Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for April 17, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak

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Nahom: ‘In a Very Perfect World We’ll Get to 220 Bombers’
By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force expects that the 17 B-1B bombers it's asked to retire will be the
last until the type "shakes hands" with its replacement, the B-21, early in the
2030s, Lt. Gen. David Nahom, USAF's top planner, said April 16. The B-1 will get
improvements and more maintainers per jet to make it more lethal and available
for duty, but USAF will stay flexible in case the B-21, soon to enter testing,
is delayed, Nahom reported. Production of the B-21 will be "accelerated" after
it finishes testing, he added.

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Goldfein: Coronavirus Will Have Long-Term Impact on BMT, Military Education
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force’s steps to reduce class size in basic military training and put
in place distancing measures have limited the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
However, the impact of these measures will be felt for years. Air Force Chief
of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, in an interview with Air Force Magazine, credited
Air Education and Training Command for “thinking creatively” on how to
address the COVID-19 situation, and though he said the current plan can be
sustained "for a significant amount of time," there will be long-term impacts.
“There will be some numbers that will, quite frankly, take years to get back
because I don’t know, until we have a vaccine, what the backside of this looks
like,” Goldfein said. “What we’ll actually return to, I predict, is not a
return to normal. It will be a return to a new abnormal, and that will be
operating with the virus.”

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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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Roper Asks Congress for Aerospace Industry Support
By Rachel S. Cohen

Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper is seeking more congressional help for the
defense industrial base as companies find their new business rhythm in the
coronavirus era. “We’re transitioning into the new steady state. The number
of new discoveries is going down and that’s good,” Roper told reporters
April 16. “It’s allowing our workforce to get a more predictable posture,
work ahead of issues we predict will happen.” Roper struck an optimistic note
that the Air Force’s procurement priorities and its contractors can make it
through the crisis. He is discussing a four-part wish list with Capitol Hill to
assist in those efforts.

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New Air Force One Moving Forward Despite Pandemic
By Rachel S. Cohen

The effort to replace Air Force One is moving along smoothly despite the new
coronavirus, and has essentially completed a key design milestone, USAF
acquisition boss Will Roper said April 16. Program officials held the critical
design review online rather than coming together in person during the pandemic,
a practice that Roper touted as an easy and efficient model for the future. As
commercial air travel grinds to a halt due to stay-at-home orders across the
country, Roper indicated VC-25B manufacturer Boeing is repurposing that
workforce to handle commercial-derivative programs like the new Air Force One,
which is based on the 747-8. He doesn’t expect the pandemic will delay the
development and production of the two jets.

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EUCOM, NATO Prioritizing Deterrence Missions While Scaling Down Exercises
By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. forces in Europe continue to meet key missions, including air policing and
an enhanced forward presence for deterrence, even as major exercises are
downsized or outright canceled, the head of U.S. European Command said. USAF
Gen. Tod Wolters, EUCOM boss and NATO Supreme Allied Commander-Europe, told
reporters that these critical U.S. and NATO missions remain on track despite the
impacts of the new coronavirus outbreak. “We’re working very, very hard to
squeeze as much as we can out of what we have available, but we have preserved
all of the operational missions," Wolters said.

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Virtual Events: VP Pence Speaks at USAFA 2020 Graduation in Colorado Springs
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On April 18, the U.S. Air Force Academy will livestream the Class of 2020's
commencement ceremony, which will feature an <a
href="[link removed]">in-person
keynote from Vice President Mike Pence</a>, beginning at 11 a.m. MDT (1 p.m.
EDT).

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Radar Sweep

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Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19

Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding
to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Defense Secretary Mark Esper: Chinese ‘Have Been Misleading Us’ about Coronavirus

Defense Secretary Mark Esper says there is so far only “inconclusive”
evidence that the coronavirus could have originated in a lab in Wuhan, China,
rather than naturally, but adds, “if the Chinese government had been more
transparent earlier, it would have helped us.”

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First U.S. Service Member to Contract Coronavirus Has Recovered in South Korea, Military Says

The first U.S. service member to test positive for coronavirus has recovered and
been released after 49 days in isolation in South Korea, the military said April
16. The announcement came as the pace of infections has slowed across South
Korea since an outbreak began in the southeastern city of Daegu in late
February.

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OPINION: Haircuts in a Time of Coronavirus?

“There have been too many confusing messages during this crisis,” writes Jim
Golby, a defense policy advisor at the U.S. Mission to NATO. “Senior military
and civilian leaders should be enforcing social distancing as much as
discipline, and with one voice.”

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Putin Postpones Milestone Victory Day Military Parade over Coronavirus

President Vladimir Putin, citing the deepening coronavirus crisis, said on April
16 Russia would postpone its May 9 celebrations including a huge military parade
across Red Square to mark 75 years since the Soviet victory in World War II.

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Iranian Vessels Conduct Unsafe, Unprofessional Interaction with U.S. Naval Forces in Arabian Gulf

On April 15, eleven Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN)
vessels repeatedly conducted dangerous and harassing approaches of the USS Lewis
B. Puller, USS Paul Hamilton, USS Firebolt, USS Sirocco, USCGC Wrangell, and
USCGC Maui, while the U.S. vessels were conducting joint integration operations
with U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in the international waters of
the North Arabian Gulf.

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Thornberry Wants $6 Billion This Year to Launch Counter-China Fund

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) is calling for the creation of an Indo-Pacific
Deterrence Initiative, with a $6.09 billion investment in fiscal year 2021. The
fund would be based on the European Deterrence Initiative, a special DOD fund
for projects focused on deterring Russia that was set up in the wake of the
annexation of Crimea.

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USAF Advances Electronic Warfare Testing of EPAWSS Suite for F-15

The U.S. Air Force is progressing electronic warfare testing of the Eagle
Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS) upgrade for the Boeing
F-15 combat aircraft, it announced on April 14.

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General Officer Assignments

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein on April 16 announced that Brig.
Gen. Rodney Lewis and Brig. Gen. Steven Whitney have both received new
assignments at the Pentagon.

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DARPA Project Producing Tool to Help Anticipate Military and Industrial Systems’ Cyber Threats

The Verification Evidence and Resilient Design in Anticipation of Cybersecurity
Threats—or VERDICT—tool aims to work across a range of computer systems,
such as those for smart devices, ships, aircraft, power plants, and wind farms.
The goal is to provide the systems with comprehensive assessments of cyber
threats, recommend how to address vulnerabilities uncovered, and predict the
potential of forthcoming attacks.

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Faster Acquisition

The Air Force is leveraging emerging technologies and new legislation to
accelerate acquisition decisions and streamline sustainment. Read more here.

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Air National Guard Recruiting Joins Newly Merged Total Force Lead Refinement and Call Center

“Transitioning to the integrated lead refinement and call center is a major
milestone in the Air National Guard’s Total Force recruiting initiatives,”
said Brig. Gen. April Vogel, director of the National Guard Bureau’s Manpower,
Personnel, Recruiting and Services. “Additional integration efforts we are
currently pursuing include joining the Air Force national marketing and
advertising contract, integrating positions into the AFRS staff, and conducting
a pilot study to identify opportunities to integrate with Air Force recruiting
squadrons.”

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U.S. Space Command Awards $14 Million Contract Extension to LinQuest for Support Services

U.S. Space Command has awarded a $14 million contract to LinQuest for support
services, the company announced April 15. LinQuest a year ago received a $9.2
million contract to help with the standup of the command.

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One More Thing...
Rare Photo of North Korean MiG-29 Firing an R-60 AAM Emerges after Kim Jong Un’s Visit to Sunchon Airbase

The visit also provided a rare public appearance of the weapons used by North
Korean aircraft.

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