Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Feb. 11, 2020

View in your Web Browser: [link removed]
Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine and John A. Tirpak

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

Legacy Fleets Take Hit to Pay for RDT&E Funding Boost
By Brian W. Everstine

The Defense Department's $740.5 billion budget request for fiscal 2021 increases
spending on nuclear modernization, space, cyberspace, and multi-domain
operations in preparation for great power competition, while proposing to cut
dozens of legacy aircraft and reducing overseas contingency operations funding
for the wars in the Middle East. The Pentagon requested $705.4 billion,
including $636.4 billion in base funding and $53 billion in overseas contingency
operations funding. An additional $35.1 billion for the Department of Energy and
other agencies brings the total national defense spending to $740.5 billion. The
topline is flat and does not include growth for inflation; however, research,
development, test, and evaluation increases $2 billion—the highest, by
percentage of the overall budget, in 70 years, Deputy Defense Secretary David
Norquist said. “We had to make additional tough choices ... to free up money
to continue to invest in preparing for the high-end fight,” Norquist said.
Many of these cuts will hit Air Force flight lines directly.

[link removed]

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

USAF Budget Request Flat in 2021
By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force's total budget remains flat in fiscal 2021, with increased funding
for space, research and development, and joint service connectivity, but
declines in procurement and military construction. The budget funds an
additional 1,500 Airmen, and includes a 3-percent pay raise for uniformed
personnel and a 1 percent pay raise for civilians. The Air Force's overseas
contingency operations account will get a boost, but aircraft purchases do not
increase.

[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]

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

Space Force Requests $15.4 Billion in Fiscal 2021
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Space Force is requesting $15.4 billion for its first full year of
operations in fiscal 2021, ballooning from its $40 million allotment from
Congress in 2020. The fledgling service was created under the Department of the
Air Force in December by the Fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. As
the Air Force shifts much of its space enterprise into the new service, overall
space funding is set to grow by $900 million. Maj. Gen. John Pletcher, the Air
Force’s deputy assistant budget secretary, told reporters Feb. 10.

[link removed]

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

Expected $30 Billion Realignment Not in USAF Budget
By John A. Tirpak

A touted $30 billion realignment of the Air Force's budget, with some wholesale
retirements of major systems, did not materialize in the spending documents
released Feb. 10. Instead, the Air Force is reducing its operational fleet to
pay for technology upgrades emphasizing connectivity, agile logistics, space,
and increases in combat power.

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

Budget Cuts 28 Legacy Tankers Despite KC-46 Delays
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force wants to retire 28 KC-10s and KC-135s, even though the KC-46
tanker is years away from operational capability. This KC-46 fleet has been
plagued by problems, especially with its Remote Vision System, which links the
boom operator to the refueling system. Air Force leaders have said the problems
with the RVS and Boeing’s slow progress toward fixing it means the KC-46 will
not be deployable for at least three years. “The bottom line is: To try ensure
we have the capabilities we’re going to need in the future, we’re going to
have to take some risk,” said Maj. Gen. John Pletcher, the Air Force deputy
assistant secretary for budget, in a Feb. 10 briefing.

[link removed]

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

Air Force Cancels HCSW Hypersonic Missile in Favor of ARRW
By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force has canceled the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon as a budget
move, shifting emphasis to the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon. While both
are Lockheed Martin programs, the HCSW was being developed by the Space division
in Huntsville, Alabama, while the ARRW is being developed by Missiles and Fire
Control in Orlando, Florida. Work will continue through critical design review
next month, then the program will shut down.

[link removed]

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

F.E. Warren Security Forces Airmen Under Investigation for Smoking Marijuana
By Brian W. Everstine

Air Force Global Strike Command on Feb. 10 held a no-notice leadership call at
F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, following reports of marijuana use by
security forces airmen tasked with protecting the base’s nuclear missile
fields. “Our solemn duty is to protect this nation. The majority of our Airmen
are exceptional and have made significant gains in ensuring excellence and
adhering exacting standards,” AFGSC boss Gen. Timothy Ray said in a news
release. “But we will not give up one inch of this hard-earned ground. When
any of us see those not living up to our high standards, we will hold them
accountable using all of the disciplinary tools available under the military
justice system.”

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

Radar Sweep

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

Over 100 U.S. Troops Diagnosed with Brain Injuries from Iran Attack

The U.S. military is preparing to report a more than 50-percent jump in cases of
traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran’s missile attack on a base in Iraq
last month, U.S. officials told Reuters on Feb. 10. The officials, who spoke on
condition of anonymity ahead of an announcement, said there were over 100 cases
of TBI, up from the 64 previously reported last month.

Reuters

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

Two from Eglin Air Force Base Die in Combat in Afghanistan

Two soldiers from Eglin Air Force base died Feb. 8 in Afghanistan. Defense
Department officials identified Sgt. 1st Class Javier Jaguar Gutierrez, 28, of
San Antonio, and Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rey Rodriguez, 28, of Las Cruces, New
Mexico. Gutierrez and Rodriguez died in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, while
engaged in combat operations.

[link removed]

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

Amazon Wants to Question Trump after Losing $10 Billion Pentagon Cloud Contract

Amazon’s cloud computing arm wants to depose President Donald Trump, Defense
Secretary Mark Esper, and former Defense Secretary James Mattis over a $10
billion Defense Department cloud contract awarded to Microsoft, according to
court documents unsealed Feb. 10.

[link removed]

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

Justice Department Charges Four Members of China's Military over Equifax Hack

Attorney General William Barr on Feb. 10 announced indictments against four
members of the Chinese military for hacking into the systems of credit agency
Equifax in 2017, stealing the personal information of more than 145 million
Americans in one of the biggest data breaches in history.

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

Iran Again Fails to Put Satellite into Orbit Amid U.S. Worries

The launch happened at 7:15 p.m. local time at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in
Iran’s Semnan province, some 230 kilometers (145 miles) southeast of Iran’s
capital, Tehran. A Simorgh, or “Phoenix,” rocket couldn’t put the Zafar 1
communications satellite into orbit, however, due to a low speed, Iranian state
TV reported.

[link removed]

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

More Than 3 Dozen Military Hospitals to Stop Treating Retirees, Families, Memo Shows

Military families and retirees receiving care through 38 military hospitals
nationwide will soon be forced to go off-base instead, and some pharmacies at
those hospitals will stop providing drugs to those not on Active duty.

[link removed]

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

Former Interpreters Laud Court Ruling to Accelerate Special Visa Decisions

For thousands of Afghan and Iraqi nationals who served as interpreters with the
U.S. military, visa applications to gain permanent legal residence in the United
States have languished in legal limbo for years. Now there may be help on the
way, in the form of a court ruling.

[link removed]

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

One More Thing...
That Time an F-22 Raptor Provided Refuge for 20,000 Honey Bees

On June 11, 2016, 192nd Fighter Wing aircraft maintainers were bemused when they
found a swarm of honey bees hanging from the exhaust nozzle of an F-22 Raptor
engine following flight operations at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.

[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]

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