Mobility Guardian Preparing AMC for Future Conflict
Boeing Floats Two-Step Solution for KC-46 Cargo Issue
Northrop Grumman Rebuffs Bid to Partner with Boeing on New ICBM
Air Force Strategy Provides Pathway for AI Rollout
Esper to Take Airmen’s Questions at 2019 Air, Space & Cyber Conference
Former CMSAF Gerald Murray Elected Chairman of AFA Board
Gerald Murray, the 14th chief master sergeant of the Air Force, will become the next chairman of the Air Force Association, replacing F. Whitten Peters on Oct. 1. Peters, a former secretary of the Air Force, held the chairman post for the past three years. Murray ran unopposed and was elected without objection to a one-year term Sept. 14. He will be the second former enlisted leader to hold the association’s top volunteer leadership position. Read the full story by Tobias Naegele.
Mitchell Institute Announces New Moseley Chair for Aerospace Research
AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies announced Sept. 13 the establishment of the Gen. T. Michael Moseley Chair for Aerospace Research. Made possible through the financial support of Air Force veteran H. Ross Perot, Jr., and named for Moseley, the 18th Air Force chief of staff, the new chair will focus on policy research supporting air and space power in the 21st century, according to Mitchell’s dean, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Lawrence Stutzriem, a recognized expert in national security, aerospace power, and combat aircraft operations, will occupy the new chair. Over more than 30 years as a fighter pilot, commander and strategist, Stutzriem was also a professor of national security studies at the National War College and pioneered time-sensitive targeting in Afghanistan. He was acting deputy secretary of state for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs and later helped forge the nation’s first Arctic defense strategy as strategy, plans, and policy director for US Northern Command. Deptula announced the appointment at a special Mitchell Institute panel discussion, “An Evening with the Chiefs." Moseley and current Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein shared a stage for the first time to offer their unique perspectives on the Air Force’s past and future. —Tobias Naegele
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RADAR SWEEP
The Growing Pains of the Pentagon’s New Space Acquisition Arm
The Trump administration’s plans to overhaul military space operations is well underway with a new warfighting headquarters in the US Space Command and bipartisan support in Congress for establishing a dedicated Space Force within the Air Force. Politico
US Poised to Send 150 Troops to Patrol Northeastern Syria
The Pentagon is preparing to send about 150 troops to northeastern Syria to conduct ground patrols with Turkish forces, reversing at least temporarily a withdrawal from Syria that President Donald Trump ordered last December. The new troop deployment, which has not been previously reported, is part of an expanding series of military and diplomatic steps the United States has taken in recent weeks to defuse escalating tensions with Turkey, a NATO ally, over American support for Syrian Kurdish fighters. New York Times (subscription required)
US Might Still Sanction Turkey for Buying S-400 from Russia
The United States is still considering levying sanctions on Turkey for buying Russian S-400 air-defense batteries, a top State Department official said Sept. 12. R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary for political-military affairs, said the potential new measures would supplement the Trump administration’s decision to kick Turkey out of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Defense One
Taliban Visits Moscow Days after Trump Says Talks “Dead”
A negotiating team from the Taliban arrived Sept. 13 in Russia, a representative said, just days after US President Donald Trump declared dead a deal with the insurgent group in Afghanistan. Russian state news agency Tass cited the Taliban’s Qatar-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as saying the delegation had held consultations with Zamir Kabulov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for Afghanistan. Associated Press
Study Explores the Idea of Allowing Some Military Reservists to Work From Home or Be Non-Deployable
The military’s reserve component has a chronic under-manning problem. A new report from RAND Corp. suggests some ways to fix that, including some ideas that would rock the traditional structure of military service, even for part-timers. Military Times
The Pentagon Needs to Make More Software Open Source, Watchdog Says
The White House in 2016 required every agency to make at least 20 percent of its custom software available for reuse across the government, but the Pentagon isn’t even halfway there, according to the Government Accountability Office. Nextgov
BAE Sees Big Business in Light-Attack Aircraft Component Market
BAE Systems has cast its eye on the light-attack and jet trainer market and sees an opportunity to be a one-stop shop for the aircrafts’ electronic systems and other subcomponents, a company executive said Sept. 12 on the sidelines of the Defence and Security Equipment International conference. National Defense Magazine
Defense Department Says "Forever Chemical" Cleanup Costs Will Dwarf Earlier Estimates
Military leaders said Sept. 12 that “forever chemical” contamination costs are likely to surpass their original $2 billion estimate as Congress works to push the Defense Department to clean up contaminated water across the country. The Hill
Administration Releases $250 Million in Ukraine Military Aid
The Trump administration has released $250 million in military aid to Ukraine that had been held up despite criticism that the money was desperately needed to deter Russian aggression and territorial expansion. Associated Press
One More Thing
Watch a Hypersonic Sled Track Test at Edwards
This sled is traveling at 6,599 mph (Mach 8.6) in the video and was several miles away from the camera when it began, so it’s covering over a mile roughly every second. Edwards AFB on Instagram