Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Oct. 15, 2020

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

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F-15Es Can Now Carry ‘StormBreaker’ Bombs
By Amy McCullough

The F-15E Strike Eagle can now carry the Small Diameter Bomb II in combat, after
software faults and other problems repeatedly delayed the program for years. Air
Combat Command approved Raytheon Technologies’ air-launched, precision-guided
munition, also known as StormBreaker, for use on Sept. 23. The F-15E is the
first aircraft cleared to fly with SDB II, with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
and the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet next in line.

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USAF Wraps Long-Range Radar Demos, Contract Coming in Early 2021
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force said Oct. 13 it plans to choose a long-range radar in early 2021
to replace the aging AN/TPS-75, an effort that has been underway for several
years. Late last month, the service held live-fly demonstrations to vet radars
offered by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and the Australian firm CEA. The
Air Force did not say what those trials entailed, but it plans to analyze the
results through the end of 2020 and issue a production contract next year. It's
unclear how much that will cost.

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Kunsan Command Team Unveils Dorm Improvement Plan
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Eighth Fighter Wing Commander Col. Chris B. Hammond and Chief Master Sgt. Ronnie
J. Woods, the wing’s command chief, have created a multi-year plan to improve
the state of on-base living at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, they told Air Force
Magazine. “We're here for a year, but we're approaching things with a 10-year
outlook, and that 10-year outlook includes all of our dorms and making sure that
they are renovated, [and] that they are worthy of our Airmen's ability to
live,” Hammond said in a Zoom interview from the base. The “Kunsan Dorm
Master Plan” outlines the tentative demolition of the base’s
already-condemned Building 609, construction of a new dorm that’s slated to
begin in 2025, and fixes to the others.

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USAF Buys First Training Simulator for ‘Doomsday’ Fleet
By Rachel S. Cohen

Oklahoma-based CymSTAR will build the Air Force’s first training simulator for
the E-4B “Doomsday” planes at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., the service said
Oct. 14. The four 1970s-era National Airborne Operations Center jets act as
flying command centers in case the Air Force’s underground nuclear missile
control posts are destroyed. Without a simulator, E-4B aircrews have to pull the
planes from regular operations for training, or travel out of state to use a
commercial Boeing 747 simulator. The new training equipment should be delivered
in April 2022.

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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 <a
href="[link removed]">website</a>
and <a href="[link removed]">YouTube
page.</a>

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Radar Sweep

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Speaker Sessions from AFA’s vASC Now Available

Now you can view video and transcripts from the Air Force Association’s
virtual Air, Space & Cyber Conference, including an adapted version of Assistant
Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Will
Roper’s talk on “Disruptive Agility for a Disruptive World.”

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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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SpaceX to Explore Ways to Provide Weather Data to US Military

The $2 million contract is to “assess the feasibility and long-term viability
of a weather data as a service business model.”

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Northrop Names Jones to Lead Aeronautics Systems

Tom Jones will succeed Janis Pamiljans, who plans to retire Feb. 26.

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Uptick in Spending Seen for Directed Energy Weapons

Armed forces around the world are expected to boost investment in directed
energy weapons such as lasers and high-powered microwaves over the next decade
as the technology matures, a new study forecasts.

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Journey to JADC2

Joint all-domain command and control is driving change throughout the Air and
Space Forces. Read our latest on the quest for greater interconnectedness across
the battlefield.

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China Conducts Test of Massive Suicide Drone Swarm Launched from a Box on a Truck

China recently conducted a test involving a swarm of loitering munitions, also
often referred to as suicide drones, deployed from a box-like array of tubular
launchers on a light tactical vehicle and from helicopters. This underscores how
the drone swarm threat, broadly, is becoming ever-more real and will present
increasingly serious challenges for military forces around the world in future
conflicts.

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SCOTUS Military Rape Case Hinges on How ‘Cruel and Unusual Punishment’ Applies to Troops

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Oct. 13 in a case that, on its face,
would decide whether the military can prosecute rape cases that occurred between
1986 and 2006. That was a time when military legal precedent called for a
five-year statute of limitations on rape charges.

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6 Months After Vanessa Guillén’s Disappearance and Death, Army Changes How Missing Soldiers Are Reported

In a new action plan sent out to Army leaders on Oct. 13—which was obtained by
Task & Purpose and details the service’s path forward on its new number one
priority, people—Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Chief of Staff Gen. James C.
McConville, and Sergeant Major of the Army Michael A. Grinston say new guidance
on reporting missing Soldiers will be released in “the coming weeks.”

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Marine Battalion Commander Fired after Amphibious Vehicle Accident Killed 9 Near San Diego

Lt. Col. Michael Regner, commanding officer of Battalion Landing Team, 1st
Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, was relieved due to a “loss of trust and
confidence in his ability to command as a result of the assault amphibious
vehicle mishap,” according to a statement.

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Camouflaged as Polling Workers, National Guard Presence During Primaries Fuels Worries of Militarized Presidential Election

Election officials are already sounding alarms that they may face a shortage of
poll workers—who tend to be retirees and at higher risk for complications from
COVID-19—come Nov. 3. Add to that fears of voter suppression as the President
has urged tens of thousands of supporters to act as “poll watchers,” as well
as concerns that protests or political demonstrations might interrupt voting,
and Wisconsin’s move to activate its National Guard may predict a trend for a
national election for a country in the grip of a pandemic.

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One More Thing...
Project Iceworm: America’s Secret Nuke Tunnels Beneath Greenland’s Ice

In pursuit of nuclear deterrence, the United States has occasionally crossed
over the line into schemes seemingly more appropriate for a James Bond movie
than the defense budget, but few were as crazy as Project Iceworm.

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