Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Jan. 5, 2021

View in your Web Browser: [link removed]
Edited by Brian W. Everstine with Rachel S. Cohen and John A. Tirpak

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

USAF Begins Basing MQ-9s in Romania
By Brian W. Everstine

Air Force MQ-9s have a new permanent home in Romania. U.S. Air Forces in Europe
announced Jan. 4 that Reapers and about 90 Airmen are now based at Romanian Air
Force Base 71 at Campia Turzii. The surveillance and attack drones are assigned
to the 31st Expeditionary Operations Group, Detachment 1, under the 31st Fighter
Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy. “The forward and ready positioning of our
MQ-9s at this key strategic location reassures our allies and partners, while
also sending a message to our adversaries that we can quickly respond to any
emergent threat,” Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, the United States Air Forces in
Europe and Air Forces Africa commander, said in a release. USAFE did not
disclose the number of Reapers that will be assigned to the base, which houses a
unit of Romanian Air Force MiG-23 fighter jets.

[link removed]

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

Air Force Seeks 3D Scanner to Reverse-Engineer Parts
By Rachel S. Cohen

The Air Force’s Rapid Sustainment Office is again reaching out to industry for
new approaches to three-dimensional scanning so it can replicate aircraft parts
that are no longer in production. On Jan. 4, the RSO published a call for a
“cutting-edge, automated 3D scanning system” that can create models to
reproduce machine parts. That scanner should be able to gather the data for a
blueprint showing complex, even hidden, geometry as well as color and
reflectivity. A request for proposals is slated for release on Feb. 4, with
ideas due March 5 and a contract on tap for March 31.

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

DOD Extends F-35 Full-Rate Production Decision Due to Pandemic
By John A. Tirpak

The F-35 will miss yet another deadline for completing final tests and being
approved for full-scale production, according to a memo from Pentagon
acquisition and sustainment chief Ellen Lord. The sticking point is integration
of the F-35 with a wargaming simulation system. This has gone slowly because the
programming must be done in secure facilities, challenged by the COVID pandemic.
An independent entity will help set a new timetable for passing the milestone.

[link removed]

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

SDA Taps SpaceX for Two Launches of New Satellites
By Rachel S. Cohen

SpaceX will carry data-transport and missile-tracking satellites to orbit for
the Space Development Agency, the Pentagon said Dec. 31. SpaceX won a $150.5
million contract for two launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.,
starting in September 2022. The entire constellation of up to 28 initial
satellites, known as “Tranche 0” of the transport and tracking layers, is
slated to reach space by March 31, 2023. The launch contract is another boon for
the firm owned by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, which the Space Force
recently selected to handle 40 percent of its rocket launches through 2024.

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

DOD Formalizes Program Giving Companies More Access to Classified Info
By Brian W. Everstine

The Pentagon has formally created a group of defense companies that can get
broader access to classified programs, hoping that more insight will make
contractors more efficient and cost-conscious. In a Dec. 15 memo to the defense
industrial base, Pentagon acquisition boss Ellen M. Lord formalized the Special
Access Program Contractor Portfolio, which ran as a pilot initiative for several
years. The effort will help companies balance the need to understand technology
development with the need to protect that information. “As the world sees a
return to great power competition, the Department of Defense must strengthen its
engagement with the defense industrial base in order to respond to the national
security challenges facing the United States in a more responsive and cost
efficient manner,” Lord wrote.

[link removed]

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

[ Advertisement ]
[link removed]

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

Radar Sweep

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

Free 3-Year Memberships!

Airmen and Guardians—Active, Guard, Reserve and civilian: Join your Air Force
Association today and get a 3-year membership free—a savings of $85! Act
now—this offer ends tonight. Be a member of the only association totally
dedicated to advancing Air and Space Power, Airmen, Guardians, their families,
and the industries that support them.

[link removed]

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

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]

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

Pentagon Keeping Aircraft Carrier in Persian Gulf Despite Earlier Announcement

“Due to the recent threats issued by Iranian leaders against President [Donald
J.] Trump and other U.S. government officials, I have ordered the USS Nimitz to
halt its routine redeployment,” said Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C.
Miller in a statement released on Jan. 3.

[link removed]

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

OPINION—All 10 Living Former Defense Secretaries: Involving the Military in Election Disputes Would Cross into Dangerous Territory

“As former secretaries of defense, we hold a common view of the solemn
obligations of the U.S. armed forces and the Defense Department,” write Ashton
Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James
Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry, and Donald Rumsfeld—the 10 living former
U.S. secretaries of defense. “Each of us swore an oath to support and defend
the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear it
to an individual or a party.”

[link removed]
(Subscription Required)

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

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]

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

Boeing Gets $189M Contract Modification to Support Updated Air Force F-15 EW Systems

Boeing has secured a six-year, $189.3 million contract modification to procure
kits, support equipment, and contractor services for all-digital electronic
warfare technology that will be integrated into the U.S. Air Force's F-15 jets.

[link removed]

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

Air Force Will Employ ‘Influencers’ to Boost Recruitment in 2021

They're not social media stars like the Kardashians, but the U.S. Air Force has
its own "influencers" working to engage the next generation of airmen, according
to the service's head of recruiting.

[link removed]

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

Space Force’s Small Launch Program Looks to Pick Up Pace after a Year of Delays

Small satellite launches by the U.S. Space Force slowed considerably in 2020 due
to the pandemic and technical setbacks. Small rocket missions that slipped to
2021 include launches by Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab, and Space Vector.

[link removed]

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

Space Force Delays Deal to ‘Further Evaluate’ Contractor Found to Have Acted Fraudulently

A contract to oversee up to $12 billion in Space Force technology funds is being
held up while the nascent military service evaluates fraud findings from an
obscure Texas business dispute, casting fresh scrutiny on an emerging industry
of nonprofit companies that handle acquisitions on the government’s behalf.

[link removed]
(Subscription Required)

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

CMMC: The Dramatic Year of the Pentagon’s Contractor Cybersecurity Program

The Defense Department’s main effort to protect its supply chain from cyber
threats charged ahead through the pandemic but not without controversy.

[link removed]

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

Air Force Colonel, Charged with Sexual Assault, to Face Court-Martial

The former commander of the 39th Medical Group at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, has
been charged with sexual assault, and is scheduled to face a court-martial
beginning in late March. Col. Sean McNamara, currently of the 316th Medical
Support Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, Md., is facing three specifications of
violating Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

[link removed]

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

One More Thing...
DOD in Photos: 2020

This collection showcases the work of military photographers in 2020, when U.S.
service members continued to conduct around-the-clock training and operations
worldwide to ensure the nation's security, even while responding to the COVID-19
pandemic.

[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]

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