Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for April 30, 2020

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

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AFGSC’s New Plan to Deploy Bombers Across the Globe
By Brian W. Everstine

Air Force Global Strike Command will regularly rotate a small number of bombers
to the Pacific and Middle East theaters to maintain a regular deterrence
presence and to conduct combat operations as needed, but it will no longer
operate out of bases such as al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, or Andersen Air Force
Base, Guam, for extended periods. The move keeps USAF strategically relevant and
operationally unpredictable, AFGSC boss Gen. Timothy Ray said during an AFA
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual event April 29. “We can come
and go anytime they need us, we don’t need to be there physically,” Ray
said.

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USAF Launches Hypersonic Cruise Missile Effort
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force is spearheading development of the Defense Department’s first
hypersonic cruise missile. The service on April 27 reached out to industry to
seek input on a “solid rocket-boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic, conventional
cruise missile” that can be launched from existing fighters and bombers. Air
Force acquisition boss Will Roper said April 29 the program will leverage work
already done by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Air Force
Research Laboratory, and partner with industry to speed the design into
production. “We would absolutely pursue this the exact same way we did with
[the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon and Air-Launched Rapid-Response
Weapon] as a rapid prototyping … program which is not encumbered by
unobtainable requirements,” Roper said.

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Boeing: KC-46 Remote Vision System to Cost $551 Million
By Brian W. Everstine

Boeing expects to spend $551 million of its own money on the design and
implementation of fixes to the KC-46 Remote Vision System, as part of a new $827
million charge on the aircraft, the company announced April 29. The Air Force
and Boeing early this month announced “Remote Vision System 2.0,” an
agreement to replace the cameras and other significant components of the new
tanker, which have been the biggest problem plaguing development of the program.
The remainder of the new $827 million charge, outside of the RVS costs, centers
around “productivity inefficiencies” and impacts of the company’s decision
to shut down its Washington state facilities because of the new coronavirus
outbreak.

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Wilkie: VA Didn’t Perform Clinical Trial of Hydroxychloroquine
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Veterans Affairs Department has treated COVID-19-positive veterans with the
controversial drug hydroxychloroquine, but its use was in line with Food and
Drug Administration regulations and wasn't experimental, VA Secretary Robert
Wilkie said in an April 29 letter to Veterans Service Organizations.
“Recently, a records review was posted on a public website at the request of
the New England Journal of Medicine, out of one of our medical centers,” the
letter states. “The review documented some initial findings on the use of
hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 that gained a lot of media attention.
This led to misinformation about what did and did not happen at VA, and what the
findings indicated.”

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Virtual Events: Virtual Events: Sting, Ben Gibbard Headline ‘Space Songs’ Concert
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Today at 8 p.m. EDT, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum will host <a
href ="[link removed]">"Space Songs: Through the Distance,"</a> an
online, pre-recorded concert featuring performances by Sting, Death Cab for
Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard, singer-songwriter Grace Potter, and more.

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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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Aerospace Nation: A Conversation with the Honorable Matt Donovan

Matthew Donovan, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, took
part in a virtual discussion with retired USAF Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of
AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, for the April 28 installment of
the think tank's "Aerospace Nation" series.

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Soldiers and Marines Die by Suicide 50 Percent More Often than Sailors and Airmen, Report Finds

Of 325 Active-duty suicides in 2018, Soldiers and Marines took their own lives
at 150 percent the rate of Sailors and Airmen, according to a report released
April 27 by the Defense Department.

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Air Force Procurement Chief: Three Space Launch Providers ‘Would Be Great If We Had Funding’

U.S. Air Force top procurement official Will Roper said he is gratified that an
independent market study made public April 28 lends support to the decision to
select two launch providers for the national security space launch program.
“In a perfect world, we absolutely would continue with more providers” but
that is not financially possible, Roper told reporters April 29 during a video
conference.

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The Space Force’s Next Missile Warning Satellite Is One Step Closer to a 2021 Launch

With thermal vacuum testing having begun April 16, the next space-based missile
warning satellite has reached a major milestone, the Space and Missile Systems
Center announced.

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Air Force Is Down to One Tired Old Jet to Fly Open Skies Surveillance Flights

The other OC-135 jet is in testing after receiving badly needed new digital
cameras, but is years away from getting re-certified as treaty compliant.

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Subcontractor Dies While Working at Vance Air Force Base

A safety investigation is underway after a man working on an elevator team died
April 27 from injuries sustained at Vance Air Force Base, Okla. Taylor Lewis,
26, was working as a second-year apprentice as part of an elevator team with a
company named thyssenkrupp when he was found unresponsive, according to a news
release shared on social media by many local chapters of the International Union
of Elevator Constructors, a labor union.

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Boeing Announces Job Cuts

Boeing's chief executive said April 29 the company has begun cutting employees,
seeking to reduce its headcount by about 10 percent. In a letter to employees,
David Calhoun said the company is facing a decline in its production rates and
the effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

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Boeing Defense to Surpass Commercial Side for First Time in More Than a Decade

For the first time in 12 years, Boeing executives expect the company’s defense
and space unit to outperform its commercial airplane business, which is reeling
from coronavirus and 737 Max losses. Boeing’s defense business has not
outperformed its commercial side since 2008, when the commercial market was
still recovering from post-9/11 declines and U.S. defense spending spiked during
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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IG: VA Knew Infrastructure Upgrades Wouldn’t Meet Timeline for March Health Records Rollout

Severe staffing shortages, infighting, and lack of comprehensive planning for
infrastructure improvements would have handicapped the multibillion-dollar
project, the inspector general said.

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One More Thing...
First-Ever Air Force Women’s Fly-In Goes Virtual May 11

Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson will be one of the presenters for the
first-ever Air Force Virtual Women’s Fly-In, which will be held live on the
Columbus AFB Facebook page from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. central time May 11, 2020. With
a nod to female aviation pioneers as the backdrop, the event, which is open to
all Airmen regardless of gender or career field, helps Airmen create networks to
learn more about experiences, leadership, and life.

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