Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Oct. 8, 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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First Airmen Get the Nod in New Promotion Process
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

About 1,200 majors earned a promotion under the Department of the Air Force's
new process for advancement that judges Airmen based on performance in their
career field rather than comparing the force as a whole. The 2020 lieutenant
colonel promotion board is also the first to ditch so-called "below-the-zone"
promotions, which offers people a chance to fast-track up the ranks, and puts
Airmen up for promotion in an order based on merit rather than seniority.

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DOD, SpaceX May Soon Prove the Military Can Ship Cargo Through Space
By Rachel S. Cohen

A military team is working with SpaceX to flesh out the prospect of shipping
routes that pass through space, the head of U.S. Transportation Command said
Oct. 7. That group could demonstrate as early as 2021 whether quickly sending
cargo around the globe via space is feasible, Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons said.
“Think about moving the equivalent of a C-17 payload anywhere on the globe in
less than an hour,” Lyons said at a National Defense Transportation
Association event. “Think about that speed associated with the movement of
transportation of cargo and people. There is a lot of potential here.”

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Senators, Demanding Sanctions, Worry Turkey Used S-400 to Track US Jets
By John A. Tirpak

A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators are urging the Trump administration to impose
economic sanctions on Turkey buying and activating Russian S-400 Triumf air
defense systems, concerned that Turkey is allowing Russia access to sensitive
data on NATO aircraft. In an Oct. 7 letter to Secretary of State Michael R.
Pompeo, Senate appropriators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Sen. James Lankford
(R-Okla.) raised concerns that Turkey may have used its S-400s “to detect
U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets returning from the Eunomia exercise” held in
Europe in August. If the S-400 was used to surveil American F-16s, it would be
one of the first publicized instances that Turkey has wielded the air defense
system's radar against a U.S. asset. Deliveries of the S-400 to Turkey began in
July 2019.

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Space Force to Lay Long-Term Groundwork in Second Year
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Space Force hasn’t yet turned 1 year old, but it’s already planning for
what it wants to be in 30 years. Charting that long-term vision will be a main
focus of the newest service in its second year, Pentagon space policy boss
Justin T. Johnson said during an Oct. 7 Heritage Foundation event. “Probably
the biggest single thing that I know [Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W.
“Jay” Raymond] is working on ... [is] really fleshing out that long-term
vision for the Space Force,” Johnson said. “What's the force design, force
development elements of the Space Force? What does that future vision in 10, 20,
30 years need to look like?”

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TRANSCOM: Keeping KC-135s, KC-10s Will Avoid Capacity ‘Train Wreck’
By Brian W. Everstine

The head of U.S. Transportation Command said Oct. 7 he sees new “momentum”
to protect some legacy tanker aircraft from retirement. Canceling that proposed
divestment would help the mobility enterprise avoid an oncoming “train
wreck” of a tanker shortage while the new KC-46 is delayed, Army Gen. Stephen
R. Lyons said. The looming tanker shortage is the No. 1 problem facing the
command, Lyons said during a virtual TRANSCOM and National Defense
Transportation Association event.

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Virtual Events: Albright on Mitchell’s Nuclear Deterrence Forum, and More
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 <a
href="[link removed]">here.</a>

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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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Four-Star Marine General Tests Positive for Covid

The Marine Corps' No. 2 officer has tested positive for Covid-19, the service
announced Oct. 7, the second four-star officer to be affected by the virus this
week. Assistant Marine Commandant Gen. Gary Thomas was among top military
officers who put themselves under quarantine this week after Vice Commandant of
the Coast Guard Adm. Charles Ray tested positive Oct. 5.

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DOD Test of Viral Spread on Commercial Planes Reveals Good News, General Says

The head of U.S. Transportation Command offered a sneak preview Oct. 7 of the
results of a Defense Department test of particulate spread on commercial
aircraft—and they are surprising.

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Trump Orders Agencies to Tackle Coronavirus-Related Mental Health Challenges

The order creates a working group that will be co-chaired by the Health and
Human Services Department secretary and assistant to the president for domestic
policy (or their designees). There will be representatives from the Defense,
Justice, Agriculture, Labor, Housing and Urban Development, Education and
Veterans Affairs departments; Small Business Administration; Office of National
Drug Control Policy; Office of Management and Budget; and any other agencies the
co-chairs seek.

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ISIS Militants Charged with Deaths of Americans in Syria

According to allegations in the indictment, from 2012 to 2015, Kotey, Elsheikh,
Mohamed Emwazi (deceased), and a fourth British citizen (CC-1) currently
incarcerated in Turkey, were Islamic State group fighters and participated in
the abduction of American and European hostages in Syria. The men also allegedly
engaged in a prolonged pattern of physical and psychological violence against
the hostages, including against American citizens James Wright Foley, Kayla Jean
Mueller, Steven Joel Sotloff, and Peter Edward Kassig.

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Russia Reports Successful Test Launch of Hypersonic Missile

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 7 hailed the successful test launch of
a new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile as a “big event” for the country.
Speaking to Putin via a video call, Russian General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov
said the test launch took place on Oct. 6 from the Admiral Groshkov frigate
located in the White Sea, in the north of Russia.

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Democrats Face Internal ‘Fight’ on Defense Spending, Says Smith

The Democratic split over the size of future defense budgets will come to a head
in the new Congress, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep.
Adam Smith (D-Wash.) predicted Oct. 6. The outcome of the long-simmering dispute
would take on higher stakes if some pre-election polling becomes a reality and
Democrats retake Congress and the White House.

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Space Development Agency Seeks Bids for Launch Services for 28 Satellites

The 28 satellites are a mix of small and medium spacecraft of different
sizes—20 are for a Transport Layer of data-relay satellites, and the other
eight are for a missile-warning Tracking Layer.

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Qatar Makes Formal Request for F-35 Jets

Qatar has submitted a formal request to the United States to buy stealthy F-35
fighter jets, three people familiar with the deal said, in a deal that if
pursued could strain U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia and Israel.

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F/A-18F Super Hornet Photographed Flying Combat Mission with New Infrared Sensor Pod

The F/A-18F flew a sortie over the Middle East carrying the pod, which isn't
scheduled to be operational until late 2021.

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Can AI Detect Disinformation? A New Special Operations Program May Find Out

For all the U.S. military’s technical advantages over adversaries, it still
struggles to counter disinformation. A new software tool to be developed for the
Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command may help change that.

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Years After They Fought in Afghanistan, US Troops Watch as Their Children Deploy to the Same War

Nineteen years ago on Oct. 7, a generation of Americans deployed to Afghanistan
to root out the terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks, believing that by fighting
in the country more than 7,400 miles away, they would spare their children the
need to do so too. But as the U.S. war in Afghanistan begins its 20th year, some
of those same service members have watched as their sons and daughters have
deployed to continue the fight.

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The JADC2 Revolution

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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One More Thing...
Up Close and Personal with the Blackbird: An Exclusive Interview with Former Director of Worldwide SR-71 Operations

TheAviationist.com recently spoke with retired Air Force Lt. Col. Russell
Szczepanik, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. His unique and
exceptional service record includes 3 years in Army Special Forces before
joining the U.S. Air Force. Szczepanik then went on to become the director of
worldwide SR-71 Operations for two years. He also flew numerous missions in the
Mach 3+ “Sled” as an SR-71 RSO in the rear seat of the two-person aircraft
during operational missions.

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