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Oct. 2, 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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 The Senate has confirmed Lt. Gen. David W. Allvin to serve as Air Force's next Vice Chief of Staff, and Lt. Gen. David D. Thompson to become the Space Force's first Vice Chief of Space Operations. Both men will also get a fourth star. USAF and Space Force photos. |
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By Rachel S. Cohen
The Senate confirmed Lt. Gen. David W. Allvin as the next Air Force Vice Chief of Staff on Sept. 30, while also approving his promotion to four-star general. Allvin will replace current VCSAF Gen. Stephen W. “Seve” Wilson, who became the second-highest officer in July 2016 and is the longest-serving vice chief in the service's history, according to the Air Force. Senators also approved Lt. Gen. David D. Thompson's promotion to be the first four-star Vice Chief of Space Operations.
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By Brian W. Everstine
Boeing has delayed the delivery of one KC-46 tanker to the New Hampshire Air National Guard because of an electrical problem on the airplane, though the company says it's a limited issue that will not broadly affect the schedule for the problem-ridden program. This particular KC-46, set to be the eighth for the 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease Air National Guard Base, is delayed because of the “minor electrical problem on this airplane that was found by our rigorous acceptance testing process,” Boeing said in a statement. The company believes there is a poor electrical connection that needs to be removed and reinstalled.
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By John A. Tirpak
Low-cost, attritable aircraft will likely reshape the fleet design outlined in “The Air Force We Need” white paper of 2018, panelists said during an Oct. 1 event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. The technology's rapid advance is causing service force designers to consider mixed or composite squadrons that pair unmanned systems with fighters like the F-35. Rapid experiments and fielding will drive new concepts that will support an “Air Force We Need 2.0,” they said.
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By Rachel S. Cohen
The Space Force will stand up its Space Systems Command to oversee software and hardware acquisition “sooner rather than later” in 2021, the service’s second-highest uniformed official said Oct. 1. Lt. Gen. David D. Thompson said during a Defense One event that the new systems management organization is moving slower than the groups that will oversee training and operations because the Space Force is still deciding which Army and Navy assets will join the new service. That will offer a clearer picture of how everything can fit together.
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
KC-135 Stratotankers from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall, U.K., practiced supporting other aircraft in "Exercise Wolff Pack," a multinational event over Europe that ended Oct. 1. The three-day effort vetted the wing’s ability to deploy its aircraft to multiple places across Europe “in order to protect and defend partners, allies, and U.S. interests at a moment’s notice” and sharpen the agile combat employment (ACE) construct, wing spokesperson Capt. Shelley A. Spreier told Air Force Magazine in a Sept. 30 email. ACE is the Air Force's effort to move troops and planes around the globe quickly and with less reliance on brick-and-mortar installations, to be more responsive and resilient if bases are threatened. Twelve KC-135s also took part in a
Sept. 29 "elephant walk."
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
On Oct. 6, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host the latest installment of its “Aerospace Nation” series featuring Ronald Epstein, managing director in equity research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch who covers aerospace, defense, and multi-industrials with large aerospace components. Event video will tentatively be posted to the think tank's website and YouTube page afterward.
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Radar Sweep
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Speaker Sessions from AFA’s vASC Now Available
Air Force Magazine
Now you can view video and transcripts from the Air Force Association’s virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, including a keynote from Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond, and panels on information warfare and joint all-domain command and control. More videos will be added daily.
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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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Pentagon Transitioning its COVID-19 Acquisition Task Force to Permanent Office
Federal News Network’s “Federal Drive with Tom Temin” podcast
The Joint Acquisition Task Force the Pentagon set up to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t going away, even when the pandemic finally does. Defense officials have decided to turn it into a permanent assisted acquisition organization to help other federal agencies deal with complex procurement problems.
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Rockets Strike Iraqi Base Where US Troops Are Located, US Defense Official Says
CNN
Six rockets landed near Erbil International Airport in the semiautonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq on Sept. 30, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Interior of the Kurdistan Regional Government. A US defense official with direct knowledge of the latest reports told CNN initial indicators are that three rockets struck a base where U.S. troops are located, with additional rockets hitting outside the base. There are no reports of U.S. injuries or damage so far.
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JEDI Delay Doesn’t Derail DOD Cloud: Pentagon CIO
Breaking Defense
After months of delays from a still-unfinished court battle, the long-awaited JEDI cloud contract will be neither irrelevant nor overtaken by events when it finally arrives, Pentagon Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said Sept. 30. In fact, Deasy told the Defense Writers Group, while JEDI itself is in legal limbo, the Defense Department is doing all it legally can to lay the groundwork for a swift adoption as soon as the judge permits.
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B-52 Stratofortress Experienced Emergency over England Friday
Air Force Times
Erica Vega, a spokeswoman for U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, confirmed the emergency in a Sept. 29 email. The bomber—one of six B-52s from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., that traveled to England in August—landed safely at RAF Fairford, U.K. without the crew suffering any injuries.
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The JADC2 Revolution
Air Force Magazine
U.S. forces are redefining joint operations to be more tightly integrated. Joint all-domain command and control (JADC2) accelerates the speed and complexity of warfare by tying forces together across the air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. For the latest on what this means to operators and the industry, check out our JADC2 landing page.
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‘Shy, Sweet, and Intelligent,’ Senior Airman Jason Phan Laid to Rest
The Orange County Register
Senior Airman Jason Khai Phan, the 26-year-old Anaheim, Calif., man who died Sept. 12 in Kuwait, was laid to rest during a service on Sept. 29 at Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego.
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VA Officials Hope to Wrap Training, Testing Before October Go-Live of EHR Program
Nextgov
Despite numerous obstacles, the Veterans Affairs Department expects to be ready for the Oct. 24 deployment date of its new electronic health records system.
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NDIA Names Punaro Chair
Inside Defense
The National Defense Industrial Association said retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro will become chair of its board, effectively immediately.
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SPONSORED: For Active or Retired Military, Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Offers Peace of Mind
Air Force Magazine
The Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program—created specifically for the federal family—offers active duty and retired members of the uniformed services the opportunity to help take control of their future long term care needs with long term care insurance. Designed to be both comprehensive and flexible, the plan provides insurance coverage for qualified long term care services, including the type of care you may receive and where you receive it.
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OPINION: How to Trim the Defense Budget Without Harming US Security
Foreign Policy
“The first step is deciding what the United States wants its military to do,” write Elbridge Colby, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, Mackenzie Eaglen, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Roger Zakheim, director of the Reagan Institute.
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One More Thing
Yes, US RC-135s Have Used Bogus Hex Codes to Transmit a False Identity. But It’s Not to Fool China or Other Enemies.
The Aviationist
The U.S. Air Force intelligence aircraft have been using fake Mode-S codes, but this doesn’t give any real operational advantage. It just fuels some crazy conspiracy theory.
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