Air Force Releases ISR Feed of Chapman’s Final Fight
Administration Wants Space Force by 2020, Pence Says
Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday outlined the Trump administration’s plan to establish a sixth military service dedicated to space, saying the goal is to stand up the US Space Force by 2020. The move will require a significant cultural and organizational shift at the Pentagon—and in the Air Force specifically—and will be the first time the US has established a military service since the US Air Force was created in 1947. Also on Thursday, the Pentagon released a congressionally mandated report detailing five actions the department will take to begin building the new service. “Just as in the past, when we created the Air Force, establishing the Space Force is an idea whose time has come,” Pence said, pointing to a space environment that has become “crowded and adversarial.” US adversaries, he said, have turned space into a warfighting domain, and “the United States will not shrink from this challenge.” Read the full story by Steve Hirsch.
What Does it Take to Create a Space Force?
Mitchell Institute Outlines Conditions for Creating a Space Force
“The creation of a US Space Force is the right decision, but a conditions-based approach to determine timing provides a higher likelihood of success,” according to a recent policy paper by AFA’s Mitchell Institute. In the paper, the dean of the Mitchell Institute, retired Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, and Lt. Col. Michael Martindale, associate director of the Institute for National Security Studies at the US Air Force Academy, argue the space community needs “time to fill intellectual gaps and avoid significant risks,” and cautioned against potential risks to “prematurely” standing up a separate space service. Read Mitchell’s full policy paper.
Columbus Briefly Grounds T-38s After Ejection Seat Issue This Week
T-38s were temporarily grounded earlier this week at Columbus AFB, Miss., after an ejection seat in a Talon fired while the jet was on the ground, injuring three contract workers. At about 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, the workers were inspecting the T-38 when a rear cockpit seat fired. The workers were taken to the hospital and released. The base grounded its T-38s as a routine precaution following the incident, and the jets returned to flight Wednesday morning, according to Columbus public affairs. Air Education and Training Command said the grounding was local to Columbus and other T-38 locations were not impacted. It is the second T-38 grounding within a year. Talon operations at Laughlin AFB, Texas, were briefly halted in November after a T-38 crashed near Del Rio, killing a pilot. —Brian Everstine
PACAF Boss Visits Japan, Inspects Missile Defenses
Reserve Deploys Another C-130 to Fight California Fires
More Air Force Reservists and another specially equipped C-130 has deployed to California to help fight the massive Mendocino Complex fire raging in that state. The Reservists and aircraft from the 302nd Airlift Wing left Wednesday to operate out of Sacramento, Calif., and replace one of the four C-130s that has been flying regularly to fight the fire. Since July 26, four C-130s have flown more than 150 fire suppression sorties against both the Mendocino and Carr fires, according to a 302nd AW release. The Mendocino fire, as of late Wednesday, had burned more than 302,000 acres and was just 47 percent contained, according to CAL Fire. —Brian Everstine
Pentagon Rebrands DIUx to Show Permanent Focus on Innovation
RADAR SWEEP
—A video of a C-5 Galaxy, which has had problems with its landing gear, making a landing with its nose gear up at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, has surfaced on the Internet: The Drive.
—Estonia on Wednesday called on NATO to look into the accidental air-to-air missile launch in its airspace by a NATO aircraft: Reuters.
—During a recent visit to F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson emphasized the importance of the 90th Missile Wing’s deterrence mission: Wyoming Tribune Eagle.