities to do so, as the Air Force posted
several civilian positions on the federal hiring website to draw talent
specifically for the Space Force headquarters. The positions all start at GS-12
and above, and are not open to the public, meaning that the Air Force plans to
hire current and former feds, military veterans, and family members of feds or
military members serving overseas.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Force to Upgrade E-3 AWACS Communications Capabilities

The Air Force is looking to build a long-term partnership with an industry
provider as it seeks to upgrade the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System to
transmit and receive fifth-generation fighter platform sensor data. AWACS can
already exchange Link 16 messages at the "collateral secret level," but now the
Air Force wants the Boeing-built surveillance aircraft to receive and display
Link 16 data at the "U.S.-only secret level from separately encrypted network
participation groups," according to a request for information released Jan. 27.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Special Operations Command Review Finds Deployment and Leadership Issues but No 'Systemic Ethics Problem'

The long-awaited Special Operations Command's ethics review has finally been
released, which argues that there is no "systemic ethics problem" in the special
operations community while acknowledging a range of underlying problems stemming
from a high operations tempo and insufficient leadership.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Innovators Are Air Force Target at ABMS Industry Day

The Air Force will hold its first official industry day on its emerging battle
management, command and control system for multi-domain operations on Jan. 29.
While a number of companies—ranging from defense primes Lockheed Martin and
Northrop Grumman to commercial startups such as Ghost Robotics of
Philadelphia—brought equipment to the first multi-service exercise of the Air
Force’s Advanced Battle Management System Dec. 16-18, the industry day at
Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, will be the first time potential vendors will be
provided a comprehensive picture of the multi-faceted concept, according to an
announcement by Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC).

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raytheon Wins Air Force Contract for Ground System to Process Missile Warning Satellite Data

Raytheon has won a $197 million US Air Force contract to design a ground system
that will be used to collect and process data from missile warning satellites,
the company announced Jan. 28. The five-year contract—a two-year base period
plus options—is to develop what the Air Force calls the Future Operationally
Resilient Ground Evolution, or FORGE. Raytheon beat competitors BAE Systems and
Booz Allen Hamilton.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Goldfein: Building Space Force is a Balancing Act of Independence

The Air Force’s top military official says creating the Space Force is a
delicate balancing act as officials grapple with how to nest the new service
within the larger Air Force organization.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One More Thing...
Pentagon Baseball Fans Get Close with Nationals World Series Trophy

The Washington Nationals, winners of baseball's 2019 World Series, brought the
Major League Baseball Commissioner's Trophy to the Pentagon on Jan. 27 so
baseball fans inside the US defense headquarters could get their pictures taken
with it. "The Nationals have a long-standing connection to the military and the
civilians that support them," Gregory McCarthy, the team’s senior vice
president for community relations, said in a Defense Department release. "We
like to say this trophy was earned by the 25 guys on the field who dedicated
their lives and training, but it belongs to our fans. It belongs to the military
and the civilians that support them."

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Daily Report: [link removed]
- Contact Us: [link removed]
- Advertise With Us: [link removed]
- Purchase/Reprint: [link removed]

- Air Force Association: [link removed]
- Join AFA: [link removed]

- AF Mag on Facebook: [link removed]
- AF Mag on Twitter: [link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Published by the Air Force Association

All airforcemag.com material is under copyright of
the Air Force Association. All rights reserved.

The Air Force Association
1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA
22209-1198

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe or change your preferences, please visit the link below:
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------