Airmen from Hill AFB, Utah, recently completed their first six-month combat deployment with the F-35. On Nov. 1, airmen from the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings returned home to Hill after moving to Al Dhafra AB, United Arab Emirates. Joint Strike Fighters and airmen deployed in April for close air support missions to counter the Islamic State group as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, along with “regional deterrence against aggressors,” according to a Nov. 4 Hill release. Read the full story by Brian Everstine.

Lawmakers are running low on time to agree on a 2020 defense policy bill by the end of the calendar year, an issue that could be made worse if Congress goes forward with presidential impeachment proceedings. The Senate only has about three weeks of scheduled legislative days left in 2020, and the House has about two weeks.“Congress has a lot on its plate,” a staffer assigned to the Senate Armed Services Committee said in a Nov. 3 email. “The Senate’s time could be devoted entirely to impeachment in December and likely well into January, leaving no room for legislating.” The timing is key because earlier authorizations are set to expire. Congress is usually able to renew them by the end of the year. Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.

The Air Force is planning experiments and briefing senior leaders on progress toward its “arsenal plane” idea, looking at multiple aircraft options to fly with a large weapons cache to back up strike assets. An arsenal plane would be a multi-engine platform that accompanies remotely piloted aircraft and fighter jets in combat and totes “network-enabled, semi-autonomous weapons,” according to a 2016 Air Force video. Senior leaders are still discussing the concept, which has been around for years under the Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office. But while the possibility of using a mobility platform to perform that role may be on the table, some experts say the Air Force should look elsewhere. Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., will display an F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter starting in December. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute on Nov. 4 announced the F-117—Tail No. 803, nicknamed “Unexpected Guest”—will be unveiled Dec. 7 at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum. The jet is on loan from the National Museum of the US Air Force and will be on permanent display at the library. Read the full story by Brian Everstine.

The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s launch enterprise has won the Defense Department’s highest award for acquisition teams, the 2019 David Packard Excellence in Acquisition Award, the service said Nov. 1. “SMC’s launch enterprise team crafted an acquisition strategy of innovative public-private investments in launch vehicle development, resulting in the continuous delivery of acquisition performance with both affordability and speed,” the center said in a release. The award is named for David Packard, a former deputy defense secretary from 1968-1971 and a co-founder of technology giant Hewlett-Packard. It was instituted in 1997 and went to another SMC team in 2018. —Rachel S. Cohen

Two Air Force pilots on Sep. 27 flew F-35Bs from the amphibious assault ship USS America in the Eastern Pacific, marking the first time airmen flew the Marine Corps variant of the Joint Strike Fighter at sea. Capts. Spencer Weide and Justin Newman, both assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 at MCAS Yuma, Ariz., flew the aircraft as part of an integrated training exercise, according to a Nov. 1 Air Force release. “Integrated training like this is important because we operate off of a ship, and we get to learn the naval and Marine warfare functions,” Newman said in the release. “This will allow us to return the knowledge back to the Air Force for better future integration.” —Brian Everstine

The Defense Innovation Board just published draft guidelines for artificial intelligence ethics at the Defense Department that aim to keep the emerging technology in check. Some of them are more practical (such as demanding reliability) or have roots in years-old policies (demanding human responsibility at every stage), but others are relatively novel for both the public and private spheres. Engadget