Secretary Wilson Resigns to Lead University of Texas at El Paso
ABMS Expected to Pick Up Speed With New Chief Architect in Place
Preston Dunlap, a former executive of national security analysis at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, started his new job as chief architect of the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System last week. The robust, open architecture family of systems will include both air and space components and will eventually replace the service’s legacy E-8 JSTARS aircraft. USAF acquisition chief Will Roper has acknowledged that ABMS has gotten off to a slow start, but said now that Dunlap is on board, he expects it to pick up speed. “During the next phase of my tenure in acquisition, I think getting ABMS right is a critical thing,” Roper told Air Force Magazine in a recent interview. “It creates a new model in acquisition.” Read the full story by Amy McCullough.
Pentagon Promises “Grave Consequences” if Turkey Buys Russian Missiles
White House Reportedly Pressing to Charge Allies More for Hosting US Forces
The White House is pressing Germany and Japan to dramatically increase their payments to the US for housing military bases and personnel. The Trump Administration is finalizing plans that would call for the two countries to pay the full price of US service members deployed to the countries, plus another 50 percent “for the privilege” of hosting them, several administration officials told Bloomberg. The plan calls for the demands to be made to these two nations first, with several other nations possibly to follow, according to Reuters. Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers on Friday refused to comment on the reports. The Defense Department has reportedly begun to calculate the specific costs involved in hosting the US facilities in advance of a proposal. Last month South Korea agreed to an 8 percent increase in its payments for US bases in its country. —Brian Everstine
AFSOC Vice Commander Nominated for Top Job
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Radar Sweep
Pentagon May Tap Military Pay, Pensions for Border Wall
The Pentagon is planning to tap $1 billion in leftover funds from military pay and pension accounts to help President Donald Trump pay for his long-sought border wall, a top Senate Democrat said Thursday. AP
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Capsule Splashes Down Off Florida Coast
An unmanned capsule from Elon Musk’s SpaceX splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, successfully completing a mission crucial to NASA’s long-delayed quest to resume human space flight from U.S. soil later this year. Reuters
Pentagon Review Calls for Changes in Special Operations Ethics Training
The Pentagon’s comprehensive review of the ethics and professional training received by its elite Special Operations Forces has found no systemic issues are to blame for a series of high-profile incidents of misconduct, but said it is pursuing changes to improve that training, particularly when it comes to moral decision making. ABC News
AFRL Introduces New Sharable Supercomputing Capability for Classified Research
Air Force Research Laboratory and Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program officials hosted a ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremony Feb. 26 to unveil the first-ever shared classified Department of Defense high performance computing capability at the AFRL DoD Supercomputing Resource Center at Area B. Air Force News
One More Thing …
NASA Photographs Supersonic Shock Waves From the Closest Vantage Point Yet
NASA released a series of stunning images that show two T-38 supersonic jetliners tearing through the atmosphere, creating sonic shock waves. Yes, these pictures are real. Popular Mechanics