Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Sept. 1, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine and John A. Tirpak

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Brown: Change Now or Risk ‘Losing a High-End Fight,’ and ‘Quality Airmen’
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force risks losing its superiority and a future conflict if change does
not begin immediately, from how it buys and evaluates weapons to how it trains
and deploys Airmen, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. writes in his first
directive to the service. In an eight-page “strategic approach” memorandum
to the force titled “Accelerate Change or Lose,” Brown issues stern warnings
on the ramifications of not taking threats seriously, and the importance of the
Air Force clearly making its case to the country at large, saying failure is a
realistic consequence. “Today we operate in a dynamic environment with factors
that have us taking various actions to continue the mission and take care of
Airmen and families,” Brown wrote. “As a result, we have a window of
opportunity. Our Air Force must accelerate change to control and exploit the air
domain to the standard the nation expects and requires from us. If we don’t
change—if we fail to adapt—we risk losing the certainty with which we have
defended our national interests for decades. We risk losing a high-end fight. We
risk losing quality Airmen, our credibility, and our ability to secure our
future.”

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8th AF Boss on Hypersonics, B-21, Long-Range Strike, and B-52 Re-Engining
By John A. Tirpak

The Air Force may be thinking about the AGM-183 hypersonic missile as a
transitional type until more advanced systems arrive, the head of 8th Air Force
said in an AFA Mitchell Institute live streaming event Aug. 31. Maj. Gen. Mark
E. Weatherington also said he thinks the Long-Range Standoff nuclear cruise
missile could be sped up two years, the B-21 bomber is on track and will fly in
2022, and there should be a joint analysis of whether all the services need to
pursue long-range strike systems.

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NATO: Russian Su-27 Violates Danish Airspace While Pursuing B-52
By Brian W. Everstine

A Russian fighter jet pursuing an Air Force B-52 violated Danish air space on
Aug. 28, the same day a separate set of Russian fighters intercepted another
B-52 in a manner U.S. officials say was unprofessional and unsafe. The B-52,
deployed to Europe as part of a bomber task force, was flying over the Baltic
Sea as part of the “Allied Sky” flyover of NATO nations when a Russian Su-27
scrambled from Kaliningrad and pursued the bomber from international airspace,
flying “well into Danish airspace” in the vicinity of the Island of
Bornholm, NATO Allied Air Command said in a release. The act is a
“significant violation” of Denmark’s airspace, according to the alliance.
“This incident demonstrates Russia’s disrespect of international norms and
for the sovereign airspace of an Allied nation,” USAF Gen. Jeffrey L.
Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and NATO’s Allied Air
Command, said in the release. “We remain vigilant, ready, and prepared to
secure NATO airspace 24/7.”

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Incirlik Air Base Trains ‘Multi-Capable’ Airmen
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force’s push for deployable, multi-capable Airmen has extended to
Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, a base on the southern flank of NATO, near Russia’s
doorstep. Agile Combat Employment has taken hold service -wide, with wings and
major commands exercising how it can train one Airman to become capable of
multiple roles when needed, to be able to run combat operations with a small
footprint. At Incirlik, Airmen from across the 39th Air Base Wing trained with
UH-60 Black Hawks deployed there with the 101st Airborne to learn these
additional abilities, wing commander Col. John B. Creel said in an interview.
“We’re trying to make it to where our Airmen own the training, they just go
out and have classes on other jobs,” Creel said.

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Esper Staffer Becomes Top DOD Space Policy Official
By Rachel S. Cohen

Justin T. Johnson, a senior staffer to Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, has
taken over as the Pentagon’s top space policy official, Pentagon spokesman Lt.
Col. Uriah L. Orland said. Johnson is now acting deputy assistant secretary of
defense for space policy, after his predecessor Stephen L. Kitay left for the
private sector Aug. 21. DOD has not said publicly whether Johnson will
permanently hold the position. Johnson most recently served as Esper’s deputy
chief of staff, where he offered advice on issues like the military budget,
reform, and management. Before that, he was the deputy secretary of defense’s
top space adviser and ran the Space Working Group that drafted a proposal to
create the new Space Force, according to his official biography.

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DARPA Names Tech Executive as New Director
By Rachel S. Cohen

Technology executive Victoria Coleman will run the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency as its 22nd director, the Pentagon announced Aug. 31. Coleman
has worked on artificial intelligence, microelectronics, mobile devices, and
other consumer electronics over more than 30 years in academia, government, and
the private sector. She is the third woman to lead the military's secretive tech
development agency since its inception in 1958. Coleman will start in September.

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Register Now for Virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference

The Air Force Association's annual Air, Space & Cyber Conference kicks off Sept.
14 with Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett and Chief of Staff Gen. Charles
Q. Brown Jr. The annual conference, which will be held virtually this year for
the first time, runs through Sept. 16. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W.
“Jay” Raymond speaks on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Conference attendance is free for
military members and defense civilians, and rates for industry participants are
discounted for AFA members (and from traditional rates for in-person
participants). Registration is open now and space is limited, so early
registration is encouraged.

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Virtual Events: Roper, Diller Co-Host AFVentures ‘Ask Me Anything,’ and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Today, Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper will co-host an “Ask Me
Anything” event about AFVentures from 2:30-4 p.m. EDT with AFWERX Director
Col. Nate Diller. The live, virtual event, which will be livestreamed on <a
href="[link removed]">AFWERX's YouTube page</a>, will let Airmen,
space professionals, industry partners, civilians, and the press directly engage
with Roper and Diller on all things AFVentures.

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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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Air Force Uses Mobile Operations Center for B-2 Bomber for First Time

The U. S. Air Force Global Strike Command has set up its first overseas mobile
operations center for B-2 stealth bomber missions, the branch announced Aug. 30.
The mission planning and monitoring facility enables the 393rd Expeditionary
Bomb Squadron to plot actions on any airfield in the world available to the B-2,
which officials say will offer greater flexibility for mission deployment.

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Report: Space Force Improving Delivery of Orbit Monitoring Software

Space-monitoring software apps used by U.S. military are now being updated every
90 days, says a new report delivered to Congress Aug. 21. The apps are developed
under a program known as Space C2, short for space command and control.

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Air Force General Issues Apology to Veteran About New Investigation into Old Rape Case

An Air Force general has issued an apology to a veteran after she raised
concerns about how military investigators handled reexamining her 20-year-old
rape case. “It is never our intent to put survivors of crime through
additional trauma,” Brig. Gen. Terry Bullard, commander of the Air Force
Office of Special Investigations, wrote in a letter to Wilken. “OSI stands
ready to listen to victims and survivors, provide them a voice no matter how
long ago their sexual assault occurred, and to guarantee their opportunity to
receive support.”

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Born Of A Troubled Air Force, Can Space Force Set A New Standard For Diversity And Inclusion?

When 1st Lt. Kelley McCaa found out she would be part of the American
military’s first all-female space operations crew, alongside a team of women
she considers close friends, she knew it would make a bold statement for the
newly formed U.S. Space Force.

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USAF, JASDF Strengthen Agile Combat Employment Capabilities

U.S. Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Airmen conducted bilateral
training centered on honing defensive counter-air and Agile Combat Employment
capabilities, and developing multi-capable Airmen during an Aviation Training
Relocation event at Chitose Air Base, Japan, Aug. 24-28.

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US Air Force Seeks Better Electronic Intel Amid More Complex Battlefields

The U.S. Air Force wants industry pitches for better electronic intelligence
capabilities. The broad agency announcement, released Aug. 31 by the Air Force
Research Laboratory, calls for a first round of whitepapers from industry for
solutions that can use existing as well as emerging technologies for automated,
real-time signal detection, processing, exploitation, and reporting of both
existing and emerging electronic intelligence signals.

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AFPC Matches First Child Custody Assignment

A Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Airman was granted the first court-ordered child
custody assignment recently, just one day after the application process opened.

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Defense Department Aids U.S. Delivery of Ventilators to Indonesia

Indonesia received a shipment of 500 ventilators from the U.S. Agency for
International Development on Aug. 30. Air Mobility Command transported them from
Travis Air Force Base, Calif., to Jakarta, Indonesia.

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Armaments Consortium Launches New Path to Field High-Tech Prototypes

The National Armaments Consortium, along with the DOD Ordnance Technology
Consortium and Army Contracting Command-New Jersey, is taking steps to
fast-track their armament prototyping efforts, according to an Aug. 27
announcement.

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One More Thing...
First Image Of China’s New Carrier-Based AEW Plane

The Chinese Navy is building a fleet of aircraft carriers that will be the
second largest in the world. However, they currently lack airborne early warning
(AEW) aircraft, which is considered a vital component of a balanced air wing.

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