Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for March 10, 2020

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Edited by Brian W. Everstine with Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and Rachel S. Cohen

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Deployed F-35s Raise Mission-Capable Rates, Help Form New Logistics System
By Brian W. Everstine

Airmen and F-35s deployed to the Middle East from Hill Air Force Base, Utah,
increased the jet’s mission-capable rate during combat operations
while helping guide the future of the jet’s complex maintenance logistics
system. F-35s from Hill’s 4th Fighter Squadron deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base,
United Arab Emirates, for six months last year. The jets almost instantly began
conducting airstrikes while 70 percent of the fleet was able to conduct its
mission, said Brig. Gen. David Abba, director of the Air Force’s F-35
Integration Office. By the end of the deployment, that rate had climbed to more
than 90 percent. The jets flew 1,300 combat sorties over about 7,300 combat
hours, and employed about 150 weapons.

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Experts Worry Secrecy Will Hinder Space Acquisition Reform
By Rachel S. Cohen

Space policy experts at the Satellite 2020 conference argued overclassification
of those systems makes it harder to achieve the procurement reforms that
military space needs. Pentagon officials noted their collaboration with entities
in the intelligence community helps keep those who need to be informed in the
loop, like splitting acquisition authorities for certain programs between the
Defense Department and the IC. But if the military can’t describe the threats
facing the U.S. in space, and can’t talk about what technologies might be able
to help, that silence could stymie outreach to commercial industry and hinder
faster, cheaper, nontraditional approaches to developing and fielding new tools.

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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.
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B-2 Returns to Europe for Task Force Deployment
By Brian W. Everstine

An undisclosed number of B-2 stealth bombers touched down March 9 at Lajes Field
in Portugal for the latest bomber task force deployment to Europe. The Spirit
bombers from the 509th Bomb Wing and 131st Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base,
Mo., deployed to the base with the help of KC-10s from the 305th Air Mobility
Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., according to a U.S. Air Forces
in Europe release.

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US Airstrikes Kill 6 Al-Shabab Militants in Somalia
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and Brian W. Everstine

The United States killed six al-Shabab militants and wounded two others in a
series of airstrikes carried out in the first week of March, U.S. Africa Command
reported. Three of the strikes—two on March 2 and a third on March
5—targeted al-Shabab militants near Qunyo Barrow, Somalia. A fourth targeted
one of the terror group’s camps near Gandarshe on March 7, the command said.
AFRICOM alleges no civilians were harmed in the strikes.

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Two US Troops Killed Fighting Islamic State Group in Iraq
By Brian W. Everstine

Two U.S. service members died during a March 8 fight with Islamic State group
militants in northern Iraq. The Americans were killed while advising and
accompanying Iraqi security forces during a mission targeting an IS stronghold
in a mountainous area, according to a March 9 U.S. Central Command release.
Their names and service branches will not be released until their next of kin
are notified.

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Radar Sweep

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US Begins Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Official Says

American troops have begun leaving Afghanistan for the initial troop withdrawal
required in the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement, a U.S. official said on March 9,
amid political chaos in Kabul that threatens the deal. Hundreds of troops are
heading out of the country as previously planned, but they will not be replaced
as the U.S. moves ahead with plans to cut the number of forces in the country
from about 13,000 to 8,600, the official said.

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North Korea Fires Weapons after Threatening ‘Momentous’ Action

North Korea fired three short-range projectiles off its east coast on March 9,
South Korea’s military said, two days after the North threatened to take
“momentous” action to protest outside condemnation over its earlier
live-fire exercises. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the multiple kinds of
projectiles fired from the eastern coastal town of Sondok flew as far as 200
kilometers (125 miles) at a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (30 miles) before
landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

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Military Spouse at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Tests Positive for Coronavirus

The spouse, who lives off base, has not visited the installation in several
months, according to a post on the Facebook page for Joint Base Lewis-McChord,
Wash.

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Amazon ‘Quite Likely’ to Prove Pentagon Made an Evaluation Error in JEDI Cloud Contract, Judge Says

A federal judge granted Amazon’s request for a preliminary injunction to block
the Department of Defense from moving forward with work under its Joint
Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract due to what the judge said was
“quite likely” a material error in Microsoft’s bid overlooked by Pentagon
officials. While Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith issued the ruling for a temporary
injunction Feb. 13, the court unsealed her lengthy and technical opinion the
evening of March 6.

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VA Suspends GI Bill Certifications for Five Universities over Deceptive Enrollment Practices

In an email to congressional offices, the Department of Veterans Affairs
identified the University of Phoenix, Colorado Technical University, American
InterContinental University, Bellevue University, and Temple University as being
in violation of U.S. law which prohibits illegal “advertising, sales, or
enrollment practices.”

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DOD Awards Contracts for Development of a Mobile Microreactor

The Defense Department has awarded three teams, BWX Technologies, Inc.,
Lynchburg, Va.; Westinghouse Government Services, Washington; and X-energy, LLC,
Greenbelt, Md.; contracts to each begin design work on a mobile nuclear reactor
prototype under a Strategic Capabilities Office initiative called Project Pele.
Project Pele involves the development of a safe, mobile and advanced nuclear
microreactor to support a variety of DOD missions, such as generating power for
remote operating bases.

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Rapid Acquisition & Sustainment

The Air Force and U.S. defense establishment are breaking down barriers and
injecting speed, innovation, and creativity into the procurement system. Check
out our new page to learn more about these efforts.

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Bill on Immigration Policy for Children of U.S. Servicemembers, Civil Servants Passes Senate

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and former Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)
introduced bipartisan legislation to change a current law that creates a
disadvantage for certain children whose parents are serving the nation abroad in
uniform or in the civil service. The Citizenship for Children of Military
Members & Civil Servants Act is now headed to the President after it passed the
Senate on March 6.

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One More Thing...
The Air Force’s New Weapon Is … Shipping Containers?

USAF could sprinkle potential battlefields and hotspots with shipping containers
years in advance, each hiding a lethal drone.

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