The Air Force on May 7 began Schriever Wargame VI, this year’s iteration of its recurring space wargame. The Space Innovation and Development Center, located at Schriever AFB, Colo., conducts the event, which runs through Wednesday, at Nellis AFB, Nev. There are approximately 350 participants—mostly US military and civilian experts, but also some representatives from Australia, Britain, and Canada. The wargame’s goal is to explore critical space issues that the US expects to face circa 2022. Its classified scenarios will: investigate space and cyberspace alternative concepts, capabilities, and force postures; examine the contributions of space and cyberspace to future deterrent strategies; and explore comprehensive approaches beyond just military actions to protect and execute operations in space and cyberspace domains. These wargames are “an important tool that helps us understand a very complex operational environment,” said Gen. Robert Kehler, Air Force Space Command boss. (Peterson release)
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…