POLITICO
Facing a bipartisan push to sunset decades-old authorizations, the President will pursue "a narrow and specific framework" to rein in open-ended conflicts.
DOD release
President Joe Biden has nominated eight USAF general officers for a second star.
Defense News
The House Armed Services Committee chairman has railed at the expensive F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, saying he wants to “stop throwing money down that particular rathole,” with his comments coming just days after the Air Force said it too is looking at other options. “What does the F-35 give us? And is there a way to cut our losses? Is there a way to not keep spending that much money for such a low capability because, as you know, the sustainment costs are brutal,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said at a Brookings event March 5.
Breaking Defense
The command is leading a virtual exercise, called the Global Information Dominance Exercise (GIDE) 2, March 18-23 to test three "decision aids" using artificial intelligence to speed commanders' ability to act.
Mitchell Institute on YouTube
President Joe Biden’s defense team faces a number of challenges around the globe, but they also have significant opportunities to bolster America’s national security for decades to come. AFA's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies hosted a virtual "Aerospace Nation" event on March 4 with Mitchell Institute dean and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula and the think tank's executive director, Douglas Birkey, as they discussed their new policy paper, "Aerospace Vectors for the Incoming Biden Defense Team." Retired USAF Maj. Gen. Larry Stutzriem, the think tank's director of research, moderated.
SpaceNews
A three-stage suborbital sounding rocket on March 3 launched an Air Force Research Laboratory experiment from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. This was the first sounding rocket launch by California-based Space Vector Corp., one of two companies selected by the Air Force in 2018 for the Sounding Rocket Program-4. The launch was to study the Earth’s ionosphere, said Todd Pedersen, program manager at AFRL’s Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M.
Air Force Times
The Air Force’s 31st Fighter Wing participated in the annual Operation Porcupine exercise on Thursday in Romania, employing U.S. F-16s, HH-60s, and MQ-9s. The exercise was designed to replicate rescuing a downed F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, involving those from the 56th and 57th Rescue Squadrons, 510th Fighter Squadron and 606th Air Control Squadron, among other units.
Military.com
The remains of Father Emil Kapaun, a Kansas native and Catholic priest who died while a prisoner of war, have been identified by military officials. "This evening I was notified that the remains of Marion County-native Father Emil Kapaun, a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, have been identified," Moran said in a statement. "Father Kapaun served as an Army Chaplain during WWII and the Korean War, and was taken as a Prisoner of War in 1951. He continued to minister to Americans as a POW before passing away on May 23, 1951.”
Mitchell Institute podcast
America’s national security interests hinge on weather. Few would guess this, since it’s something we take for granted, but whether we look at Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower choosing when to launch D-Day in the spring of 1944, or the type of munition that will be employed off an aircraft today against a fleeting, high-value target, it all comes down to weather. Hear from frontline combat pilots and technical experts to learn more about a mission many take for granted, but which actually stands as a crucial lynchpin for modern combat capabilities.
Business Insider
Both aircraft had been retired and put on long term storage, where they were supposed to remain to be cannibalized for parts needed by other B-52Hs. However, the plans changed and both BUFFs have been resurrected. After being mothballed for seven years in the desert, "Ghost Rider" returned to service in 2015 with the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. The second, "Wise Guy," spent 10 years in the desert before being resurrected late last year.
WDTN.com
In honor of Women’s History Month, The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is opening an exhibit to detail the trials and triumphs of women who’ve paved the way for women in the military today.Museum curator, Christina Douglass, said, “I believe one of the biggest contributions that women have made to the United States Air Force and the Department of the Air Force is helping [women] understand that they are just as capable and amazing at supporting the mission of the United States Air Force.”
One More Thing
Orlando Sentinel
The Navy and Air Force got together to team up the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds performance teams that tour the country at air shows to practice a new formation called the “Super Delta.”
