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Aug. 7, 2020
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Edited by Rachel S. Cohen with Brian W. Everstine, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak
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 Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett (far left) and outgoing Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein (far right) applaud incoming CSAF Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. (center) at a transition of responsibility ceremony that was hosted on Aug. 6, 2020, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Air Force
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By John A. Tirpak
Recognizing the “trials and tribulations” of African American military leaders who preceded him, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. officially assumed the job of Air Force Chief of Staff from Gen. David L. Goldfein on Aug. 6. The two were lauded by Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark A. Milley, and Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett at a Joint Base Andrews, Md., celebration. Brown pledged to make the tough choices necessary to help the Air Force “compete, deter, and win.” He is the first African American officer to lead one of the U.S. armed forces.
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By Brian W. Everstine
Some of the Air Force’s most advanced, secretive aircraft flew together in a large-scale event this week to vet the service's methods for destroying enemy air defenses, and to see how well older planes work with more advanced airframes. The 53rd Test and Evaluation Group's exercise ran from Aug. 4-6 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., bringing together the F-35A, F-22, and F-15E fighters, B-2 bomber, RQ-170 reconnaissance drone, a Navy E/A-18G electronic attack plane, and command-and-control systems from various testing and operations squadrons. Together, they represent some of the most important capabilities the Air Force says it needs to have the upper hand against adversaries with improved anti-aircraft missiles and weapons that block or confuse electronic
signals.
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
The Air Force Weapons School plans to start graduating its first KC-46 experts in three years under a new weapons instructor course, the service said Aug. 5. A syllabus should be approved by next June, and the school anticipates that its first cohort of KC-46 weapons officers will graduate in June 2023, service spokesman 2nd Lt. Richard R. Caesar told Air Force Magazine.
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By Brian W. Everstine
Three U.S. Air Force C-17s, plus another from the multinational Strategic Airlift Capability group, on Aug. 6 began carrying aid to Lebanon after a massive explosion in Beirut’s port killed at least 135 people and injured thousands more. The three Globemaster IIIs from Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, began flying food, water, and medical supplies to Lebanon in response to the Aug. 4 explosion. U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. has expressed his condolences to Lebanon Armed Forces Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun and shared his “willingness to continue to work with the Lebanese Armed Forces to help provide aid and assistance to meet the needs of the Lebanese people during this terrible tragedy,” according to an Aug. 6 CENTCOM statement.
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
Today, Day 1 of the Department of the Air Force and the Defense Digital Service's Space Security Challenge: Hack-A-Sat Final, during which global security researchers will try and hack a government satellite, kicks off at 8 a.m. PDT. Learn more, view the livestream schedule, and tune into the event here.
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Radar Sweep
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Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19
Air Force Magazine
Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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UK Facilities for American F-35 Jets Are Delayed and Over Budget
Defense News
The U.S. Air Force is on track to begin permanently basing its F-35 jets abroad next year, with RAF Lakenheath in England set to become the service’s first international F-35 base. But construction on new hangars and facilities necessary for supporting the high-tech stealth jet have gone over budget and over schedule, and many buildings won’t be ready when the first planes arrive in November 2021.
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Annual Government Spending Approaches Historic Territory
Nextgov
Driven heavily by the Defense Department, contract spending across government will exceed $600 billion in fiscal 2020.
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Lawmakers Demand Explanation for Cutting Federal Funding to States for National Guard Deployments
POLITICO
Nearly three dozen House Democrats on Aug. 5 demanded the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security explain why the Trump administration will no longer cover the full cost of National Guard deployments in 47 states and territories but will continue paying all the costs for Texas and Florida.
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Air Force to Award Three Initial Contracts for New Hypersonic Cruise Missile Program
Inside Defense
The Air Force has selected Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon to perform early work on the Future Hypersonics Program that seeks to develop a solid-rocket, air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile that can be launched from fighter or bomber aircraft.
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OPINION: Is F-15EX a Good Example of USAF’s Digital Century Series?
Aviation Week Network
“The F-15EX appears to be an excellent example of applying digital engineering tools to revamp key aspects of a mature product,” Aviation Week Network Defense Editor Steve Trimble writes. “But the F-15EX program is not designed to be directly compatible with the U.S. Air Force’s ideal approach to the Digital Century Series initiative, as it has been articulated by Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics.”
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2 Offutt Air Force Base Residents Killed in Iowa Crash
The Associated Press
The crash happened early on the morning of Aug. 2 east of the Bellevue toll bridge in rural Iowa, the Iowa State Patrol said. According to investigators, a car driven by Senior Airman Nicholas Johnson, 21, of Union, N.J., went off the roadway and into a ditch before vaulting across the road and hitting a tree.
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Air Force Improves Assignment Process for Co-Parents, Considers Custody Agreements
USAF release
The Department of the Air Force recently announced great news for parents—the ability to defer an assignment or be stationed near their children with a court-ordered child custody decree. Assignment authorities will now be able to consider requests for an assignment or deferment to a location near their children, even if the co-parents are not married.
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Veterans Suicide Prevention Plans Take a Big Step Forward, but Still Face Tough Political Hurdles
Military Times
Senate lawmakers advanced a major veterans suicide prevention initiative on Aug. 5, creating a potential legislative path for the action on the issue by the end of the year. But the measure also could turn into yet another election-year partisan fight if party leaders can’t find quick compromises on lingering policy differences.
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Meet the Only Man to Witness All 3 WWII Atomic Bomb Blasts
Military.com
Lawrence Johnston was aboard B-29 Superfortress bombers tending to instruments measuring the power of the world's first nuclear explosions in the "Trinity" test in New Mexico, as well as for the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which prompted Japan's surrender and brought the war to a close.
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One More Thing
You Can Bid on a Cold War Missile Site
Nerdist
Are you looking to move someplace where you’ll feel protected from all kinds of threats, including COVID-19 and long-range bombs? Then you might want to bid on an historical site up for auction in North Dakota. Because there’s no better place to social distance during a pandemic or a nuclear war than a former Cold War bunker and missile silo site.
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