Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for March 11, 2020

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

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

Pentagon Limiting Travel, Scaling Back Exercises During Coronavirus Outbreak
By Brian W. Everstine and Rachel S. Cohen

The Defense Department is limiting travel and curbing exercises as more service
members and civilians are confirmed to have the new coronavirus, though
officials maintain the impact of the outbreak is limited. As of March 10, three
Active Duty service members have been confirmed to have the virus—one in South
Korea, one in Europe, and one in the U.S. Additionally, one civilian, four
dependents, and one contractor are confirmed to have the virus, Joint Staff
Surgeon USAF Brig. Gen. Paul Friedrichs told reporters.The department is still
learning about the virus and the impacts of the outbreak, and Pentagon officials
expect the numbers to continue to increase.

[link removed]

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

Space Force Legislative Plan Delayed
By Rachel S. Cohen

Space Force officials say it’s taking longer than expected to finalize a list
of suggested language that lawmakers could add to the fiscal 2021 defense policy
bill, indicating that certain proposals for the new service are sure to cause
heated disagreement across the federal government. If the document isn’t sent
over by the end of March, Lt. Gen. David Thompson, the service’s vice
commander, said, “we’re going to continue to get beat up by Congress.” The
Department of the Air Force, which encompasses the Space Force, has submitted
technical and conforming amendments for lawmakers to consider. Those amendments
serve to clean up laws already on the books to ensure they apply to the Space
Force.

[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]

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

CENTCOM, AFRICOM Urge Lawmakers Not to Cut MQ-9, Combat Air Patrols
By Brian W. Everstine and Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force’s plan to cut MQ-9 Reaper production and some air patrols in the
fiscal 2021 budget request would negatively impact the ability to conduct
operations and provide enough over watch in hotspots in the Middle East and
Africa, the top officials responsible for those regions said March 10. The
service wants to end the production of the Reapers, which have been in
increasingly high demand across the world, saying it needs to focus on assets
and systems that can survive in a high-end fight. Air Force acquisition boss
Will Roper told House legislators on March 10 that figuring out what will
succeed the MQ-9 Reaper, which is slated to remain in service through about
2030, will be among the most important decisions of the fiscal 2022 budget.

[link removed]

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

USAF, Canadian Fighters Intercept Russian Aircraft North of Alaska
By Amy McCullough

U.S. Air Force F-22s and Canadian CF-18s intercepted two Russian Tu-142 maritime
reconnaissance aircraft north of Alaska on March 9, North American Aerospace
Defense Command announced. The fighters, which were supported by an E-3 Sentry
AWACS and a KC-135 Stratotanker, escorted the Russian aircraft for four hours as
they flew in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone. “NORAD continues to
operate in the Arctic across multiple domains,” said Gen. Terrence
O’Shaughnessy, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, in a release.
“As we continue to conduct exercises and operations in the north, we are
driven by a single unyielding priority: defending the homeland.”

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

CENTCOM: Taliban Actions ‘Not Consistent’ With Peace Deal
By Brian W. Everstine

The Taliban has continued attacks on Afghan forces in the wake of the negotiated
agreement with the U.S., steps that are “not consistent” with a future
settlement for peace, the head of American forces in the Middle East said March
10. For the peace deal to work, the Taliban needs to demonstrate its commitment
to the process by reducing violence, and the U.S. will continue its initial
drawdown while watching the conditions on the ground, U.S. Central Command boss
Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told the House Armed Services Committee. “We don’t
need to trust them, we don’t need to like them,” McKenzie said of the
Taliban. “We need to observe what they do and we have the capability to do
that.”

[link removed]

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

DOD Seeks New Satellite Communications Prototypes
By Shaun Waterman

The Defense Department is seeking innovative ways to connect U.S. military units
all over the world, provide high bandwidth services via laser, and communicate
with submarines deep underwater. A recently issued contract solicitation
launched a four-phase prototyping effort that will lead to a brand new command,
control, and communications architecture, said Doug Schroeder, oversight
executive of DOD's Joint Capability Technology Demonstration at the Satellite
2020 conference in Washington.

[link removed]

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

ULA Postpones AEHF-6 Launch Due to Valve Issue
By Rachel S. Cohen

United Launch Alliance announced March 10 its Atlas V rocket launch that will
carry the Air Force’s sixth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite into
space is delayed by at least two days because of an unusual valve reading.
“Additional time is needed for the team to replace and retest the valve,” a
ULA spokeswoman said. “Launch is now scheduled for no earlier than March
21.” AEHF, built by Lockheed Martin, is replacing the Milstar constellation to
provide more secure, signal jamming-resistant satellite communications for
“high priority military ground, sea, and air assets,” according to the Space
Force.

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

Radar Sweep

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

Hospital Moves Won’t Leave Military Families Without Care, DOD Leader Promises

Under Secretary of the Air Force Matthew Donovan, President Donald Trump’s
nominee for the Pentagon’s top personnel job, pledged March 10 that no
military families will be left without reliable medical care as part of the
consolidation of dozens of Defense Department hospitals in coming years.

[link removed]

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

F-35 Work Continues in Italy Despite Coronavirus Lockdown

Italy’s nationwide lockdown in response to the new coronavirus has not
affected the production of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter parts in northern Italy,
prime contractor Lockheed Martin said March 10.

[link removed]

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

A Contractor Who Tested Positive for the Coronavirus Lied About His Health to Access a U.S. Military Base

A contractor who tested positive for the coronavirus lied about his health and
continued working construction at Camp Walker, a U.S. military base in South
Korea, while sick.

[link removed]

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

Pentagon Identifies 2 MARSOC Raiders Killed Hunting ISIS in Iraq

The two service members killed during a mission to eliminate an Islamic State
group stronghold in a mountainous region of north-central Iraq have been
identified as members of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. Gunnery
Sgt. Diego Pongo, 34, of Simi Valley, Calif., and Capt. Moises Navas, 34, of
Germantown, Md., died March 8 while on a mission with Iraqi forces in the
Makhmur Mountains, south of Erbil.

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

Edwards AFB Upgrades Point to Unexpected Home for B-21 Raider, Other Secretive Programs

Historic Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the center of the flight test world,
has been going through a series of changes in preparation to receive the B-21
Raider stealth bomber. Now, satellite imagery shows that the area of the base
where the B-21 test program was thought to be headed may not actually be its
destination. As a result, it would seem that more than just one secretive large
aircraft program may kickoff at the base in the not so distant future, or may
even be underway there already.

[link removed]

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

Martin: 'Project Convergence' to Explore Army's Role in JADC2

The Army is planning a demonstration at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., in September
to test sensor-to-shooter technology using artificial intelligence, according to
Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Joe Martin. Martin told reporters about the upcoming
event after a demonstration March 6 of the service’s new Extended Range Cannon
Artillery prototype system.

[link removed]

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

More Drones Needed to Fight Two-Front War

The U.S. military needs to beef up its unmanned aerial systems arsenal to be
able to fight two wars simultaneously against advanced adversaries China and
Russia, analysts say. The National Defense Strategy identifies those two nations
as great power competitors and the top threats to U.S. national security.
Nevertheless, the document established what is essentially a one-war force
sizing construct, experts cautioned in a recent Center for Strategic and
Budgetary Assessments report.

[link removed]

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

Medical Standards Changing for RPA Pilots

The Air Force has approved changes to medical standards for remotely piloted
aircraft pilots, which went into effect Feb. 28. After remotely piloted aircraft
students graduate from undergraduate pilot training, they will not be required
to meet the medical standards designed for aircrew operating at altitude.
Instead, these Airmen will meet Ground-Based Operator medical standards, which
are less restrictive than a flying class physical, but still have higher
requirements than non-flying Airmen.

[link removed]

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

One More Thing...
US Military Scientists Hope to Have Coronavirus Therapeutic by Summer

A new approach would use RNA or DNA to help the body develop antibodies to the
rapidly spreading illness.

[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]

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