Daily Report

July 6, 2011

Unique Contributions

The Air Force must sustain its unique contributions to national security in the face of a rapidly changing global security environment, said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff, in the CSAF Vector 2011, the document laying out his goals for the service for the coming year. Those contributions are: establish control in air, space, and cyberspace; hold any target at risk; provide responsive intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance; rapidly move people and cargo anywhere in the world; and provide command and control to conduct operations rapidly, effectively, and efficiently. To support these areas, the Air Force must maintain "an enduring technological edge," writes Schwartz. He adds: "Our investment in high caliber people and technology must continue to outpace our rivals if we hope to sustain access to the commons, deter armed conflict, and prevail in war." Among the many items highlighted, Schwartz wants the service to revitalize thinking about "crisis stability and 21st century deterrence dynamics," seek "broader, global access to bases," "redouble efforts" in electronic warfare in the face of "fierce competition," and enhance care for wounded airmen. Schwartz issued the document on Monday. (For more on the CSAF Vector, read Schwartz Calls for Renewed Focus on Unit Readiness.)

Senators Want JSTARS Re-engining

The Senate Armed Services Committee would like the Air Force to go ahead and re-engine the E-8C JSTARS ground-surveillance fleet despite some cost increases and the possibility that the Air Force may seek to phase out the fleet before the end of the decade. The Air Force has delayed putting new engines on all 17 E-8Cs until it completes a study of future options for executing the ground moving target indication mission. "Regardless of what that study concludes. . . the committee believes that re-engining the JSTARS fleet makes sense," states the SASC report accompanying the draft version of the Senate's defense authorization bill for Fiscal 2012. It continues, "[E]ven if the Air Force study were to conclude that some new system or combination of systems would provide better broad-area GMTI for the future, it is hard to imagine that another alternative would actually [be fielded] before the re-engining pays for itself." (SASC report; caution, large-sized file.)

Design Review Completed for GPS IIIB Satellite

Lockheed Martin announced Tuesday that its industry team, together with US government representatives, completed the system design review for the second increment of the Air Force’s Global Positioning System Block III satellite, GPS IIIB. The review established the requirements for...

Kandahar Holds Live-Fire Drills to Deal with On-base Shooters

Airmen with the 443rd Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, recently conducted the first live-fire training to teach unit members how to respond to a shooter on base. NATO Training Command-Afghanistan initiated this training in response to the...

First USAF Electronic Warfare Officer Completes EA-18G Training

Capt. Cole Davenport became the first Air Force electronic warfare officer to graduate from the Navy’s 10-month-long training course for the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft at NAS Whidbey Island, Wash. “Flying in the Growler is an awesome opportunity,” said...

Airman Reaches 10,000 Flight Hours in AWACS

Maj. Jon Williams, an E-3 AWACS mission crew commander operating with the 963rd Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron in Southwest Asia, became the first officer—and one of only a handful of airmen overall—to accumulate 10,000 flying hours in the AWACS....

Lockheed Martin Opens New Bay for C-5 Modernization

Lockheed Martin officials opened a new bay at the company’s facility in Marietta, Ga., to support modernization of Air Force C-5 transports. The bay, located in the southwest portion of Marietta’s L-10 hangar, is the third of four bays that...