Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for July 16, 2020

View in your Web Browser: [link removed]
Edited by Amy McCullough with Brian W. Everstine, Tobias Naegele, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Combat Command Boss Doubling Down on Fighter Safety after Crashes
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Air Combat Command boss Gen. James M. Holmes is traveling to flying wings to
speak with commanders about safety and training in response to a recent pattern
of accidents across the Air Force's fighter fleet, a command spokesperson told
Air Force Magazine. “The recent incidents involve multiple aircraft types from
multiple commands,” ACC spokesperson Leah Garton wrote in an email. “Gen.
[James] Mike Holmes, ACC Commander, is assessing current and historical data and
looking for common trends or issues. He is also discussing the incidents with
other MAJCOM commanders.” The service saw two F-16 crashes in two weeks, and
three fighter crashes in a month. Two Airmen were killed in the crashes, and one
successfully ejected with only minor injuries.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16th Air Force Is Fully Up and Running
By Tobias Naegele

16th Air Force achieved full operational capability July 13, less than a year
after the former 24th and 26th Air Forces were combined into a single number air
force headquartered in San Antonio. It combines intelligence, surveillance, and
reconnaissance, cyber, electronic warfare, and information operations. Speaking
during an AFA Mitchell Institute event, Lt. Gen. Timothy D. Haugh, the 16th AF
commander, described a contentious information environment in which the U.S.
must become a more aggressive competitor by using the truth as a weapon to
breakdown adversaries’ disinformation campaigns.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Barrett Leading DOD Board on Diversity, Inclusion
By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon convened a board, to be led by Air Force Secretary Barbara M.
Barrett, that will focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives, while Defense
Secretary Mark T. Esper issued a new memorandum outlining immediate steps to
address bias within the military. The Defense Department Board on Diversity and
Inclusion, which met for the first time July 15, will direct the department’s
steps forward on addressing diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity,
according to a DOD release. The same day, Esper released his directive to make
immediate changes, including removing photographs from promotion board
documents, updating equal opportunity and diversity inclusion policies,
collecting new data on prejudice and bias in the military, and adding bias
awareness and bystander intervention to the violence prevention framework, among
others.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Improperly Packed Parachute Caused Special Tactics Airman’s Death
By Brian W. Everstine

An Air Force special tactics combat controller died when his improperly packed
reserve parachute inadvertently deployed into the wind stream outside an MC-130H
before a training jump, pulling him from the aircraft, according to an Air Force
investigation. Staff Sgt. Cole Condiff, 29, a special tactics combat controller
from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla., was declared
dead following a 17-day search in the Gulf of Mexico that failed to recover his
remains. An Air Force Accident Investigation Board report determined that
Condiff’s parachute was improperly configured, a “direct result of the
participating jumpmasters’ insufficient procedural knowledge.” Following the
incident, and another special tactics training death, AFSOC paused all dive,
parachute, and mountaineering training for a safety review, which found problems
with in-garrison training practices and standards.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First Two Test F-15EXs to be Delivered by Early 2021
By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force will have the first two F-15EXs in hand for testing in about six
months, Boeing's F-15 Vice President and Program Manager Pratyush Kumar said.
His comments come just two days after the Air Force officially launched the
program with a contract worth up to $22.9 billion. Everything about the program
has been done with speed of delivery in mind, and the EX exploits the digital
approach championed by Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper, he said. The EX
contract will keep the F-15 line humming for at least a decade, he added.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raymond: Space Force Looking at Partnering More with the UK
By Brian W. Everstine

The newly formed Space Force is looking at future launches to bring on allied
payloads or other ways to collaborate with the United Kingdom as a way to
strengthen international cooperation in space, the head of the new service said.
U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond,
speaking July 15 at the virtual Air and Space Power Conference hosted by the
United Kingdom Royal Air Force, said his service and the U.S. Air Force are
looking at its future plans to find ways to bring in UK influence because of
“mutual needs” of increased communications bandwidth and a more resilient
architecture.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Virtual Events: Holmes on AFA’s ‘Airmen in the Fight,’ and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On July 23, Air Combat Command boss Gen. James M. Holmes will participate in a
virtual discussion during the next installment of AFA’s “Airmen in the
Fight” series. Event video will tentatively be posted on AFA’s <a
href="[link removed]">website</a> and <a
href="[link removed]">YouTube page</a> after the
event.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radar Sweep

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen Sent to Help FEMA with COVID-19 Response in Texas and California

About 740 military personnel were dispatched to Texas and California after the
Federal Emergency Management Agency requested Defense Department assistance in
tamping down the coronavirus pandemic that has once again surged in those states
and forced governors to reconsider their reopening plans. Military personnel
from the Army, Air Force, and Navy will be operating under the direction of U.S.
Army North, the land component for U.S. Northern Command.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AIA Calls for COVID-19 Reimbursement Funding and a Section 3610 Extension

The Aerospace Industries Association sent a letter, signed by dozens of defense
executives, to Capitol Hill seeking reimbursement funding for defense
contractors. The letter, dated July 14, notes that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
and Economic Security Act includes Section 3610, "which authorized the
reimbursement of extraordinary and unanticipated costs arising from COVID-19."

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How Pratt & Whitney Plans to Grow Its Military Business

As new opportunities for fighter engine upgrades and Boeing B-52 engine
replacements come up for grabs, Aviation Week Editors talked with Matthew
Bromberg, president of Pratt & Whitney Military Engines business, about the
company’s priorities for seeking growth amid a disruptive health pandemic.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Air Force’s Roper Sparks Debate on ‘Nationalizing Advanced Aviation’ Industry

Air Force acquisition head Will Roper is worried the ever-shrinking U.S. defense
industrial base may force DOD to nationalize major programs in the
not-so-distant future—expressing surprise that other senior leaders are not
more concerned.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Faster Acquisition

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

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Air Force Is Moving from Smart Bombs to Thinking Bombs

Golden Horde introduces swarm tactics to guided munitions—but it also lets the
weapons make real decisions.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minotaur IV Rocket Successfully Launches NRO Payload

The U.S. Space Force successfully launched a classified payload for the National
Reconnaissance Office aboard a Minotaur IV rocket at 9:46 a.m. EST on July 15
from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Command Senior Enlisted Leader Assignment

Navy Force Master Chief John J. Perryman IV, currently assigned as the force
master chief of the United States Submarine Forces - Atlantic, Norfolk, Va., has
been selected to assume responsibility from Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Patrick
F. McMahon as the command senior enlisted leader for the U.S. Strategic Command,
Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MOD Signs £65M Contract for Protector Aircraft

UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has signed a £65 million contract to build the
UK’s first three Protector aircraft—the first UK operated system capable of
strike missions anywhere in the world. After a successful development phase,
Protector is set to enter service by mid-2024, meaning that the Remotely Piloted
Air System (RPAS) will deliver a step-change in capability for the Royal Air
Force.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘This Is Huge for Us:’ CEO of Springfield Nonprofit on $69M Air Force Contract

A local nonprofit that provides training and jobs to residents with disabilities
has been chosen by the federal government to continue to make cargo nets for the
U.S. Air Force with the renewal of a multi-million dollar contract.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Defense One Radio, Episode 72: What ‘China’ Means in 2020

The episode takes a new look at what China means to American voters, and how
opinions and perceptions about China have changed since President Donald J.
Trump took office three and a half years ago.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This Rare Cockpit Video of Chinese Fighter Pilots Dogfighting Offers Unique Insights

The video shows J-10 pilots going at it in air-to-air combat up-close and
personal while speaking English and using western brevity codes.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One More Thing...
Washington’s NFL Team Could Be Renamed the ‘Red Tails.’ Real Tuskegee Airmen Have Mixed Feelings About That

As fans and other observers mull the possibilities for that new name, the “Red
Tails” idea has gained some favor: in a Yahoo poll, 28% of the respondents
said they favored “RedTails,” which was top vote-getter over Warriors, Hogs,
Generals and others. According to one betting site, the “Redtails” are the
odd-on favorites to prevail, at 3 to 1. Fans have already come up with a
compelling helmet and logo designs.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Daily Report: [link removed]
- Contact Us: [link removed]
- Advertise With Us: [link removed]
- Purchase/Reprint: [link removed]

- Air Force Association: [link removed]
- Join AFA: [link removed]

- AF Mag on Facebook: [link removed]
- AF Mag on Twitter: [link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Published by the Air Force Association

All airforcemag.com material is under copyright of
the Air Force Association. All rights reserved.

The Air Force Association
1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA
22209-1198

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe or change your preferences, please visit the link below:
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------