Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for June 12, 2020

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

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SASC Bill Weighs In on Air Force’s 2021 Priorities
By Rachel S. Cohen

Fighter jets won support among senators in new defense policy legislation that
also raised questions about some of the Air Force’s top priorities. The Senate
Armed Services Committee approved a $740.5 billion version of the fiscal 2021
defense policy bill 25-2 on June 10. Its recommendations now head to the full
chamber for consideration and a vote as early as next week. Lawmakers want to
allocate $9.1 billion to the Defense Department for 95 F-35 Joint Strike
Fighters, including 60 F-35As at $5.5 billion for the Air Force, according to a
June 11 bill summary. Notably, the legislation sets a minimum number of aircraft
the Air Force must own for each type of mission, and stops the service from
retiring the A-10, KC-10, KC-135, and manned special-operations intelligence
aircraft.

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Senators Endorse Space Force Reserve But Question Guard
By Rachel S. Cohen

Senators endorsed the creation of a reserve component for the Space Force in new
legislation but want more evidence that a Space National Guard is necessary as
well. The Senate Armed Services Committee this week approved its version of the
fiscal 2021 defense policy bill 25-2. “We wanted to make sure that they knew
why they wanted to do a Guard, and where they want to do a Guard, and what the
Guard was going to do, and that report was not received at the time that we
started this markup, so we weren't able to address those things adequately,” a
Senate staffer told reporters June 11. “I'm sure they will be addressed, but
whether there's a Guard or not, we'd like to first see that report and the
recommendations, so we can present that to members so that they can make the
decision.” Military officials are preparing to present Defense Secretary Mark
Esper with a framework for a Space Force with Reservists and Guardsmen soon.

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Milley: Military Must Do More to Combat Racism
By Brian W. Everstine

The U.S. military can, and must, do more to address lingering racial
inequalities, especially now as the country at large grapples with protests over
racial injustice, said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley,
in a videotaped address. The death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, at the
hands of a white Minneapolis policeman, “amplified the pain, frustration, and
the fear that so many of our fellow Americans live with day in and day out.”

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Mountain Home F-15Es, Airmen Return from Extended Deployment
By Brian W. Everstine

Airmen and F-15Es from the 389th Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force
Base, Idaho, recently returned home from a deployment to the Middle East that
was extended by two months because of the coronavirus pandemic. The squadron was
set to return home from an undisclosed location in April, but their travel was
delayed by movement restrictions enacted to keep troops healthy. The six-month
deployment stretched to eight months, according to a Mountain Home release.

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Air Force Students Hitch Rides on C-130Js to Avoid Coronavirus
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The 62nd Airlift Squadron is using its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to safely
fly hundreds of Air Education and Training Command students between training
locations to lower their risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus while
continuing their studies, according to a recent 19th Airlift Wing release. The
emergency mission is also helping the squadron’s pilots stay in the air during
the pandemic, and gives instructor pilots a chance to become familiar with the
C-130J’s Block 8.1 upgrade before students start using it in training.

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Virtual Events: Commemorating the 77th Anniversary of the Bakers Creek Crash, and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On June 14, Col. Kimberly Peeples, commander of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall,
Va., will host a virtual ceremony to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the
Bakers Creek air crash, a B-17 accident that killed 40 members of the U.S. Army
Air Corps in Queensland, Australia. The event will be broadcast live on the
installation's <a href="[link removed]">Facebook page.</a>

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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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Mitchell Nuclear Deterrence Forum: Gordon Chang and Rick Fisher

During this June 11 virtual event, Gordon Chang and Rick Fisher joined AFA’s
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies to discuss Chinese political, economic,
and military objectives in the context of its nuclear policy and, in particular,
the nature and extent of China’s nuclear weapons modernization. They also
explored China's No First Use policy, the country’s role in proliferation, its
view on nuclear deterrence, and Chinese nuclear coercion. Additionally, they
shared what they believe the U.S. policy should be in response.

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The Pentagon Can’t Afford All of the Weapons It Wants, New Report Says

The Pentagon cannot afford all of the new weapons it wants to buy and will be
forced to choose winners and losers, absent an influx of cash, according to a
new assessment from data and analytics firm Govini.

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Army Selects Coronavirus Vaccine Candidate and Sets Human Trials for Summer

Army scientists have a vaccine candidate that they believe has the potential to
fight COVID-19—and that may be able to protect individuals from future
coronaviruses, “from season to season, for decades to come.” The scientists
at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research chose SpFN, for Spike Ferritin
Nanoparticle, after testing dozens of variants of vaccine candidates in more
than 1,000 mice.

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Roper Pushes Moving Project Maven To Air Force

Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper says he is considering taking over the
Defense Department’s artificial intelligence experiment, Project Maven, to
make it operational while the service pushes its own AI capabilities into the
field.

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DARPA Awards Blackjack Contracts to Blue Canyon, SA Photonics

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced on June 10 it awarded
Blue Canyon Technologies a $14.1 million contract for satellite buses for the
Blackjack program. DARPA on June 9 also announced a $16.3 million contract award
to SA Photonics for Blackjack payloads. The Blackjack program is an experiment
to show the military utility of low Earth orbit constellations and mesh networks
of low-cost satellites.

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OPINION: U.S. State Department Must Align UAV Export Policy with American Interests

“As the nation now positions to compete against high-end peer threats,
American success depends upon leveraging unmanned aerial systems across the
spectrum of combat,” Heather Penney, senior resident fellow at AFA’s
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, writes. “This means that our allies
and partners must also have access to these same systems.”

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Senate Panel OKs $6 Billion Military Fund to Confront China

Plans for a Senate-crafted version of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a new
military fund to boost deterrence against China in the Pacific, is one step
closer to becoming law.

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Air Force to Host Quantum ‘Collider’ Event

As it seeks to harness the technology for military use, the service is hosting a
"Quantum Collider" virtual pitch day on June 15. Topics to be explored will
include quantum timing, sensing, information processing/computing and
communication/networking.

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In Letter, Pentagon Leaders Outline Military Role in Recent Unrest

National Guard troops remained in a supporting role during recent civil unrest
in Washington and steps to prepare active-duty forces to deploy into the
nation’s capital proved to be a precautionary measure, Defense Secretary Mark
Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark Milley said in a
letter to Congress on June 10. The letter, a copy of which was obtained by The
Washington Post, comes amid a showdown between Defense Department leadership and
Democrats on the committee, who are pushing Esper and Milley to testify about
the military’s role in responding to recent unrest triggered by the killing of
George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody last month in Minnesota,
and other instances of police brutality against African Americans.

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Bill Would Cover Doulas for Expectant Service Women, Dependents

A bill introduced in Congress last month would require TRICARE to cover the
services of doulas—trained professionals who provide physical and emotional
support for pregnant women throughout labor, delivery and the postpartum
process. The proposed legislation, sponsored by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand
(D-N.Y.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), aims to help service members and
dependent spouses who are stationed away from family and friends or delivering
alone because their partners are deployed.

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One More Thing...
When You Get "Killed" in a Chinese Wargame Smoke Pops Out the Top of Your Helmet

The helmets are part of a laser tag-like training system that offers a way for
Chinese troops to eliminate each other during exercises.

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