AFSPC Mulls Intel, Personnel Questions of the New Space Age
Senate to Consider Barrett for SECAF
Dozens of USAF Projects May Lose Funding for Border Wall Construction
USAF Bases Returning to Normal, But Dorian’s Not Over
DOD: Contractors Will Need Cyber Certification Beginning Next Summer
B-52s Deploy to Europe, Joining B-2s Already in Theater
US Service Member Killed in Kabul Blast
Outstanding Airmen of the Year Spotlight: TSgt. Andrew C. Merrylees
The Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2019 will be formally recognized at AFA’s Air, Space, and Cyber Conference Sept. 16-18. Air Force Magazine is highlighting one each workday from now until the conference begins. Today, we honor TSgt. Andrew C. Merrylees from the Air National Guard.
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RADAR SWEEP
Pentagon Reveals Fate of Money Paid to Industry after Missile Defense Program Was Canceled
The Pentagon will not seek repayment from industry for money tied to the now-canceled Redesigned Kill Vehicle program, Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin confirmed Sept. 3. Griffin, delivering a keynote address at the 2019 Defense News Conference, said that the money spent still provides a return for the department, even though the program ended in a failure that will set US missile defense efforts back “a few years.” Defense News
Air Force Contends Space Force Should Not Have Separate Acquisition Office
The Senate version of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that creates a Space Force within the Department of the Air Force also proposes a major reorganization of the office that manages the acquisition of Air Force weapons systems. Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Will Roper says he understands the Senate’s motivation, but believes spinning off a new acquisition organization could create more problems than it would solve. Space News
Long-Term US National Space Strategy Needed, Report Finds
The US needs to create a long-term strategy developed across government, industry, and academia to ensure dominance in space, a new report finds.The space strategy should address how the nation will defend its civil and commercial space capabilities, according to a report on the “Future of Space 2060 and Implications for US Strategy: Report on Space Futures Workshop,” obtained by National Defense on Sept 4. National Defense Magazine
Military Plane Accidentally Launches Rocket Near Tucson
An A-10C Thunderbolt II on a training mission accidentally fired a rocket near Tucson, Ariz., early Sept. 5. Davis-Monthan AFB said the rocket, a M-156, hit an uninhabited and remote area near Mount Graham. KOLD
Pentagon Shelves Neutral Particle Beam Research
Defense officials are taking a step back from one of its most ambitious research goals: launching a massive neutral-particle-beam generator, essentially a ray gun, into space to fry the electronics of enemy missiles. The funds will go instead toward more fundamental research aimed at making lasers more powerful, according to Michael Griffin, defense undersecretary for research and engineering. Defense One
Air Force Expands 5G As It Transforms to Multi-Domain Ops: Donovan
Enabling multi-domain command and control is "how the Air Force becomes the quarterback, the play-caller of the joint warfighting force," says Acting Air Force Secretary Matt Donovan. Breaking Defense
Air University Library Digitizes Research, Products for Remote Air Force, DOD Access
The Air University Library is currently digitizing and cataloging 2,500 linear feet of analog resources to make the entire collection of unclassified AU research and products readily available to the larger Air Force and Defense Department communities. USAF release
Cyber Stars: JAF, US Partnership Foils Attacks During Eager Lion 19
The attacks on the network came amidst a US-Jordan cyber training program that is at its most robust in this year’s exercise. Cyber is a key component of Eager Lion, which is US Central Command’s premiere exercise in the Levant region and is a major training event that provides US forces, Jordan Armed Forces, and 28 other participating nations the opportunity to improve their collective ability to plan and operate in a coalition-type environment. US Central Command release
Can POTUS Sign Your MAGA Hat? Experts Weigh In on Recent Campaign Season Controversies Involving Troops
The military uses Defense Department Directive 1344.10 to provide guidelines for how troops can and can not engage politically, but troops still find themselves under scrutiny from time to time. Military Times
One More Thing
LOOK: Air Force Unveils Awesome Alternate Uniform Honoring C-17 Aircraft
Why should fighter planes get all the love? That’s the question the US Air Force Academy seems to address with its newest alternate uniforms. For a game against Hawaii on Oct. 19, the Falcons will wear alternate uniforms that honor the C-17 military transport aircraft, used to move troops and supplies. Saturday Down South