The Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space & Cyber Conference will kick off Sept. 14 with Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett and Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. each addressing a live, virtual audience. This year’s conference, which runs through Sept. 16, will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but still brings together a packed lineup of U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, Defense Department, and industry experts, providing direct insights into senior leaders' plans, policies, and vision while also highlighting emerging trends.

The Space Force is figuring out how to measure military space readiness, an analysis that will affect how the service trains its members and upgrades its technology. “A lot of times, readiness is described as preparing to deploy or preparing to accomplish your mission at some point in the future,” Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, the Space Force’s chief operations officer, told Air Force Magazine Sept. 11. “You do training, you perform maintenance activities, ... so that, if called upon, you can do your mission at a high level. But if you think about it, our space assets are largely doing their wartime mission on a day-to-day basis, and so we have to perpetually be ready.” Identifying where the service is struggling will shape the new service's fiscal 2022 budget request.

With its first birthday a few months away, the Space Force is preparing to unveil a slew of personnel, policy, and culture decisions that will set it apart from the other armed forces. The service plans to announce by its one-year anniversary on Dec. 20 which Airmen in fields like cyber, intelligence, and acquisition are accepted into the Space Force. Service officials want to get rid of promotion tests for enlisted Airmen and instead use boards that focus on the best career assignments for people to help them advance, rather than simply raising their ranks or holding them back. And, yes—dress uniforms are coming.

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Thomas P. Payne received the Medal of Honor during a Sept. 11 ceremony at the White House for a 2015 mission during which he led a rescue that liberated 75 captives facing execution at the hands of the Islamic State group. Payne is the first service member to receive the Medal of Honor for actions during the fight against ISIS. “Pat, you embody the righteous glory of American valor,” President Donald J. Trump said during the ceremony. During the Oct. 22, 2015, mission, Payne repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire, running multiple times into a burning and collapsing building to save dozens of hostages set to be executed by ISIS.

Three B-1Bs flew a long-range bomber task force mission on Sept. 10, starting from Texas and transiting through the East Siberian Sea near the Arctic before touching down at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to prepare for more missions, U.S. European Command announced. The three Lancers, from the Reserve's 345th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, flew the 14-hour, 4,300-nautical-mile mission into the easternmost section of EUCOM’s area of responsibility, the command said in a release. Two days before the B-1 mission, two of the B-52s deployed to RAF Fairford, U.S., flew south and trained alongside Tunisian Air Force F-5s over the Mediterranean Sea.

More than 50 aircraft, including four different fighter types from three countries and two U.S. services, trained together in a large force exercise over the North Sea on Sept. 10. Exercise Point Blank 20-04 included U.S. Air Force F-16s from the 510th and 555th Fighter Squadrons from Aviano Air Base, Italy, along with F-15s from the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, England; KC-135s from RAF Mildenhall, England; and B-52s deployed to RAF Fairford, England. The USAF contingent linked up with U.S. Marine Corps, United Kingdom Royal Air Force, and Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35s, plus RAF Eurofighter Typhoons, RNAF F-16s, and a RAF Voyager refueling aircraft. The exercise centered on fourth- and fifth-generation defensive counter air integration missions, according to a 48th Fighter Wing release.

Lockheed Martin is seeing a “resurgence” of demand for new F-16 fighters, now up to the Block 70 configuration, according to company Executive Vice President for Aeronautics Michele A. Evans. WIth a backlog of 130 jets, and several countries on the cusp of making orders, Evans said it's possible the Falcon could ultimately break the mark of 5,000 built. Some 4,600 have been delivered so far. The company is now building F-16s in Greenville, S.C., after moving production from Fort Worth, Texas, and it could open a second line in India if it wins a competition there for a variant called the F-21.

On March 23, the Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will host a virtual Nuclear Deterrence Series event featuring Scowcroft Group Principal Frank Miller. At a time when nuclear modernization programs are accelerating around the world, proposals to recapitalize the U.S. nuclear arsenal are at the forefront of debates over defense spending. Miller will share his insights into the prospects for U.S. nuclear modernization programs and the value of nuclear deterrence in today's competitive security environment. The think tank will post event video on its website and YouTube page after the live event.