Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Dec. 4, 2020

View in your Web Browser: [link removed]
Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory and John A. Tirpak

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Report: Systemic Aircrew, Maintenance Issues Root Cause of DOD Mishap Rates
By Brian W. Everstine

A lack of flying hours and overworked maintainers are contributing to high rates
of crashes and other aviation mishaps, according to a new Congressionally
mandated report, which called on the services to quickly overhaul how they
manage maintainers and pilot training. The National Commission on Military
Aviation Safety, in a report released Dec. 3, looked at more than 6,000 aviation
mishaps, including 198 deaths, 157 aircraft destroyed, and about $9.41 billion
in losses, from 2013 to 2018. None of the losses were due to combat operations.
Although the Air Force saw a decrease in “Class A” mishaps—the most
serious, which involved a death or more than $2 million in damage—there was an
increase in “Class C” mishaps, largely because of maintenance or other
on-the-ground issues.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

House, Senate Reach Bipartisan Agreement on Massive Defense Policy Bill
By Rachel S. Cohen

As the final days of 2020 count down, House and Senate negotiators have agreed
on sweeping defense policy legislation that offers nearly $732 billion to the
armed forces in fiscal 2021. “The FY21 NDAA focuses on maintaining the
strength of our defense enterprise as our nation grapples with a
once-in-a-generation health crisis and a heightened social crisis against the
backdrop of sustained systemic discrimination,” the House Armed Services
Committee said in a summary of the agreement, now in its 60th year. But the
legislation has ballooned to more than 5,300 pages across its text and
accompanying explanatory report, as lawmakers across Capitol Hill increasingly
piggyback on what is seen as a “must-pass” annual bill.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3 Air Force Bases Delay PT Tests Until April
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Airmen at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington,
and Scott Air Force Base, Ill., won’t have to take official physical fitness
assessments until April 1, 2021. Air Force guidance issued earlier this year
authorizes commanders to make these kinds of delays, Air Force spokesperson
Capt. Leah F. Brading confirmed in an email to Air Force Magazine. Although
there have been two other force-wide PT testing delays due to the pandemic, the
service has yet to announce a third postponement and is slated to resume testing
on Jan. 1, 2021.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hypersonic Missile Coming Five Years Faster Thanks to Acquisition Reform
By John A. Tirpak

New Pentagon acquisition rules are making it possible to field the AGM-183A
Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) hypersonic missile five years faster
than would be possible under the old rules, top USAF uniformed acquisition
official Lt. Gen. Duke Z. Richardson said Dec. 3. He also touted new rules for
speeding acquisition of the F-15EX, but “implored” Congress and the Pentagon
to go easy on acquisition “mistakes” driven by the push for speed, saying
the workforce will resume a risk-averse posture if they get punished for
thinking innovatively.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trump Nominates Aquilino to Lead INDOPACOM
By Amy McCullough

President Donald J. Trump nominated Adm. John C. Aquilino to lead U.S.
Indo-Pacific Command, the Pentagon announced on Dec. 3. If confirmed by the
Senate, Aquilino—who has led U.S. Pacific Fleet since May 2018—will replace
Admiral Philip S. Davidson. Aquilino would take command of the Defense
Department’s “priority theater” as the U.S. military shifts its focus from
decades of counterinsurgency operations in the Middle East to great power
competition with China and Russia, and as the department fields and tests new
military capabilities in the region.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Space Force Advocate to Lead GOP on House Defense Panel
By Rachel S. Cohen

Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, a leading Space Force proponent, will become the top
Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, his office said Dec. 3.
“It’s an honor to be selected by my colleagues to lead the Republicans as
Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee for the 117th Congress,”
he said in a release. “The nature of warfare is changing, and we must adapt
accordingly. … I will work to modernize our military, combat our rising
adversaries, and dominate the battlefields of this century.” He’ll take over
for Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), who is retiring when his term ends Jan. 3,
2021.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clock is Ticking on New START Extension
By Amy McCullough

President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will have just 16 days after
Inauguration Day in January to strike a deal with Russia to extend the New
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. If they fail to agree, the last remaining pact
limiting the two countries' nuclear arsenals will expire. Rose Gottemoeller, who
previously served as NATO’s deputy secretary-general and as U.S.
undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, has long
been an advocate of a five-year extension. She argues the “predictability and
stability” it will provide is necessary as the U.S. looks to modernize its
nuclear capabilities over the next decade.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Virtual Events: Guastella on Mitchell’s ‘Aerospace Nation,’ and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

On Dec. 8 at 9:30 a.m. EST, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for
Aerospace Studies will host USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Lt. Gen.
Joseph T. Guastella for a discussion about how the service is maintaining
aircraft and pilot readiness, the development of the Advanced Battle Management
System, and what it means to optimize force structure design to counter future
threats as part of the think tank's “Aerospace Nation” series. Advanced
registration is required. <a
href="[link removed]">Click
here to sign up for the live event.</a>

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radar Sweep

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This Is What It’s Like for Air Force Nurses Deployed to Fight COVID-19

The Air Force has deployed dozens of nurses to hospitals throughout North Dakota
and El Paso, Texas, to ease the strain on local medical personnel trying to
fight the coronavirus pandemic. For those Airmen, like registered nurse Capt.
Michael Robbins, it means lengthy, 12-hour-plus shifts in full protective
equipment. It means caring for patients—mostly elderly—by providing
everything from baths to oral care to clearing their airways. And it means
dropping into an entirely new workplace, with life-or-death stakes, and quickly
becoming part of an already established team.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The US Air Force Wants to Buy a Big Robot to Help with Bomb Disposal

A year after the U.S. Army awarded a contract to build a heavy-duty robot able
to dispose of bombs and other explosives, the Air Force is looking for its own
system—and it wants to see what’s on the market before committing to
purchasing what the Army buys.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marine Corps Declares IOC for F-35C Variant

The declaration means the Marine Corps has enough mission-ready aircraft and
trained Marines and pilots to deploy the F-35C onto aircraft carriers, a Marine
Corps press release said.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Journey to JADC2

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

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

China’s Y-20 Transport Appears to Be Finally Flying with Indigenous Jet Engines

The Y-20, China’s largest indigenous aircraft, needs new, more powerful
engines to reach its full potential.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stratollites Show Promise for Southern Command

U.S. Southern Command is looking for new technologies that can provide
long-endurance, wide-area surveillance over maritime and littoral areas and that
can transition into a program of record, SOUTHCOM Commander Navy Adm. Craig
Faller said Dec. 2.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Milley Wants 'Hard Look' at Restricting Families from More Overseas Tours

Families joining troops on accompanied tours to overseas assignments could be a
thing of the past in the proposed shift away from maintaining permanent bases in
other nations, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Dec. 3.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One More Thing...
We Salute the Airmen Who Went Full Ricky Bobby on the Flight Line in Saudi Arabia

The Air Force will have to add “shake ‘n’ bake” to its list of core
values, because two enterprising Airmen acted out a hilarious scene from the
beloved comedy “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” on the flight
line at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia this summer.

[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- Daily Report: [link removed]
- Contact Us: [link removed]
- Advertise With Us: [link removed]
- Purchase/Reprint: [link removed]

- Air Force Association: [link removed]
- Join AFA: [link removed]

- AF Mag on Facebook: [link removed]
- AF Mag on Twitter: [link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Published by the Air Force Association

All airforcemag.com material is under copyright of
the Air Force Association. All rights reserved.

The Air Force Association
1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA
22209-1198

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe or change your preferences, please visit the link below:
[link removed]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------