Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for May 7, 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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Lawmakers Grill DOD Officials on Ligado, GPS Fight
By Rachel S. Cohen

A Senate Armed Services Committee hearing brought an interagency dispute over
the future of spectrum management further into public view on May 6. SASC and
the Defense Department are sparring with the Federal Communications Commission
over its April approval of a Ligado Networks plan to build ground terminals for
a broadband Internet network in the electromagnetic spectrum’s L-band, near
the part of the spectrum occupied by GPS signals. For the FCC to reverse its
decision, the Pentagon needs to go through a formal petition process with the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration to prompt the FCC to
reconsider. DOD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said he is talking to the
NTIA and that DOD has until the end of the month to lodge its objection.

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SASC Takes Up Brown’s Nomination for Chief of Staff
By Amy McCullough

The Senate Armed Services Committee will hear from Gen. Charles Q. Brown to
consider his nomination to be the service's 22nd Chief of Staff at 9:30 a.m. on
May 7. If confirmed, Brown would become the first African-American Air Force
Chief of Staff and replace Gen. David Goldfein, who has led the Air Force since
July 2016.

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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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Air Force Seeking Faster, Longer-Range Air-to-Air Missiles
By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force is seeking industry input on a new class of air-to-air missiles,
which would be faster and longer-ranged than the AIM-120 and AIM-9X that
currently equip its fighter fleet. It's not clear, though, how the new weapons
would join a portfolio where there are several new missiles already
underway—some of which seem to match the description available from industry
already.

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About 30,000 Troops Waiting to PCS as DOD Implements COVID-19 Safeguards
By Brian W. Everstine

U.S. Transportation Command has about 30,000 service members and their families
lined up and scheduled to move to another installation as part of a permanent
change of station, and the Pentagon is requiring movers to meet new guidelines
aimed at protecting troops and families from COVID-19. Since the first
restriction of movement order came out in mid-March, TRANSCOM has conducted
about 12,500 shipments of household goods for service members who received
waivers to PCS, which is about 30 percent of the command’s typical volume. To
keep moving families safe, Defense Secretary Mark Esper authorized new protocols
requiring movers to abide by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
guidelines for protection against the new coronavirus, including requiring face
masks and screening movers for the virus.

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Shadowy X-37B Spaceplane Heading Back to Orbit
By Rachel S. Cohen

The X-37B spaceplane will embark on its sixth mission from Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, Fla., on May 16, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said. The
secretive, unmanned orbital test vehicle, which will launch on a United Launch
Alliance Atlas V rocket, is notching new milestones as it matures. "This sixth
mission is a big step for the X-37B program," said Randy Walden, who runs the
Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. "This will be the first X-37B mission to
use a service module to host experiments. The incorporation of a service module
on this mission enables us to continue to expand the capabilities of the
spacecraft and host more experiments than any of the previous missions."

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Esper’s Approach to Flat Budgets Mirrors USAF, Keeps Nukes a Priority
By John A. Tirpak

Defense Secretary Mark Esper acknowledged that heavy government spending on
anti-Coronavirus efforts could suppress defense spending in coming years, and
said the Pentagon will prioritize modernization programs over legacy systems if
the budget flattens. There are "dozens" of legacy programs Esper said he would
be willing to give up in order to preserve modernization efforts, though he
didn't offer specifics. The Air Force has come under fire for just this
approach, having offered up B-1 bombers, A-10 attack jets, and numerous aerial
tankers for retirement in its fiscal 2021 budget, with the aim of using the
resulting savings to develop the joint all-domain command and control system and
other modernization programs.

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USAF May Modernize Initial SERE Training
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

USAF may soon update its initial Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape
training to better suit the demands of different Air Force Specialty Codes. The
new program will incorporate preliminary distance learning so students can hit
the ground running once they arrive at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., the head
of the 336th Training Group told Air Force Magazine.

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Virtual Events: Dunlap on the Mitchell Institute’s ‘Aerospace Nation’
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Today, Air Force Chief Architect Preston Dunlap will appear in conversation with
retired USAF Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of AFA's Mitchell Institute for
Aerospace Studies, and Heather Penney, senior resident fellow at Mitchell, in
the next installment of the think tank's "Aerospace Nation" series. Their
discussion will cover the Air Force’s progress to date on the development of
the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), how USAF is coordinating its
efforts with the other services to build Joint All-Domain Command and Control,
and more. The event will tentatively be posted on Mitchell's website and YouTube
page the same day.

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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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Trump Vetoes Bill to Curtail His Iran War-Making Authority

The war powers resolution was passed in March, but wasn’t formally sent to the
White House until just this week.

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Iraq Chooses New Prime Minister, an Ex-Security Chief Backed by U.S.

With the selection of Mustafa Khadimi, Iraq has its first real government in
more than five months. He will confront an array of daunting problems.

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Nuclear Weapons Treaty's Chief Negotiator Fears Coronavirus Crisis Could Mean End of Russia-U.S. Arms Control Deal

The chief negotiator of the New START treaty fears the nuclear arms control deal
with Russia could end up "simply going away" as attention is diverted to
handling the novel coronavirus pandemic. Former Under Secretary of State for
Arms Control Rose Gottemoeller told Newsweek that she was "concerned" about the
deal lapsing if it is not paid more attention before it expires early next year.

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Troops Supporting Pandemic Response Should Get Hazard Pay, Senator Says

Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a retired member of the Iowa National Guard and
veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, has proposed that service members deployed
for COVID-19 response get hazardous duty pay.

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Burn Pit Victims Could Face Greater Dangers from Coronavirus, VA Warns

Veterans Affairs officials are again warning veterans who were exposed to
open-air burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan that they could face additional risks
from respiratory complications related to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

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Treasury Unlikely to Change Rule That Disqualifies Space Startups from Relief Loans

Several industry associations and lawmakers in recent weeks have called on
Treasury to waive the affiliation rule so struggling startups can get emergency
aid. But Treasury has pushed back out of concern that changing the rule for
venture-owned startups would subvert the intent of the Small Business
Administration’s loan program that was created to help independently owned
small businesses.

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Afghanistan Drawdown Proceeds Even as Tenuous Peace Deal Continues to Crack

As the U.S. continues down the perilous path to peace in Afghanistan a number of
spoilers threaten to upend America’s goal to withdraw U.S. troops from
Afghanistan and end its longest war. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper told
reporters May 5 that the Taliban were not living up to their commitments inked
between the U.S. and the militant group in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 29.

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Pentagon Wants AI to Predict Behavioral Changes in Troops

When a teammate is struggling with depression, mental health, or other
psychological issues, it can have a debilitating effect on the entire team.
During a military operation, those issues, if left unaddressed, can lead to
mission failure, injury, and death. To prevent mental health issues from
becoming a problem on the battlefield, the Defense Innovation Unit—a team
within the Defense Department that taps nontraditional contractors to bring the
latest technologies to the military—wants to develop predictive artificial
intelligence that can flag behavior changes in a service member.

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Army Aviation Seeks Innovative Tech for Future Threats

The Army’s Program Executive Office for Aviation is seeking white papers from
industry on readily available technology to address future force challenges. A
May 5 request for information says the "demands of increased threats, the rapid
pace of technology change, and reduced budgets compel the use of more innovative
approaches for exploring and integrating mature technologies and capabilities
into Army Aviation formations."

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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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First Photos Emerge of F/A-18E Super Hornet in Blue Angels Paint

The team is slated to transition to the Super Hornet for the 2021 air show
season.

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The Inside Story Behind the Pentagon’s Ill-Fated Quest for a Real Life ‘Iron Man’ Suit

The history of the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit, or TALOS, along with
the prototypes that came before it, reveals not just the military's
long-standing fascination with mechanized warfare, but also its inability to
radically transform the standard tactical kit that’s been a staple of American
troops for decades.

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One More Thing...
Second Lady to Speak at Military Spouse Appreciation Day Virtual Town Hall

On May 8, Second Lady Karen Pence will speak at an online town hall being hosted
by the COVID-19 Military Support Initiative to commemorate Military Spouse
Appreciation Day. You can register to attend the event, which will run from 3-4
p.m. EDT, <a
href=”[link removed]”>here</a>.

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