The Pentagon announced May 26 it will start rolling back restrictions on movement, even though a third U.S. service member and two people affiliated with the Air Force recently died from COVID-19. A Wisconsin Army Reservist died of the disease caused by the new coronavirus over the Memorial Day weekend, according to the Pentagon’s daily tally of COVID-19 cases. Additionally, an Air Force civilian and a service contractor also died of the disease in recent days, bringing the Air Force total to four—none of whom were uniformed Airmen. In a May 22 memo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper wrote that while COVID-19 remains a risk, “improving conditions warrant a transition in our approach to domestic and overseas personnel travel to a conditions-based, phased approach to personnel movement and travel.”
U.S. Africa Command says Russia deployed fighter jets to Libya to provide air support for state-sponsored mercenaries on the ground, and surveillance photographs show Moscow is intentionally hiding the origin of the aircraft. Images show MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-24 Fencer aircraft deployed to Al Jufra Air Field in Libya. AFRICOM says its intelligence shows the aircraft deployed from a home base in Russia, then transited through Syria, where they were repainted to hide Russian military insignia. “Russia is clearly trying to tip the scales in its favor in Libya,” AFRICOM boss Gen. Stephen Townsend said in a release. “Just like I saw them doing in Syria, they are expanding their military footprint in Africa using government-supported mercenary groups like Wagner.”
The Air Force will host Basic Military Training at two locations—Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and Keesler Air Force Base, Miss.—starting June 2 and lasting until COVID-19 surge operations wrap up, Air Education and Training Command announced May 26. However, the service doesn't intend to host BMT outside of Lackland once the new coronavirus pandemic ends, the command noted in a release. The decision follows a six-week proof of concept held at the Mississippi base that looked to show that the Air Force could host BMT outside of Lackland in case of contingencies.
The Air Force’s fledgling Rapid Sustainment Office plans to triple the number of aircraft using predictive maintenance algorithms in 2020, the service told Air Force Magazine. The Conditions-Based Maintenance Plus (CBM+) program, which started last year, and related initiatives use sensors and algorithms to collect data on which weapon system parts need to be replaced before they fail. As of May 14, the RSO was using predictive maintenance on the B-1, KC-135, C-5, C-130, and F-15. By the end of September, it wants to expand that effort to include the B-52, C-17, AC-130J, MC-130J, CV-22, HH-60, RC-135, MQ-9, F-16, RQ-4, A-10, and Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
