Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for June 10, 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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Senate Confirms Brown to Lead Air Force in Historic Vote
By Rachel S. Cohen

Senators confirmed Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as the first black
military service chief in American history in a 98-0 vote June 9. Brown, the
decorated four-star general in charge of Pacific Air Forces, is expected to
begin his four-year term as the Air Force’s top uniformed officer later this
summer. His confirmation comes as the military responds to nationwide protests
over police brutality and systemic racism, spurred by George Floyd’s death in
Minnesota last month. He has pledged to carry out the service’s sweeping
modernization plan while continuing to fight insurgents in the Middle East and
Africa and posturing against Russia and China—all while adjusting to life
during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Space Force Attracts Thousands in First Transfer Window
By Rachel S. Cohen

More than 8,500 Airmen applied to formally transfer into the Space Force during
the month of May, about half the number of people who currently work for the
fledgling service. Space Force officials will choose about 6,000 of those
satellite operators, intelligence analysts, cyber professionals, and others to
join the service for a two-year term, according to a June 9 release. A Space
Force spokesperson did not immediately answer how many Airmen were eligible to
apply in the first, and likely only, transfer window for Active-duty USAF
officers and enlisted personnel.

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KC-46 Full-Rate Production Pushed Back to 2024
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force has officially delayed the KC-46’s full-rate production decision
milestone until 2024 as the next-generation tanker works through problems
plaguing its Remote Vision System, the service announced June 8. The Air Force
and the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation decided the
KC-46’s initial operational test and evaluation will only conclude after the
RVS deficiencies are resolved, and the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation
Center has tested the aircraft in its final production configuration, the
service said in a statement. KC-46 was originally slated to reach full-rate
production in June 2017, but that date has been pushed back multiple times. The
latest delay will not add any “contractual cost or delivery impacts,” the
service said.

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New Leaders Nominated for ACC, AMC
By Brian W. Everstine

President Donald Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Mark Kelly to receive his fourth
star and take over as commander of ACC and Lt. Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost to
receive her fourth star and take over as commander of AMC. Kelley is the deputy
chief of staff of operations at Headquarters Air Force. He has previously served
as the commander of 12th Air Force, 9th Air Force, the 455th Air Expeditionary
Wing in Afghanistan, and the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson Air Force Base,
Alaska. Van Ovost is the deputy commander at AMC and previously has served as
the director of staff at Headquarters Air Force and the director of the Joint
Staff. She has also served as the vice commander of the U.S. Air Force
Expeditionary Center and led the 89th Airlift Wing at Joint Base Andrews, Md.

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Next-Gen Air Dominance Acquisition Plan Coming Soon
By John A. Tirpak

The Next-Generation Air Dominance program's acquisition strategy will be
finished this summer, service acquisition chief Will Roper reported June 9 at a
Mitchell Institute Aerospace Nation streaming event. He's assigned a team to
assess whether the "Digital Century Series" model for the aircraft will cost
less than traditional methods. Even if it doesn't, Roper indicated that he will
press ahead because it will allow new technology to be added to the aircraft
faster, the better to keep up with peer threats. He also discussed concepts of
operation for "Skyborg" escort aircraft.

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Tennessee Air Guardsmen Create VR Simulator for Maintainer Training
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

A pair of Tennessee Air National Guardsmen are collaborating with the Warner
Robins Logistics Complex and the augmented reality/virtual reality development
studio Moth+Flame—with support from ARCWERX—to create a virtual-reality
simulator to help maintainers practice running USAF aircraft engines while
saving money, increasing aircraft availability, and improving training quality.
“We're working on a Multi-Aircraft Engine Run Simulator that will allow
maintainers to work on training for engine runs and for engine run proficiency
runs on the F-15C, F-15E, C-130H, C-17A, C-5M, and JSTARS right off the bat,”
Senior Master Sgt. Thomas “Powell” Crider said of the effort he’s
undertaken with colleague Tech. Sgt. David Hill.

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Virtual Events: Rice on Mitchell Institute’s ‘Aerospace Nation,’ and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Today, Air National Guard Director Lt. Gen. Scott Rice will appear on the
"Aerospace Nation" series hosted by AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace
Studies. Event video will tentatively be posted on Mitchell's <a
href="[link removed]">website</a> and
<a href="[link removed]">YouTube
page</a> following the event.

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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 Innovation Board to Discuss Autonomous Systems, COVID-19

The Defense Innovation Board will meet later this month to discuss autonomous
systems as well as the Pentagon's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according
to a notice in June 9’s Federal Register.

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Political Fight Continues over Air Force Launch Services Procurement

A May 29 letter signed by 28 lawmakers asks the Air Force to not cave to
pressure to add a third provider in the Phase 2 launch services procurement.

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Air Force Folds IT Contracts into $8B Recompete: This Is IT

The Air Force has expanded the scope of an acquisition aimed at consolidating
its expiring information sharing systems contracts, and with that expansion
comes an $8-billion-to-$10-billion price tag, according to the Air Force’s
notice to industry.

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Is China Already Inside America’s Hypersonic Industrial Base?

As the Pentagon focuses on developing new technologies such as artificial
intelligence and directed energy, Defense Department officials have declared the
need to ensure foreign nations are not buying their way into the
defense-industrial base. But a new report warns China may already have ownership
over a key focus: hypersonic weapons.

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Unanswered Israeli Air Strikes Against Syria Raise S-400 Questions

Israeli air strikes against targets in Syria may be one of the main reasons for
the growing crisis between Russia and Turkey since they’re highlighting the
Russian-made S-400 air defense systems may not be as effective as Turkey
believed.

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OPINION: Losing Market Share and Damaging National Security Due to Anachronistic Drone Policy

“In a nutshell, the Missile Technology Control Regime treats large drones as
if they were nuclear missiles—which they are not,” retired USAF Lt. Gen.
David Deptula, dean of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for
Aerospace Studies, writes. “As a result, this self-imposed restriction not
only limits the sale of large U.S. drones to our friends and allies but pushes
them into the arms of foreign suppliers some of whom are potential adversaries.
The result is a series of negative consequences for the U.S.”

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Defense One Radio, Episode 71: The Future of Arctic Security, with U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz

U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz explains how his service is responding to
growing access to the Arctic, which is quickly becoming a place where Russia,
China, and the United States compete and try to outmaneuver one another. David
Auerswald of the National War College and Abbie Tingstad of the RAND Corporation
also make an appearance on the episode.

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T-7A Red Hawk Achieves Another Design Goal

The Air Force is a step closer to finalizing the design for its fourth- and
fifth-generation advanced pilot trainer, the T-7A Red Hawk. Boeing and USAF
recently conducted both the Aircraft Critical Design Review and overall System
CDR during a three-day summit culminating 18 months of development work on the
program.

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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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Civil Air Patrol To Purchase 17 New Cessnas

The U.S. Civil Air Patrol has awarded a contract to Textron Aviation for the
purchase of 17 Cessna piston engine aircraft. The contract includes 11 Skyhawk
172Ss, five Skylane 182Ts, and one Turbo Stationair HD T206HD.

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Lawsuit Against SecDef Dropped After Transgender Sailor Gets Waiver to Serve

The Navy has issued a waiver allowing a transgender lieutenant to continue to
serve openly as a woman, despite a military policy that could have resulted in
her discharge.

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Watchdog: VA Needs to Include More Specialists in Electronic Health Record Decisions

While the Veterans Affairs Department’s rollout of a new electronic health
record system has been waylaid by a number of issues—insufficient
infrastructure, piecemeal training and a pandemic—the process for figuring out
how to configure the new system has gone well, according to a report from the
Government Accountability Office. However, key stakeholders have been
underrepresented on the councils managing that process, according to auditors.

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One More Thing...
Air Force Cancels 2020 Marathon, Offers Virtual Option

In an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and prioritize the health and
safety of participants, Air Force officials have cancelled in-person running of
the 2020 Air Force Marathon. For those participants who are registered, the Air
Force Marathon team has developed three options to choose from. Additionally,
for those who have yet to register, there is still time to sign up to
participate in the virtual events.

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