Esper Confirmation Likely Smooth Despite Ethics Questions
Trump Bans F-35 Sales to Turkey As S-400 Begins Delivery
Lakenheath Starts Work on F-35 Infrastructure
Former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz will take over as president of the Institute for Defense Analyses, Air Force Magazine has learned. Schwartz, who retired as CSAF in 2012 after almost 40 years of service, serves on the group’s board of trustees. IDA is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Va., that runs three federally funded research centers focused on analyzing national security issues. After leaving the Air Force, Schwartz served as the president and chief executive officer of Business Executives for National Security. He isn’t the only former CSAF to lead the group: Gen. Larry Welch served as IDA president before retiring in 2009. —Brian Everstine
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RADAR SWEEP
AFRL, IBM to Pioneer Quantum Information Technology for DOD
The Air Force Research Laboratory is breaking new ground in their efforts to partner with industry, academia, and the Department of Defense to apply quantum information science to Air Force concerns and ensure they remain the most advanced and capable force in the world. USAF release
Space Force Legislative Talks at Impasse Over Personnel Issues, Cost Concerns
The Senate and the House have passed competing versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020. Both give the Pentagon the green light to stand up a military space branch, although they diverge on the details. Space News
Cotton, Van Hollen, Colleagues Introduce the Defending America’s 5G Future Act
Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), along with Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on July 16 introduced legislation to reinforce the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent the Chinese-owned telecom company Huawei from threatening America’s national security. The Defending America’s 5G Future Act would codify President Trump’s recent executive order and would prohibit the removal of Huawei from the Commerce Department Entity List without an act of Congress. Office of Sen. Tom Cotton release
US Could Use Turkish F-35 Parts Contracts to Entice New Customers
If the United States ejects Turkey from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, it would gain new enticements to help sell the stealth fighter jet to other allies. That’s because contracts for the 900-plus F-35 parts currently made in Turkey could be offered to countries that are considering buying the jet, such as Canada, Finland, Switzerland, and Spain. Defense One
Service Academy Graduates Could See Longer Military Obligations
Senators want to look at the service obligations that graduates of U.S. military academies incur for the first time in more than 20 years. Military Times
Wright-Patterson AFB Opens Cyber Defense Facility
During a July 9 ribbon cutting ceremony at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Fighters and Bombers Directorate officially opened a new $1.5 million facility essential to protecting weapon systems from cyber threats and mitigating cyber vulnerabilities across the Air Force fighters and bombers fleet. USAF release
Hmong Veterans Ask for Burial Rights in US Veterans Cemeteries
In 2018, US President Donald Trump signed into law the Hmong Veterans’ Service Recognition Act, which allows Lao-Hmong veterans to be buried in US national cemeteries. The law, however, only recognizes veterans who became naturalized US citizens after the year 2000. St. Paul Pioneer Press
One More Thing
Explore the Apollo 11 Command Module
The Smithsonian Digitization Program Office completed a full 3D scan of the Command Module, Columbia, from the National Air and Space Museum’s collection. The scan was handled by DPO’s 3-D Program team––a small group of technologists using three-dimensional scanning technology and analysis tools. The highly detailed model allows anyone with an internet connection to explore the entire craft, including its interior. Smithsonian 3D Program