Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for July 24, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen and Brian W. Everstine

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SPACECOM Calls Out Apparent Russian Space Weapon Test
By Rachel S. Cohen

A Russian satellite is arousing suspicion at U.S. Space Command after sidling up
to an American government satellite, then flying away to release what appears to
be a weapon into orbit. The July 15 incident appears to be a “a
non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon” from a satellite
known as Cosmos 2543, SPACECOM said in a July 23 release. Air Vice-Marshal
Harvey Smyth, head of the United Kingdom's Space Directorate, called the object
a “projectile with the characteristics of a weapon.” SPACECOM did not answer
which American satellite was involved in the encounter or whether the object
released was another projectile. U.S. officials did not report any damage to
space systems.

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House, Senate Approve Defense Authorization Bills
By Rachel S. Cohen

House and Senate lawmakers are headed into conference for the fiscal 2021
defense policy bill after both chambers passed their respective legislation this
week. Senators voted 86-14 to approve their version of the National Defense
Authorization Act on July 23. The House voted 295-125 to green-light its own
bill July 21. Each package allows $740.5 billion in defense spending and earned
enough support to likely avoid a presidential veto when the final version heads
to the White House. Their deliberations were complicated by the coronavirus
pandemic, which continues to spread around the country as lawmakers met remotely
and in Washington to discuss the text.

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B-1s Fly Through South China Sea Sending Message to Beijing
By Brian W. Everstine

Two B-1B Lancers flew over a U.S. Navy carrier strike group and then over the
South China Sea on July 21, about one week after the U.S. State Department
issued a statement calling China's efforts to control resources in the
contentious waters “completely unlawful.” The bombers, which are assigned to
the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron but are deployed to Andersen Air Force
Base, Guam, as part of a bomber task force, flew a 14-hour mission in which they
integrated with the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group in the Philippine Sea
on a route that went through the South China Sea. “The BTF construct provides
the flexibility for our bombers to operate in any area of responsibility and
enhances our readiness,” Lt. Col. Lincoln Coleman, commander of the 37th EBS,
said in a Pacific Air Forces release. “It gives us the ability to project air
power across the globe.”

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US Air Force Academy to Bring All Students Back to Campus
By Brian W. Everstine

The U.S. Air Force Academy will bring back its entire student body to the
Colorado Springs campus this fall, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, under
Pentagon orders declaring that all accession sources and training pipelines are
mission essential. Cadets will begin returning to campus early next week, with
the entire student body back by the end of the July—making the Academy one of
the first universities to have its entire contingent of students back on campus,
according to a USAFA release. To counter the pandemic, the Academy will test
cadets multiple times over the first two weeks back and then randomly after
that.

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Virtual Events: Mitchell, ANWA DC Host Verdon on NNSA Series, and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On July 29, AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, in partnership with
the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance Deterrence Center, will present a Nuclear
Deterrence Forum with Charles Verdon, deputy administrator for defense programs
at the National Nuclear Security Administration, as part of their NNSA Series.
Event video will tentatively be posted on Mitchell’s <a
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and <a href="[link removed]">YouTube
page</a> after the event.

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Radar Sweep

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America Really Does Have a Space Force. We Went Inside to See What It Does

China has started training specialized units with weapons that can blast apart
objects in orbit. Both China and Russia have deployed ground-based laser and
communications-jamming equipment that can disable satellites. In short, an arms
race for space has begun. This is the story of America’s effort to keep ahead.

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Singapore Requests Future F-35 Training Location Also Host its F-16 Jets

Singapore has told the U.S. Air Force it wants to co-locate its Arizona-based
F-16 training detachment with its future F-35 training unit, with five locations
in the U.S. shortlisted as potential sites for training international F-35
operators. In a statement to Defense News, U.S. Air Force spokeswoman Ann
Stefanek said the service “plans to establish an F-35 Foreign Military Sales
training Center in the Continental United States which could accommodate up to
36 F-35 aircraft.”

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White House Report Outlines Integrated Strategy for Space Exploration and Development

The report, “A New Era for Deep Space Exploration and Development,” released
July 23 by the White House, is intended to outline how various government
agencies will play a role in implementing national space policies, including a
human return to the moon and eventual human missions to Mars.

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Northrop Grumman Delivers a New Solid Booster for ULA’s Atlas 5

Northrop Grumman announced July 21 it has delivered three custom designed solid
rocket motors that will fly later this year on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas
5 vehicle. The performance of these strap-on boosters on the Atlas 5 will serve
as a preview for a larger version that Northrop Grumman is developing for
ULA’s future launch vehicle Vulcan Centaur.

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Defense Secretary Mark Esper visits Whiteman Air Force Base

Defense Secretary Mark Esper visited Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., on July 22.
The stop was part of Esper's mission to check on base readiness during the
pandemic.

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OPINION: Combatant Commanders Want Reaper To Stay

The news about our military has gotten better because our military has gotten
better—and one technology in particular, our drones, has boosted American
military efficiency and effectiveness. But now the star of that program, the
MQ-9 Reaper, is under the knife in the Air Force’s 2021 budget plan, which
would reduce funding for Reaper patrols and stop buying new MQ-9s altogether.

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OPINION: Air Force ‘Digital Century Series’ Is Stuck In The Wrong Century

The original Century Series was intended to master the critical emerging
technologies of its time: revolutionary improvements in hardware for jet
propulsion and supersonic flight, which were central to the Cold War competition
between nuclear-armed bombers and defending interceptors. With the advent of
long-range missiles, space-based targeting, and cyber operations, manned
fighters no longer hold that same strategic importance. The equivalent
technologies today might be unmanned aircraft, man-machine teaming, and
command-and-control networks to reorganize forces on the fly in real-time, write
the Hudson Institute’s Bryan Clark and Dan Patt.

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This Is Our First Look At Boeing's MQ-25 Tanker Drone Carrying A Refueling Pod

We now have our first look at Boeing's MQ-25 carrier-based tanker drone test
article, also known as T1, carrying a Cobham buddy refueling store under its
wing. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, Tweeted pictures of T1
after a recent tour of MidAmerica Airport, where work on and various testing of
the unmanned demonstrator have been going on for more than a year now.

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Air Force Tweaks OCP Nametapes, Insignia for Easier Reading

The Air Force said Thursday it is tweaking the newly-adopted OCP uniforms to
make things like nametapes and rank insignia easier to read or identify.The OCP
uniform, which the Air Force began shifting to in 2018, currently has a
seven-color background for nametapes, service tapes, rank insignia, and badges.
But now, the Air Force is switching to a lighter, three-color background.

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New Lockheed CEO Says 5G Networks Key to Military Vehicle Autonomy

James Taiclet, the new chief executive at Lockheed Martin the Pentagon’s
largest weapons supplier, is keen to use 5G networks to bolster the
militaries’ autonomous capabilities.

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One More Thing...
These American Mercenaries Were the Heroes of China

Consider this job offer: A one-year contract to live and work in China, flying,
repairing, and making airplanes. Pay is as much as $13,700 a month with 30 days
off a year. Housing is included and you'll get an extra $550 a month for food.
On top of that, there's an extra $9,000 for every Japanese airplane you
destroy—no limit. That's the deal—in inflation-adjusted 2020 dollars—that
a few hundred Americans took in 1941 to become the heroes, and some would even
say the saviors, of China.

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