Military troops in the Space Force will someday deploy to orbit, one of the service's top operations officials said Sept. 29. “At some point, yes, we will be putting humans into space,” Maj. Gen. John E. Shaw, head of the Space Force's Space Operations Command and part of U.S. Space Command leadership, said during a conference organized by the AFWERX innovation group. “They may be operating command centers somewhere in the lunar environment or someplace else.” Space Force officials, wary of being confused with NASA, usually emphasize that the new military branch was created to offer satellite services to troops around the world, not to put “boots on the moon.”

Starting Oct. 1, the Department of the Air Force will only pay for $3,750 of college tuition for Airmen and space professionals each fiscal year, regardless of whether they’re engaged in undergraduate or graduate studies, according to a Sept. 29 release. That's a decrease of $750 per-fiscal-year from 2020 tuition reimbursement rates. Troops facing extenuating circumstances are allowed to apply for waivers, but credit-hour limits aren’t changing, the release noted.

The Air Force Research Laboratory wants to make its budding swarm of semi-autonomous weapons smarter. “Golden Horde” aims to connect munitions like Boeing’s Small Diameter Bomb I in a swarm that can work through a list of targets on its own, and that could redirect individual weapons as needed. AFRL still plans to prove whether a group of bombs can collaborate in a coming demonstration, and is trying to decide how to move the initiative from the lab to a formal combat program. Golden Horde is one of three fast-tracked “vanguard” programs that pulls money and resources from across the Department of the Air Force to become a viable option in warfare sooner.

Air Forces Central Command and its U.S. Navy counterpart recently teamed up for a joint air operations in support of maritime surface warfare (AOMSW) exercise in the Persian Gulf, according to a Naval Forces Central Command release. Exercises like the one held from Sept. 23-24 “serve to enhance and solidify” joint-force capabilities by making sure air and naval forces can integrate quickly and safeguard “the maritime domain,” NAVCENT boss Vice Adm. Samuel Paparo, who also commands U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, said in the release. The USAF footprint included F-15Es from the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, as well as support from AFCENT’s Combined Air Operations Center.

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.