Pacific Air Forces is pushing back against a Chinese military propaganda video depicting an H-6K bomber targeting Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, calling it attempted intimidation in the region. The video, released Sept. 19, shows the bombers flying alongside fighter aircraft, and firing a missile at a Google Maps-style picture of Andersen’s flight line. “It is yet another example of their use of propaganda in an attempt to coerce and intimidate the region,” PACAF said in a Sept. 23 statement. “Maintaining the safety of our personnel and resources, as well as our allies and partners, is of the utmost importance and we remain committed to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific for all nations.”

If China invaded Taiwan, how would it play out on the Internet and mobile devices? Over the course of four weeks in late August and early September, Airmen in the 16th Air Force information warfare organization explored how to mine social media and other forms of public information to address an undisclosed scenario involving the two nations. They used a toolkit built by Virginia-based BlackHorse Solutions that was paid for by the Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability team, a group based at the Pentagon that studies how the service should be structured and what tools it needs to fight in the future.

Air Force acquisition and Air Mobility Command leaders are looking to set the requirements of future tankers, as the improved suite of cameras and sensors for the KC-46 brings the service to the “doorstep” of autonomous refueling. The Air Force and Boeing’s agreement to move forward with the Remote Vision System 2.0, announced in the spring, includes high-tech sensors that track receiving aircraft, feeding into an operator’s location with high-definition displays. All that’s missing, once that new system is installed and operational, is some additional software to enable automation, said Will Roper, the service’s assistant secretary for acquisition, technology, and logistics. “We don’t have requirements for … tanking autonomously. We don’t know where, when, how. And now’s a great time to start studying that, and to do it in conjunction with what comes next,” he said.

Tech firms SimpleSense and Novetta will take the lead in setting up a new kind of operations center for Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., as part of its “Base of the Future” effort. The Air Force awarded $9 million to startup SimpleSense this month for the virtual “Installation Resilience Operations Center,” which will act as a central hub for base security and facility operations at Tyndall. The Florida Panhandle base is a proving ground of sorts for new infrastructure ideas as it rebuilds from Hurricane Michael, which destroyed much of the installation in 2018. Tyndall sought ideas from four pairs of companies at a “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition on Sept. 14.

Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark officially took over as U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent and discussed priorities for his tenure during a Sept. 23 change of command ceremony at the Colorado Springs, Colo., campus. Clark, who replaced now-retired Lt. Gen. Jay B. Silveria, is the Academy's first Black superintendent and the first former commandant of cadets to ascend to USAFA's top job. “Rich, you epitomize integrity, service, and excellence throughout your career, and now you will instill those fundamental values into future Air and Space Force officers,” Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett said during the ceremony. “We are deeply grateful for your leadership, and we thank you.”