Daily Report | Air & Space Forces Magazine

March 6, 2012

First AEHF Satellite Concludes Orbital Shakedown

On-orbit testing has concluded for the Air Force’s first Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communications satellite, now designated SV-1, announced prime contractor Lockheed Martin. “I am extremely proud of the team that raised SV-1 to geosynchronous orbit and successfully demonstrated...

Significant Adjustments in S&T

Significant Adjustments in S&T: The Air Force made "significant adjustments" in its science and technology portfolio in Fiscal 2013 to target investments in the most promising areas in line with the new national defense strategy, said Steven Walker, the Air Force's deputy assistant secretary for science, technology, and engineering. The "most dramatic adjustment" is a $55 million increase in propulsion research to support overcoming anti-access, area-denial environments as well as saving energy, he told House defense appropriators last week. "We are all over the A2/AD area in the Air Force," said Walker. This includes continued investment in adaptive technologies for turbine engines and hypersonics and supersonic activity, he said. The Air Force also is increasing its investment in autonomy and wants to find better ways to fuse data so that fewer people will be required to analyze the myriad information gathered by overhead intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance platforms, said Walker. He noted that the Air Force reduced investments in airborne active denial, strategic relay mirrors, high-speed laser communications, laser threat warning, and small remotely piloted aircraft. The service decided to divest its investment in deployed airbase technology, some thermal sciences technologies, and some plug-'n'-play activity for small satellites, he noted. (Walker's prepared testimony)

Showing the Technology Flag

The process for creating and executing Air Force-level integrated technology demonstrations—known as flagship capability concepts—is “maturing well,” said Steven Walker, Air Force deputy assistant secretary for science, technology, and engineering. Already, the High Velocity Penetrating Weapon FCC has successfully completed...

Anatolian Falcon 2012

Fifteen F-16Cs from the 480th Fighter Squadron and more than 250 support personnel departed their home base at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, for Anatolian Falcon 2012. The US fighters will train with the Turkish air force, conducting air defense suppression, air...

Air Guard Unit Gets New Name and Mission

The US Virgin Islands Air National Guard’s 285th Combat Communications Squadron is now the 285th Civil Engineering Squadron after a redesignation ceremony on St. Croix. Over the next two years, the squadron will convert to its new mission as a...

Building a Larger Guard Role in Africa

Army Gen. Carter Ham, US Africa Command boss, favors the National Guard expanding its role in Africa through the State Partnership Program. "I think we should look for some new and innovative ways to apply state partnerships," Ham told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week. He said he asked National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Craig McKinley to consider adding two new state partnerships in Africa this year and to continue to explore future growth as well. Libya, "where we have a newly forming relationship rather than a long-standing relationship," might be "a place where we could apply a state partnership program to great effect," stated Ham. SPP began some 20 years ago and now operates in 65 nations, providing unique capacity-building skills and expertise to combatant commanders and US ambassadors, according to the National Guard. Ham said there are currently eight state partnerships in Africa: Botswana and North Carolina; Ghana and North Dakota; Liberia and Michigan; Morocco and Utah; Nigeria and California; Senegal and Vermont; South Africa and New York; and Tunisia and Wyoming. (Ham's prepared testimony)

AEHF Terminal Cleared for Full-rate Production

The Air Force has approved Raytheon’s Minuteman Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network program upgrade for full-rate production, announced the company. MMPU is a terminal designed to work with Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites to provide assured communications between the President...

Random Acts of Kindness

Topping off the fuel tanks of junior enlisted airmen’s cars at the base service station, Air Force first sergeants at JB Langley-Eustis, Va., gave away nearly 300 gallons of free fuel as part of their random acts of kindness program....