American military forces used a large-scale training exercise in the Pacific this month to experiment with new ways of commanding troops as part of the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System effort. The Air Force’s third ABMS demonstration, known as an “on-ramp,” quietly unfolded Sept. 14-25 within the biennial “Valiant Shield” exercise spanning Hawaii, Guam, and the Mariana Islands Range Complex. About 11,000 Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps personnel, 100 aircraft, and several ships participated. As the U.S. postures against China, the scale and location of Valiant Shield offered a chance to practice passing surveillance, targeting, and other data between the services to better respond to threats in the vast Pacific region.

As the Defense Department prepares to release its Annual Suicide Report in the coming weeks, Air Force Magazine details the impact suicide has had on the Total Force so far in 2020, and how the service’s top uniformed leaders and its reserve component are working to tackle the issue. As of Sept. 16, 98 Total Force Airmen had taken their own lives in 2020. As of Sept. 22, the Air Force Reserve had lost eight Airmen to suicide, and as of Sept. 24, the Air National Guard had lost 11 of its service members to this scourge.

Lockheed Martin’s fourth GPS III satellite is scheduled to head to space on a SpaceX rocket Sept. 29, marking the navigation system’s second launch so far this year. “It'll be awesome to have four GPS III satellites on orbit. It's a good start to the Space Force's effort to modernize the space portion of the entire Global Positioning System,” Tonya Ladwig, acting vice president for space navigation systems at Lockheed Martin, said on a Sept. 25 call with reporters. “GPS III provides three times greater accuracy, and up to eight times improved anti-jamming power over satellites in existing constellations.” Those more-advanced satellites will comprise more than 12 percent of the GPS constellation once the fourth system is up and running.

Earlier this year, the Air Force undertook an experiment to see whether fresh blood could be safely airdropped to medics working in harsh settings. “The research team determined an airdrop is a viable way of delivering blood to combat medics treating hemorrhaging patients in a pre-hospital setting,” a 96th Test Wing release stated. “However, further research is required to fully validate the safety of the method.” The service conducted an airdrop from a C-145 in April, and the project team now plans to see if it can replicate the results of that airdrop using different airframes and ground conditions. In the long term, the group hopes to enable drones to fly blood to deployed combat medics.

C-17s and Airmen deployed for Operation Deep Freeze have started flying crucial personnel and equipment into Antarctica for winter flying season. The C-17s, deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., have flown three missions in recent weeks, transporting 151 personnel and 165,000 pounds of cargo to McMurdo Station, according to a Pacific Air Forces release. Airmen quarantined for two weeks before flying in to keep Antarctica the last continent on the globe free of COVID-19. Operation Deep Freeze is the military’s 65-year mission to support National Science Foundation research in Antarctica. The mission’s season typically begins in early August, with the busiest part running from September to November.

The Air Force recently chose Collins Aerospace Systems, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary, to provide NP2000 propeller systems for 30 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve C-130H aircraft, the company announced Sept. 14. “With its eight composite blades and digital Electronic Propeller Control System (EPCS), NP2000 offers a number of benefits compared to legacy systems including: a 20 percent thrust increase during take-off, a 20db sound reduction in the cockpit, and a 50 percent reduction in maintenance man-hours,” a company press release stated. The Air Force aims to equip about 160 of its C-130Hs with the cutting-edge propeller system, and has ordered 55 systems to date.

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.