Air Force Magazine
Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inside Defense
The Defense Innovation Board will meet later this month to discuss autonomous systems as well as the Pentagon's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a notice in June 9’s Federal Register.
Space News
A May 29 letter signed by 28 lawmakers asks the Air Force to not cave to pressure to add a third provider in the Phase 2 launch services procurement.
Bloomberg Government
The Air Force has expanded the scope of an acquisition aimed at consolidating its expiring information sharing systems contracts, and with that expansion comes an $8-billion-to-$10-billion price tag, according to the Air Force’s notice to industry.
Defense News
As the Pentagon focuses on developing new technologies such as artificial intelligence and directed energy, Defense Department officials have declared the need to ensure foreign nations are not buying their way into the defense-industrial base. But a new report warns China may already have ownership over a key focus: hypersonic weapons.
Breaking Defense
Israeli air strikes against targets in Syria may be one of the main reasons for the growing crisis between Russia and Turkey since they’re highlighting the Russian-made S-400 air defense systems may not be as effective as Turkey believed.
Forbes
“In a nutshell, the Missile Technology Control Regime treats large drones as if they were nuclear missiles—which they are not,” retired USAF Lt. Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, writes. “As a result, this self-imposed restriction not only limits the sale of large U.S. drones to our friends and allies but pushes them into the arms of foreign suppliers some of whom are potential adversaries. The result is a series of negative consequences for the U.S.”
Defense One Radio podcast
U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz explains how his service is responding to growing access to the Arctic, which is quickly becoming a place where Russia, China, and the United States compete and try to outmaneuver one another. David Auerswald of the National War College and Abbie Tingstad of the RAND Corporation also make an appearance on the episode.
USAF release
The Air Force is a step closer to finalizing the design for its fourth- and fifth-generation advanced pilot trainer, the T-7A Red Hawk. Boeing and USAF recently conducted both the Aircraft Critical Design Review and overall System CDR during a three-day summit culminating 18 months of development work on the program.
Air Force Magazine
The Air Force is leveraging emerging technologies and new legislation to accelerate acquisition decisions and streamline sustainment. Read more here.
AVweb
The U.S. Civil Air Patrol has awarded a contract to Textron Aviation for the purchase of 17 Cessna piston engine aircraft. The contract includes 11 Skyhawk 172Ss, five Skylane 182Ts, and one Turbo Stationair HD T206HD.
Military.com
The Navy has issued a waiver allowing a transgender lieutenant to continue to serve openly as a woman, despite a military policy that could have resulted in her discharge.
Nextgov
While the Veterans Affairs Department’s rollout of a new electronic health record system has been waylaid by a number of issues—insufficient infrastructure, piecemeal training and a pandemic—the process for figuring out how to configure the new system has gone well, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. However, key stakeholders have been underrepresented on the councils managing that process, according to auditors.
One More Thing
USAF release
In an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and prioritize the health and safety of participants, Air Force officials have cancelled in-person running of the 2020 Air Force Marathon. For those participants who are registered, the Air Force Marathon team has developed three options to choose from. Additionally, for those who have yet to register, there is still time to sign up to participate in the virtual events.
