About 1,200 majors earned a promotion under the Department of the Air Force's new process for advancement that judges Airmen based on performance in their career field rather than comparing the force as a whole. The 2020 lieutenant colonel promotion board is also the first to ditch so-called "below-the-zone" promotions, which offers people a chance to fast-track up the ranks, and puts Airmen up for promotion in an order based on merit rather than seniority.

A military team is working with SpaceX to flesh out the prospect of shipping routes that pass through space, the head of U.S. Transportation Command said Oct. 7. That group could demonstrate as early as 2021 whether quickly sending cargo around the globe via space is feasible, Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons said. “Think about moving the equivalent of a C-17 payload anywhere on the globe in less than an hour,” Lyons said at a National Defense Transportation Association event. “Think about that speed associated with the movement of transportation of cargo and people. There is a lot of potential here.”

A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators are urging the Trump administration to impose economic sanctions on Turkey over buying and activating Russian S-400 Triumf air defense systems, concerned that Turkey is allowing Russia to access sensitive data on NATO aircraft. In an Oct. 7 letter to Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, Senate appropriators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) raised concerns that Turkey may have used its S-400s “to detect U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets returning from the Eunomia exercise” held in Europe in August. If the S-400 was used to surveil American F-16s, it would be one of the first publicized instances that Turkey has wielded the air defense system's radar against a U.S. asset. Deliveries of the S-400 to Turkey began in July 2019.

The Space Force hasn’t yet turned 1 year old, but it’s already planning for what it wants to be in 30 years. Charting that long-term vision will be a main focus of the newest service in its second year, Pentagon space policy boss Justin T. Johnson said during an Oct. 7 Heritage Foundation event. “Probably the biggest single thing that I know [Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond] is working on ... [is] really fleshing out that long-term vision for the Space Force,” Johnson said. “What's the force design, force development elements of the Space Force? What does that future vision in 10, 20, 30 years need to look like?”

The head of U.S. Transportation Command said Oct. 7 he sees new “momentum” to protect some legacy tanker aircraft from retirement. Canceling that proposed divestment would help the mobility enterprise avoid an oncoming “train wreck” of a tanker shortage while the new KC-46 is delayed, Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons said. The looming tanker shortage is the No. 1 problem facing the command, Lyons said during a virtual TRANSCOM and National Defense Transportation Association event.

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.