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Oct. 7, 2020
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Edited by Rachel S. Cohen with Brian W. Everstine and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
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 Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. (left) and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. "Jay" Raymond are self-quarantining following potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus. USAF photos. |
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By Brian W. Everstine
Several senior military officials, including Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, are quarantining at home after a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 5. Coast Guard Vice Commandant Adm. Charles Ray was tested “after feeling mild symptoms over the weekend,” the service said. He will quarantine at home as well. “The Coast Guard is following established policies for COVID, per [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines, to include quarantine and contact tracing,” according to an Oct. 6 Coast Guard release. “Any Coast Guard personnel that were in close contact will also quarantine.”
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By Rachel S. Cohen
L3Harris and SpaceX won contracts Oct. 5 to provide the first ballistic missile warning satellites for the Space Development Agency, growing the number of companies working on the future military constellation to four. L3Harris received $193.6 million and SpaceX got $149.2 million to design, develop, and launch satellites that use wide-view, overhead persistent infrared sensors to see and track missile launches, SDA said in a release. As companies gradually build more and more of the systems, they will comprise a group of satellites known as the “tracking layer” in low Earth orbit.
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By Rachel S. Cohen
Air Force bases in the southeastern United States are again hunkering down for a hurricane aimed at the Gulf Coast. Hurricane Delta, a Category 4 storm that may still strengthen, is slated to hit southeast Louisiana on Oct. 9 and cause a “life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds,” particularly in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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By Brian W. Everstine
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., this week is hosting a first-of-its-kind air show, bringing together real demonstrations with a large virtual outreach program to encourage science, technology, engineering, and math education in southern California. The base was set to host its first on-base air show in 11 years this month, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 412th Test Wing to change its plans. Instead, the base is holding the Aerospace Valley Hybrid Air Show, which includes virtual lessons for area students in kindergarten through 12th grade, and jets will fly over the base and nearby cities.
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By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
On Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. EDT, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host a Nuclear Deterrence Forum featuring David Albright, founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security. Tune in for his unique perspective on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the latest on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and the implications of Iran’s continued expansion of its ballistic missile inventory, among other topics. You can register for the live webinar 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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US Sees ‘Important Progress’ in Helsinki Nuclear Arms Talks
The Associated Press
The top U.S. negotiator in nuclear arms control talks with Russia held in Helsinki says a one-day follow-up meeting to earlier talks in Austria has yielded “important progress.” Amb. Marshall Billingslea, President Donald J. Trump’s special envoy for arms control, gave the upbeat view in an Oct. 6 tweet, a day after the talks in the Finnish capital with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. He gave no further detail.
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NNSA Buys New Supercomputer to Protect Nuclear Stockpile
Nextgov
Worth more than $100 million, Crossroads will support predictive weapons calculations and replace an aging system.
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Iran Sees Venezuela's Unrest as Chance to 'Create Mischief,' US General Says
Military.com
Iran's involvement in Venezuela has increased significantly in recent months, to include sending members of its elite Quds Force into the country, according to a top U.S. military leader who oversees operations in the region.
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OPINION: China’s Arctic Gambit a Concern for US Air and Space Forces
SpaceNews
“Most of us view the Mercator map and cannot comprehend the centrality of Arctic air routes to the Northern Hemisphere and the marked advantages the physics provide, but spacefarers know better,” writes Air Force General Counsel Thomas E. Ayres. “China’s government also understands. It may even know the quote from early Air Corps founder Billy Mitchell: ‘whoever holds Alaska will hold the world. I think it is the most important strategic place in the world.’”
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F-15EX Radar Win Buoys Raytheon Market Hopes
Breaking Defense
Raytheon Technologies hopes its new contract with Boeing for an initial eight radar systems for the F-15EX is only a first step and that its AN/APG-82 radar gets tapped for the entire future fleet, says Michelle Styczynski, F-15 senior product line director for Raytheon Intelligence & Space.
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Mitchell Institute’s Aerospace Nation Featuring Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Ron Epstein
Mitchell Institute on YouTube
Ron Epstein, managing director in equity research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, joins Douglas A. Birkey, executive director of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, to discuss how the defense industry is responding to the challenge laid out by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. to “go fast,” to what extent companies are embracing digital engineering in response to the Air Force’s new eSeries initiative, and the impacts of COVID-19 on the aerospace industry, among other topics, as part of the think tank’s “Aerospace Nation” series.
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PSC Says Some Provisions in NDAA Could ‘Significantly Improve’ What DOD Gets from Contractors
Inside Defense
In a new letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, the Professional Services Council, an industry group, says it supports several provisions in the House and Senate versions of the defense policy bill. The group urges the committees as they hash out the two bills to maintain certain elements, including one in the Senate bill that repeals a bid protest pilot program that called for losing protestors to cover the cost.
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OPINION—Worth Preserving: US Military Posture in Germany
Defense One
“Any adjustments to U.S. force posture in Europe should focus first and foremost on sustaining or strengthening readiness,” write Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and retired Army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis.
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Biloxi Police Investigating After Weapon Reportedly Fired Outside Keesler Air Force Base
WLOX
Biloxi Police are investigating after shots were reportedly fired outside Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. A man was seen firing a gun in the area of Kensington Drive around 9 a.m., said Maj. Chris Deback with the Biloxi Police Department.
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Postal Service Ready to Deliver Holiday Cheer to Service Members Worldwide
USPS release
With the holiday season approaching, the U.S. Postal Service has announced its mailing dates for 2020.
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One More Thing
Russian Flight Test Center Flew a ‘Cabriolet’ Su-57 Fighter Jet
The Drive
Flying a Su-57 minus the canopy was likely related to an evaluation of the jet’s emergency escape procedures.
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