Daily Report | Air & Space Forces Magazine

Aug. 19, 2019

Edited by Rachel S. Cohen with Brian W. Everstine and John A. Tirpak

Air Force Report Offers New Details on Hyten Investigation

A shortened, redacted report on the Air Force’s investigation into sexual assault claims levied against US Strategic Command boss Gen. John Hyten by his former subordinate paints a picture of an outwardly professional relationship between a calm, cordial four-star and a sometimes brash, outspoken assistant. Air Force officials did not find enough evidence to take action against Hyten, who is awaiting Senate confirmation to become vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Air Force released the OSI report Aug. 16. Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.

Florida Congressman Calls for Temporary Return of Raptors to Tyndall

The congressman representing Tyndall AFB, Fla., wants F-22s to temporarily return to the recovering base for training until their next home is fully ready to take on the Raptors. The Air Force in March announced a proposal to move the F-22 training unit from Tyndall to JB Langley-Eustis, Va., after a Category 5 hurricane slammed the Florida base last fall. Nearby Eglin AFB, Fla. hosts Raptor training in the meantime. But the workload is too much for Eglin, and Tyndall is ready to take its fighter jets back, Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) argued in an Aug. 12 letter to Acting Air Force Secretary Matt Donovan. Read the full story by Brian Everstine.

Cessna-Turned-Drone Foreshadows Future Unmanned Opportunities

A recent successful Air Force Research Laboratory flight demonstration brings the service closer to a future that could rely more heavily on machines than human pilots. On Aug. 9, for the first time, AFRL and DZYNE Technologies flew a real plane—a 1968 Cessna 206—equipped with ROBOpilot, a system that can temporarily convert a manned aircraft into a robotically flown version. The system opens new, less costly opportunities to turn manned aircraft into drones in combat situations where the Air Force may not want to send human pilots. It also offers the option to take the human out of the cockpit in other assets, like cargo planes, to free people up for other work. Read the full story by Rachel S. Cohen.

Norman “Ken” Dyson, 1938-2019

Norman “Ken” Dyson, an Air Force and civilian test pilot best known for his work on the highly classified “Have Blue” and “Tacit Blue” stealth aircraft programs—which led to the F-117 Nighthawk and B-2 Spirit bomber, respectively—died Aug. 15, at 81. As a USAF test pilot, Dyson also flew numerous aircraft, such as the F-100, F-4, and F-15 fighters, including as the director of the F-15 Joint Test Force. As a civilian test pilot for Rockwell, Dyson flew the B-1 bomber and X-31, serving as the company’s chief test pilot and director of flight test. A former president of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Dyson twice received its highest honor, the Iven C. Kincheloe award. Read the full story by John A. Tirpak.

Air Force Reserve Command’s Premier Exercise Underway

More than 600 Reserve airmen from 42 different bases are participating in Patriot Warrior 2019, Air Force Reserve Command’s premier exercise focusing on airlift, aeromedical evacuation, and mobility. Patriot Warrior, which runs Aug. 6-24, is headquartered at Fort McCoy, Wis., while Dobbins ARB, Ga., and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International ARS, Minn., serve as support locations, according to an AFRC release. The exercise includes airmen from 67 career fields, along with soldiers, sailors, marines, and international partners, who practice command and control, airdrops, explosives training, patient care, and logistics operations, AFRC said. Participants are standing up a fully operational base from a “bare-bones” location, with mobile hospitals and simulated patients, the command said. —Brian Everstine

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RADAR SWEEP

Security Clearance Backlog Cut in Half: Kari Bingen

The often crippling backlog of national security clearances, which can stretch for as long as two years, has been cut in half, the principal deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence says in her first interview. Breaking Defense

Trump Admin Gives Green Light for Major Arms Sale to Taiwan

The Trump administration has informally greenlit a potential major arms sale to Taiwan involving dozens of new F-16 fighter jets, according to administration officials and others familiar with the matter. The decision comes amid heightened tensions with China as a trade war wages on and a crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong draws US criticism. CNN

OPINION: Discerning Myths from Facts: Some Questions for the Incoming Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

“About two weeks after [CJCS Gen. Mark] Milley’s confirmation hearing, the Department of Defense published a story about several ‘myths’ Milley imagines Americans believe,” writes retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Dunlap Jr., the service’s former deputy judge advocate general who now works as a law professor at Duke University. “Decide for yourself, but to me the article raises a myriad of questions.” Lawfire

The Pentagon’s Research Arm Wants AI to Help Design More Secure Tech

The “AI co-designers” would help the Pentagon rapidly blueprint secure weapons, vehicles and other network-connected platforms, and suggest designs humans haven’t yet conceived. Nextgov

Small Businesses Sought for Space Accelerator Program

The Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate is reaching out to small businesses to explore space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance technologies. The service is looking for companies that can fill technology gaps by working alongside the Catalyst Space Accelerator program, which is a public-private partnership. National Defense Magazine

Air Force Soliciting Bids for Small, Medium Satellite Launch Program

The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s Launch Enterprise is requesting industry bids for the Orbital Services Program-4. Proposals are due Aug. 29. Space News

South Korea Says North Korea Has Fired More Projectiles into Sea

South Korea’s military says North Korea fired more projectiles into the sea to extend a recent streak of weapons tests believed to be aimed at pressuring Washington, D.C, and Seoul over slow nuclear diplomacy. Associated Press and CNBC

Iraq Takes Security Measures Following Mysterious Blasts

Iraq on Aug. 15 banned unauthorized flights and ordered all military camps and munitions warehouses to be moved outside Iraqi cities following a massive explosion at a munitions depot southwest of Baghdad that killed one civilian and wounded 13 earlier this week.The exact cause of the Aug. 12 explosion at the al-Saqr military base is still unknown. Associated Press via Yahoo! News

One More Thing

Greenland’s Not for Sale, but It Is Strategically Important

The internet was abuzz on the evening of Aug. 15 following a report by the Wall Street Journal that President Donald Trump has expressed interest in buying Greenland. By Aug. 16, it had become clear Greenland has no interest in selling, but jokes about penguins, polar bears, and climate change kept flying. Defense News