Hypersonics Push | More Space Force Funding | Suicide Prevention for Families

Oct. 14, 2020

Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen and Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, program executive officer for weapons and director of the Armament Directorate, addresses the small audience of Eglin Air Force Base leadership and Airmen by video recording due to COVID-19 restrictions during his assumption of leadership ceremony July 14 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Air Force photo by Ilka Cole.

Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile Becomes High-Priority USAF Project

By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force is moving forward with a new Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile as one of its top two hypersonic weapons programs, Weapons Program Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Heath Collins said in a recent interview. The service has discussed similar efforts underway in its hypersonic portfolio but has not yet named HACM as a central project. HACM is envisioned for use in conventional strike weapons on fighter and bomber aircraft, according to the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Congress Approves Extra Funds for Some Aerospace Programs

By Rachel S. Cohen

Lawmakers have approved a slew of funding shifts the Pentagon requested in June to pay officers, avoid hiring freezes in the Department of the Air Force, and set up U.S. Space Command, among other priorities. The Defense Department routinely asks the House and Senate Appropriations and Armed Services committees to let the military move money between accounts in a process known as reprogramming. This omnibus reprogramming request looked to shuffle more than $2 billion in fiscal 2019 and 2020 dollars.

Air Force Creates Suicide Prevention Training for Families

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Department of the Air Force has released its first-ever video-based suicide prevention training for USAF and Space Force families. The online course, entitled “Equipping Family Members to Help Airmen in Distress,” educates viewers on different ways they can intervene and how to access resources at their disposal, according to a release. The course is meant to piggyback off of last year’s Resilience Tactical Pause, which aimed to give units across the Total Force a chance to halt operations, check in on their Airmen, and address issues of suicide prevention and resilience in the wake of record-high suicides among service members.

European Leaders Urge US to Extend New START

By Amy McCullough

Leaders from 20 European nations are calling on the United States to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, commonly referred to as New START, saying the agreement has “directly contributed” to the stabilization of European security. New START, which is slated to expire on Feb. 5, 2021, “is the only remaining agreement that limits the nuclear forces of the United States of America and the Russian Federation,” states the Oct. 13 letter, addressed to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Virtual Events: USSF’s Saltzman on Mitchell’s Space Power Forum, and More

By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On Oct. 16, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host a Space Power Forum featuring Space Force Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman. The think tank will tentatively post event video on its website and YouTube page.

Radar Sweep

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.

DOD Awards $481M OTA to Increase Domestic Production Capacity of Point-of-Care Testing

Defense Department release

The Defense Department, on behalf of the Health and Human Services Department, awarded an Other Transaction Agreement to Cue Health Inc. of San Diego, Calif., to expand U.S. production capacity of point-of-care COVID-19 tests, increasing production to 100,000 COVID-19 test kits per day by March 2021.

Transcript: NPR's Full Interview With Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley

National Public Radio

In an interview on Oct. 11 with National Public Radio’s Steve Inskeep, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley took questions about his time in quarantine, the military's role in potential election disputes, the war in Afghanistan, and more.

New ODIN Hardware Destined to Host F-35’s ALIS Replacement Successfully Tested at MCAS Yuma

The Aviationist

The F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office, in partnership with Lockheed Martin, achieved a major milestone in the path to dump the ALIS (Autonomic Logistics Information System) centralized support system and replace it with ODIN.

NatSec AI Commission Urges New Vice President-Led Council

Breaking Defense

A new Technology Competitiveness Council led by the vice president is needed to spur the rapid proliferation of AI capabilities across America to outpace China, says the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

ULA’s Tory Bruno Argues for US Investments in Fuel Production in Space

SpaceNews

The idea that rocket propellants could be made from lunar ice is not new. But the U.S. government should now consider doing that at scale in order to stimulate the space economy and enable human life on the moon and Mars, said United Launch Alliance President and CEO Tory Bruno.

‘The Space Report’ Finds Commercial Space Revenue Climbs to $336.89B in 2019

Space Foundation release

In the newest quarterly issue of The Space Report, the Space Foundation announced that space investment in the third quarter of 2020 gained strength with more than $6 billion gained through acquisitions, buyouts, and private equity financing.

StormBreaker Mini Glide Bomb That Can Hit Moving Targets in Any Weather Is Ready for War

The Drive

Now that it has been approved for fielding, U.S. Air Force F-15E squadrons downrange will be the first to carry the precision weapons on combat sorties.

Marine Corps Creates New MOS for MQ-9 Reaper Pilots

Marine Corps Times

The Marine Corps has created a new military occupational specialty, or MOS: the 7318 for MQ-9 Reaper pilots, according to an administrative message signed Oct. 9. The new MOS was created as the Corps looks to expand its unmanned capabilities as it looks toward a war with China.

Chief of Naval Operations Outlines Future for Drones, Minicarriers

Defense One

The fleet may need fewer large aircraft carriers but more ships that can carry aircraft.

One More Thing

Here's Your 2021 Military Retiree and VA Disability Pay Raise

Military.com

Military retirees, those who receive disability or other benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department, federal retirees and Social Security recipients will see a 1.3 percent increase in their monthly checks for 2021. The annual Cost Of Living Allowance is slightly less than the 1.6 percent increase from last year but in line with the historical increases seen over the last 10 years.