Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Dec. 10, 2020

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Edited by Amy McCullough with Rachel S. Cohen, Brian W. Everstine, Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory, John A. Tirpak and Shaun Waterman

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Pilot Missing After Wisconsin ANG F-16 Crashes
By Brian W. Everstine

An F-16 from the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing crashed at
about 8 p.m. on Dec. 8, and the pilot’s status was not known as of early Dec.
9. The incident is the latest F-16 crash this year, including a June fatal
mishap at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., and a July crash at Holloman Air Force
Base, N.M. In November 2019, the Air Force Safety Center and F-16 Program Office
said it did not see any systemic safety issues with the jet despite a series of
crashes in recent years.

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Cape Canaveral, Patrick Named First Space Force Installations
By Rachel S. Cohen

Historic Air Force installations on Florida’s Space Coast marked a modern
milestone on Dec. 9 as they were redesignated Patrick Space Force Base and Cape
Canaveral Space Force Station—the first facilities named as part of the new
service. “Today, we start a new era at both Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
and Patrick Space Force Base, aligning the installations’ names with their
critical missions,” Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W.
“Jay” Raymond said at a ceremony to mark the occasion. Language in the
pending 2021 defense policy bill appears set to put guardrails on the process of
transferring other bases.

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Biden Calls for Swift Confirmation of Defense Secretary Pick
By Rachel S. Cohen

President-elect Joe Biden called on Congress to “swiftly” confirm Lloyd J.
Austin III as the next Defense Secretary, rebutting concerns that his plan to
nominate the recently retired Army general chips away at civilian control of the
military. Introducing Austin at a Dec. 9 event in Delaware, Biden said the
civilian-military dynamic has been under great stress during the Trump
administration, during which multiple former uniformed personnel have served in
top posts. Austin would be only the third nominee in American history to receive
a waiver to serve as Defense Secretary, and the first Black man to hold the top
civilian job if confirmed.

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B-1 Drops JASSM from External Pylon, Expanding Bomber Firepower
By John A. Tirpak

A B-1B bomber on Dec. 4 released a JASSM stealth missile from its Sniper
targeting pod pylon. The demonstration follows a captive-carry dress rehearsal
in November, and paves the way for the B-1 to carry a variety of munitions, but
especially hypersonic missiles, on external hardpoints that have not been used
operationally before. The B-1's external hardpoints were deactivated under the
START treaty, but the bomber is now in a purely conventional role, and the new
capability could give each B-1 more firepower.

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T-6A Fleet Saw Fewer—But More Frequent—Physiological Episodes in Fiscal 2020
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Air Force saw a total of 33 hypoxia-like events in its T-6A Texan II trainer
fleet in fiscal 2020—a nearly 20 percent decrease from the fiscal year
prior—Air Force Safety Center data obtained by Air Force Magazine shows.
However, the rate of these events—defined as the number of incidents per
100,000 flying hours—within the T-6A fleet increased slightly over fiscal
2019. The Air Force recently made progress on its quest to determine the cause
of hypoxia-like events in its T-6A fleet—including ruling out contaminated air
as the culprit and putting a greater focus on the potential role of rapid
fluctuations in in-flight oxygen levels—but the puzzle has yet to be solved.

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Draft NDAA Refuses to Fund Armed Overwatch Program
By Rachel S. Cohen

Lawmakers want to quash the prospect of buying new armed overwatch planes for
special operations troops or the Air Force in the next few years, as part of the
final draft of the 2021 defense policy bill released this month. They seek to
block SOCOM from buying armed overwatch aircraft in fiscal 2021, as well as the
Air Force through fiscal 2023. The bill zeroes out the “armed
overwatch/targeting” funding line, which had asked for $101 million and five
planes.

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How Air Force Global Strike Command Is Cultivating Diversity & Inclusion
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

As the public awaits the findings of the Department of the Air Force’s recent
diversity and inclusion survey, here’s a look at how five Air Force
organizations are working to make these departmental priorities the norm.

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USAF Tech Incubator Goals for 2021: What Have You Got?
By Shaun Waterman

The Air Force's technology incubator, which doles out more than 1,000 small
research contracts worth up to $50,000 each year, unveiled an advance look at
its 2021 programs during its virtual Accelerate event, Dec. 7-11—the first
organized by the newly relaunched AFWERX 2.0. AFWERX 2.0 will seek to mimic
venture capital, leveraging its own spending to generate more investment dollars
for open-ended technology research.

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Virtual Events: Mitchell Co-Hosts 20th Nuclear Triad Symposium, and More
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

Today from 10 a.m. EST - 1 p.m. EST, the Air Force Association's Mitchell
Institute for Aerospace Studies, the Louisiana Tech Research Institute, and the
Cyber Innovation Center will host the 20th Nuclear Triad Symposium. Advanced
registration is required. <a
href="[link removed]">Learn
more about the event, view the symposium agenda, and RSVP here.</a>

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Radar Sweep

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Free 3-Year Memberships!

Airmen and Space Professionals—Active, Guard, Reserve, and civilian: Join your
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Act now—this is a limited-time offer. Be a member of the only association
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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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Secret Bomber Programs Set for Possible Rollouts in 2021

Although the U.S. Air Force has backed off from a schedule revealed in July 2018
to fly the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider for the first time on Dec. 4, 2021, the
first aircraft still may emerge from Building 401 on Site 4 at Plant 42 in
Palmdale, Calif., during the next 12 months.

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OPINION: Air Force Structure in the Next National Defense Strategy

“The Air Force is too small to meet COCOM requirements, yet too big to balance
current ops, readiness, and modernization within its current budget,” writes
former Air Combat Command boss and retired USAF Gen. James M. Holmes. “Air
Force choices will affect the alternatives available to national security
decision-makers and warfighters for years to come. Successful resolution of
these issues will require updated strategies and approaches to budget planning
and execution.”

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VIDEO: Electronic Warfare/Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority

A panel of leading experts on EW/EMS superiority discuss efforts to develop the
strategy, doctrine, and capabilities essential for success in future operating
environments with AFA Mitchell Institute Dean retired Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula.

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Vets Living Abroad Left to Navigate Pandemic Problems Without VA Help

But medical issues not connected to the military are not covered under the
Veterans Affairs Department’s Foreign Medical Program, even if they may
present serious health threats to veterans. In the case of COVID-19, that means
veterans living outside the United States can’t get any medical coverage for
testing or treatment, even if most veterans in the U.S. can get that assistance.

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OPINION: America’s Military Needs an Innovation Overhaul

If confirmed as Secretary of Defense, retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III
would inherit a Pentagon that has lost its technological edge. But it isn’t
too late to fight back, two national security experts write.

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Did Michèle Flournoy Face ‘Double Standard’ over Defense Industry Ties?

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink, a female-led organization working to
end U.S. conflicts and militarism abroad, was quick to celebrate "quashing"
Flournoy's potential nomination following Politico's story on Dec. 7. But Code
Pink's founder failed to mention that retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III,
like many retired generals, has served on corporate boards since his retirement
in 2016, most notably as a member of the board of directors of Raytheon
Technologies, a large aerospace and defense firm specializing in missile defense
and smart weapons.

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RAAF Pilots Eject from F/A-18F During Take Off Incident at RAAF Base Amberley

The aircraft was taking off along with seven other aircraft when it suffered
what some local media have reported as an engine failure. As a consequence, the
aircrew ejected while the aircraft ran off the runway where it came to a halt.
Images taken by bystanders and published by Australian media outlets show the
Super Hornet with a collapsed nose gear in the grass beside the tarmac.

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One More Thing...
Chuck Yeager's Amazing Life Told Through the Airplanes He Flew

Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager is among the most famous aviators of
all time. The airplane was his brush, the sky his canvas, and flying was his
art.

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