Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Dec. 16, 2020
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Edited by Brian W. Everstine and Rachel S. Cohen
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Space Force Putting Ideas to the Test in Year 2
By Rachel S. Cohen
The Space Force spent its first year in business transforming how the military
is organized, trained, and equipped to wield satellites, radars, and more in
combat. It will spend its second year proving whether those changes can work. As
the newest service turns 1 year old on Dec. 20, it is preparing to welcome in
thousands more recently selected Airmen in fields like intelligence and
acquisition next year. It plans to grow to 6,400 Active-duty members by the end
of September, and total about 16,000 employees including civilians and members
assigned from other branches. “There certainly is a sense of urgency, there's
a sense of excitement. We want to make sure that we can move as quickly as
practical,” Chief Master Sergeant Roger A. Towberman, the Space Force’s
Senior Enlisted Adviser, said.
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Expeditionary Center Tackles Training Amid COVID-19
By Brian W. Everstine
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J.—When the coronavirus pandemic hit the
U.S. and much of the country entered lockdown earlier this year, the Air Force
still needed to deploy with ready Airmen. That posed a challenge for the Air
Force Expeditionary Center here: How could the Expeditionary Operations School
and the 421st Combat Training Squadron take on the growing demand for prepared
Airmen while keeping people safe? “The expeditionary mission never went away,"
Maj. Gen. Mark D. Camerer, commander of the Expeditionary Center, said in a Dec.
8 interview.
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Gremlins Program Optimistic About Next Tests After Drones Fail to Dock
By Rachel S. Cohen
Dynetics and its partners are planning next steps for the Gremlins drone
swarming program after the aircraft failed to dock with a C-130 in recent flight
tests. A third round of demonstrations began Oct. 28 at Dugway Proving Ground,
Utah. The three X-61As individually tried out “rendezvous” and
“station-keeping” maneuvers, about 125 feet away from the C-130. Then they
crept to within 50 feet of the docking “bullet” that is designed to clamp
onto the drone in midair. Over the course of nine tries, the aircraft came
“within inches” of capture but fell short each time.
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New York Reservists Return from First KC-135 Combat Deployment
By Brian W. Everstine
Dozens of Airmen and four KC-135s from the 914th Air Refueling Wing returned
home to Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y., this month from the wing’s
first combat deployment with the tankers. The wing switched from flying C-130s
to KC-135s beginning in 2017, became fully mission-ready in April, and four
months later deployed to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, as part of Operations
Freedom’s Sentinel and Resolute Support. The New York-based Airmen have also
flown training missions with partner countries in the region. They returned home
on Dec. 12-13 after four months in the Middle East.
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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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AF Taps ‘Flying Car’ Firms For ‘Prime’ Investment; Expands Program
The Air Force is pushing out a rash of new initiatives to harvest cutting-edge
commercial tech, including an effort to kick open new markets for
next-generation space systems.
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Missile Drill Momentarily Triggers False 'Air Attack' Alarm at Ramstein Air Base
Americans living on and near Ramstein Air Base may have thought 2020 was about
to pack yet another punch when sirens wailed and the "giant voice" shouted to
take cover because of an incoming aerial attack.
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Reported Russian Hack of US Systems Has Implications for DOD Network Security Plans
The reported cyber breach through an IT contractor’s software used by the
military highlights the risks the Department of Defense takes when it
increasingly must rely on third-party vendors for digital services.
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DARPA OKs Blue Canyon’s Satellites for Blackjack Program
Small satellite manufacturer Blue Canyon Technologies has been cleared to
produce its first two satellites for the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency’s Blackjack program, the company announced Dec. 14.
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First Space Test Fundamentals Course Begins in January
The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School convenes the first-ever Space Test
Fundamentals course Jan. 4, 2021. The selection board results were announced
Dec. 10.
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MQ-9 Program Office Completes ATLC Testing
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s MQ-9 Program Office achieved a
pivotal milestone in the successful completion of testing for Automatic Takeoff
and Landing Capability (ATLC) on Oct. 6.
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OPINION: Confirm Austin, But Retire Milley
The relationship between the retired Marine infantry officer-turned-SecDef and
the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford—a serving
Marine infantry officer and former Mattis subordinate—was so close that it
made the Pentagon dysfunctional in many ways.
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VIDEO: 4 Principles of Agile JADC2 Development
Innovation has always been a hallmark of the the U.S. Air Force. But with the
accelerating pace of technology development, the service needs a new approach to
modern design to make the latest technologies profoundly more accessible.
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One More Thing...
This Female World War II Vet is One of the First Americans to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
A female World War II veteran has become the first VA patient to receive the
COVID-19 vaccine, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday. Margaret
Klessens, 96, was inoculated Monday at the VA Bedford Healthcare System, the
first of thousands of veteran residents of long-term health facilities and VA
medical staff expected to get the vaccine in the coming weeks.
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