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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 AFWERX's YouTube page, will let Airmen, space professionals, industry partners, civilians, and the press directly engage with Roper and Diller on all things AFVentures.