Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Oct. 16, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak

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New National Strategy Calls for Promoting, Protecting Critical Tech
By John A. Tirpak

The Trump Administration released a new national technology strategy on Oct. 15,
which assigns investment priority to 20 technologies while calling for an
all-of-government approach to develop and protect them. The Pentagon is already
applying a number of the actions the new strategy lays out, such as blocking
foreign adversaries trying to extract intellectual property from companies they
buy a stake in. Broad initiatives in the policy call for greater investment in
research and development and building a world-beating science and technology
workforce.

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SECDEF Is Worried about USAF’s Current—and Future—Tanker Fleet
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Oct. 15 said he is keeping a close eye on the
modernity and readiness of the Air Force’s tanker fleet. During an on-stage
discussion with Thomas Spoehr, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center
for National Defense, Esper also cited a need for “487 tankers,” and spoke
to the urgency of both lengthening the current fleet's life and ensuring that
future tankers come online in fighting shape in a timely manner.

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USAF, Israeli Air Force Team Up for Mideast F-35 Training
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

F-35As from the U.S. Air Force’s 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and
F-35I “Adir” fighters from the Israeli Air Force’s 116th Squadron teamed
up for Enduring Lightning III, a joint offensive counter air training exercise
over Israel, on Oct. 12, according to an Air Forces Central Command release.
The 908th and 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadrons provided refueling
backup via KC-10 and KC-135 tankers, the release noted, while F-16I fighters
from the IAF’s 115th Squadron acted as a simulated adversary force and its
122nd Squadron handled air traffic control.

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Shaw Airmen, F-16s Deploy to Saudi Arabia
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Airmen and F-16s from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., recently deployed to Prince
Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, the 20th Fighter Wing announced. While in the
Middle East, the 77th Fighter Squadron and 77th Fighter Generation Squadron
personnel will be tasked with generating combat air power to help make the
region more stable and secure, according to the release.

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Esper: Military Exceeded COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Collection Goal
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Defense Department “collected nearly 11,000 units” of COVID-19
convalescent plasma by the end of fiscal 2020—almost 3,000 units more than its
original goal—Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper announced during an Oct. 15
Heritage Foundation event. Donations of blood plasma containing antibodies for
the new coronavirus may boost the ability of eligible recipients’ immune
systems to fight the pathogen, the Air Force wrote in July.

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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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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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Defense One Radio Ep. 76: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr.

“We have more classified programs than the other services," Brown said. But
“We need to articulate that risk, maybe a little bit better than we have in
the past."

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How Will Trump and Biden Handle Veterans Issues?

In anticipation of the upcoming presidential election, Military Times partnered
with a dozen veterans organizations earlier this year to ask the major party
candidates about their views on key issues facing the veterans community. Each
campaign was presented the same set of questions and agreed to provide video
responses to the veterans groups. Earlier this month, President Donald J.
Trump’s campaign instead provided his answers in a series of written
responses. Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign provided videos
addressing the questions.

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Pentagon Has Big Plans for ‘Project Convergence’ in 2021

The Defense Department is expanding an Army initiative known as "Project
Convergence," with plans to bring in other services and international allies for
the next iteration of the effort, the Pentagon's top official said Oct 15. The
project is a new series of exercises meant to help the service prepare to
operate in a multi-domain battlefield and test new technologies such as
artificial intelligence.

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Boeing, General Atomics Team Up for HEL

Boeing and General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems on Oct. 13 announced a new
partnership to offer the U.S. military speed-of-light-weapons for air and
missile defense, specifically 100kW- to 250kW-class high-energy lasers. The
partnership combines Boeing's beam director precision acquisition, tracking and
pointing software with General Atomics' scalable distributed gain laser
technology, according to a joint statement from the companies.

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Telesat Wins DARPA Contract to Manufacture Satellite Buses for Blackjack Program

The two satellites will be a “highly modified version” of the Airbus Arrow
spacecraft, Don Brown, general manager of Telesat U.S. Services, told SpaceNews.

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North Korea Unveils ‘Very Destabilizing’ ICBM

Two ballistic missiles made their debut in Oct. 10’s North Korean military
parade: a sub-launched weapon and what appeared to be an enormous new
intercontinental ballistic missile borne on a long, 11-axle mobile launcher.

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VA Takes Important Step in Prep for New Health Records Launch

The Veterans Affairs Department successfully transferred data of thousands of
patients to its new electronic health records system.

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One More Thing...
75 Great Airmen

Spaatz, Doolittle, Schriever, Pitsenbarger, Cunningham … and who else makes
your list of 75 Great Airmen? Help the Air Force Historical Foundation launch a
book project to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the United States Air Force,
coming up in 2022. The criteria: on Active duty from September 1947 onwards. A
moment of greatness, or a lifetime of great accomplishment, or both.

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