Air Force Magazine
Daily Report for Jan. 24, 2020

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AFWERX Sets Sights on ‘Base of the Future’
By Rachel S. Cohen

Air Force technology innovation hub AFWERX wants to help bring the “base of
the future” to life as its flagship effort of 2020. The Air Force has seized
on the opportunity to modernize Tyndall AFB, Fla., after a Category 5 hurricane
nearly destroyed the installation in 2018, and now AFWERX is taking on the
challenge, making base of the future the theme for its 2020 Fusion showcase.
"Approximately 200 teams will present their innovative solutions as part of an
open showcase to attendees, including top Air Force leadership and other
military decision-makers and operations," the organization said on its website.

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Airman Dies During Operation Deep Freeze Deployment
By Brian W. Everstine

An airman deployed to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze died earlier this
month because of natural causes, the Air Force announced. SSgt. George Girtler,
an aircraft electrical and environmental specialist with the New York Air
National Guard’s 139th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, died Jan. 11 at McMurdo
Station. The 139th EAS is part of the NY Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing based at
Schenectady.

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Empowering Disaster Response and Recovery From Space
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communication needs. Read the full story.
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Over 1,300 Troops Supporting Puerto Rico Earthquake Recovery Effort
By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

More than two weeks after the most severe in an ongoing series of earthquakes
rocked Puerto Rico, 1,386 troops are on the ground assisting in the US
territory’s recovery. The troop presence includes more than 800 Puerto Rico
Army and Air National Guard members, approximately 150 Army Reservists, and more
than 200 members of the Puerto Rico State Guard—a Title 5 force that can be
activated by its governor to supplement the territory’s National Guard in
limited capacities—Maj. Gen. José Reyes, the territory’s adjutant general,
told Air Force Magazine in a Jan. 22 interview at San Juan Army National Guard
Aviation Support Station in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

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Raytheon: DOD Needs More Research on Stopping Medium-Size Drones
By Rachel S. Cohen

Military research on how to protect against threatening unmanned aircraft has so
far focused on two ends of the drone spectrum—store-bought products like small
quadcopters and large, advanced aircraft akin to the MQ-9 Reaper. But Evan Hunt,
high-energy laser business development lead at Raytheon, argues there’s more
to know about those that fall in the middle.

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Northrop Grumman Gets BACN Extension
By Brian W. Everstine

The Air Force wants its Wi-Fi in the sky to keep flying, awarding Northrop
Grumman a $217 million extension to its contract for the Battlefield Airborne
Communications Node. The contract extension covers one year, with work expected
to be completed by Jan. 23, 2021. Work will be focused largely at “undisclosed
overseas locations,” along with Northrop’s San Diego facility, according to
a Defense Department contract announcement. The award brings the total value of
the BACN contract to $570 million.

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Montana Air Guard Pilot Killed in C-130 Crash Fighting Australian Fires

A pilot from the Montana Air National Guard was one of three American
firefighters killed when a Canadian firefighting company’s C-130 crashed Jan.
23 while battling the wildfires raging across Australia.

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Esper Says Budget Will Have New Tech Investments

Defense Secretary Mark Esper provided a brief budget preview Jan. 22, telling
reporters the Pentagon intends to invest new money in weapon system
modernization. The Defense Department, along with the rest of the federal
government, is scheduled to submit its budget to Congress on Feb. 10.

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Air Force Issues Public Health Alert for ‘Wuhan Virus’ Following Case in Japan

The medical group at Yokosuka Air Base in Japan is warning US military personnel
to be aware of symptoms of the deadly virus originating from Wuhan, China, after
a case was reported in nearby Kanagawa prefecture, home to Yokosuka Naval Base,
Naval Air Facility Atsugi, and the US Army’s Camp Zama.

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War With Iran Could Be Sharp & Short With Fifth Gen Aircraft: Deptula

"There must be clarity about the character of possible conflict with Iran. The
flawed strategies applied over the last 19 years in Afghanistan and Iraq are not
the answer to waging war with Iran. Those strategies involved deploying hundreds
of thousands of ground forces in the region to conduct prolonged occupation,
nation building, and counterinsurgency operations—none of which would be
applicable to Iran. Rather, any action against Iran should be modeled after the
decisive take-down of Iraq applied in Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when
aerospace power was used for 43 days," writes retired Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula,
dean of AFA’s Mitchell Institute.

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Afghan Officials: US Airstrike Killed 10 Civilians in Herat

A drone attack carried out by US forces earlier this month in western
Afghanistan that apparently targeted a splinter Taliban group also killed at
least 10 civilians, including three women and three children, an Afghan rights
official and a council member said Jan. 22. According to the Afghan official,
who is on the country’s Human Rights Commission, the strike took place in
western Herat province, in the district of Shindanad.

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How the Pentagon’s JAIC Picks Its Artificial Intelligence-Driven Projects

The organization is looking for developed technology it can deploy right now.

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ABMS Can’t Be ‘Sole Solution’ for Joint C2, Army Tells Air Force

The Air Force is pushing ABMS as the backbone for future Joint All Domain
Command and Control. Can the network scale up from hundreds of aircraft to
thousands of ground troops?

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With This Upgrade, These Aircraft Will Have Anti-Jamming Comms

The Air Force awarded Raytheon a $442 million contract Jan. 16 to develop new
technology that will allow the B-52 and RC-130 aircraft to utilize the
nation’s advanced anti-jamming communications satellites. The contract is part
of the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) program, an
effort to replace legacy communication terminals with secure, nuclear-survivable
terminals capable of utilizing the nation’s most secure communications
satellites for protected communications—including Presidential and National
Voice Conferencing—and nuclear command and control.

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Pentagon Agrees to Republish Discharge and Records Corrections Decisions

The Pentagon will again make public the decisions of the boards responsible for
reviewing the dismissals of military personnel seeking to upgrade their
discharges or correct their military records.

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One More Thing...
F-22 Demo Team Announces New Pilot

Maj. Josh Gunderson, who goes by the callsign “Cabo,” will lead the
14-member demo team for both the 2020 and 2021 show seasons.

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