The Air Staff, Before and After

Biden Administration Outlines Space Priorities at First National Space Council Meeting

Dec. 1, 2021

The White House announced its United States Space Priorities Framework in a document released concurrently with Vice President Kamala Harris' first National Space Council meeting. Listed among five U.S. priorities is to “defend its national security interests from the growing scope and scale of space and counterspace threats.”

Air Force Leaders Still Urging Congress to Not Block Modernization Effort

Dec. 1, 2021

The Air Force isn’t giving up on its long-frustrated efforts to retire older aircraft as its department’s leader continues to talk with lawmakers about plans to free up funds for modernization, Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones said Nov. 30.

Space Force Plans for Simulators, Adds Advanced Training to Rotations

Dec. 1, 2021

The Space Force has started to carve out new personnel rotations to accommodate advanced training and has turned to units for training ideas while beginning to envision what Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman called an “operational test and training infrastructure,” including new simulators. Like the Defense Department's satellites in orbit,…

Continuing Resolution Blocks Air Force New Starts, Production Boosts, MILCON

Dec. 1, 2021

With just a few days left until the current continuing resolution funding the government expires, the Department of the Air Force enumerated 16 new starts and four production increases that will be blocked until Congress appropriates money for the Pentagon's fiscal 2022 activities. Also stymied will be seven military construction projects…

Spangdahlem AB to Keep F-16s, at Least for Now

Dec. 1, 2021

Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, will keep its fighter mission after the Pentagon's Global Posture Review permanently reversed Trump administration decisions to shift the base's F-16s to Italy and to cancel plans to move tankers and special operations forces there. “We’re not abandoning Europe or NATO," U.S. Air Forces in Europe…

Rendering ASATs Obsolete, Tweaking Missile Defenses in Light of Russian, Chinese Tests

Nov. 30, 2021

Recent Russian and Chinese tests of space weapons are a "natural consequence of military behaviors," and the U.S. must now "mitigate this threat," the Space Force's operations chief said. “When you are behind, you look for ways to seek vulnerabilities of your adversary and your competitor so that you can…

Air Force Moving Toward Multi-Domain Munitions, Away From ‘Exquisite’ Types

Nov. 30, 2021

The Air Force is moving away from weapons meant to strike specific types of targets and instead toward generic munitions with "swappable" payloads that can be used in a variety of ways, said Air Force Global Strike Command planner Maj. Gen. Jason R. Armogost. Other goals are to increase production…

ISR Missions for Space Force ‘Just Make a Lot of Sense,’ USECAF Says

Nov. 30, 2021

While the Air Force is in the midst of a push to modernize its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms, it’s the Space Force that could wind up taking on more ISR missions in the years ahead, Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones hinted Nov. 30 during an AFA…

Lack of Trust in Leaders Prevents Airmen From Serving to ‘Full Potential,’ Jones Says

Nov. 30, 2021

Undersecretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones wants to be a leader who ensures that Airmen can serve to their full potential—and that means working to bridge the divide between commanders’ perceptions of personnel issues, what lower-ranking Airmen say is happening, and their trust in leaders to fix it.

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