The Department of the Air Force’s Advanced Manufacturing Olympics showcase kicked off this week with a look at where military sustainment has come so far and what more it has to accomplish. The event began over the summer, with multiple challenges where 64 teams can win up to $100,000 in prize money. Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett said participants will “directly influence” a new roadmap that is in the works this year to spread those techniques across the Air Force and Space Force.

F-22s intercepted a Russian air package comprised of Tu-95 Bear missile carriers, Su-35 Flankers, and an A-50 Mainstay AWACS-type aircraft off the coast of Alaska on Oct. 19, NORTHCOM reported. The incident was one of an increasing number of Russian sorties into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone in recent months. Neither side engaged in any unprofessional or dangerous maneuvers, NORTHCOM said.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond have both returned to work at the Pentagon following a COVID-19 scare among the Joint Chiefs of Staff, USAF spokesperson Ann M. Stefanek confirmed to Air Force Magazine on Oct. 20. Brown, Raymond, and other top brass self-quarantined at home after Coast Guard Vice Commandant Adm. Charles W. Ray tested positive for the new coronavirus on Oct. 5, in case they were unknowingly exposed during Pentagon meetings the week prior.

The Air Force has asked industry to submit papers on concepts and technologies underlying a new generation of small, highly stealthy and flexible ground attack munition, called the Global Precision Attack Weapon. The GPAW is supposed to be effective against hard and deeply-buried targets. The Broad Agency Announcement suggested the weapons will likely work collaboratively, using artificial intelligence and autonomy. Though the Air Force wants responses within a year, it didn't say when it expects to field the GPAW.

Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Oct. 20 said that the Pentagon's proposed posture shift in Europe, which is slated to pull nearly 12,000 troops out of Germany, end Spangdahlem Air Base's fighter mission, and relocate U.S. Africa Command's headquarters, looks to more effectively deter Russia. During an in-person appearance at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, Esper said the more eastward the U.S. can pivot its personnel and assets, the better job it can do of safeguarding its allies and partners from the Russian threat. Esper also said the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program, which was created in 1993 to cultivate bonds “with former Soviet Bloc nations,” needs to prioritize “frontline and emerging partner nations to compete with China and Russia.”

About 85 Airmen and three C-130J aircraft from the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, are supporting Aviation Detachment Rotation 21.1, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa spokesperson Tech Sgt. Rachel Waller told Air Force Magazine in an Oct. 20 email. These rotations consist of exercises and deployments held across Europe that are engineered to boost USAF’s interoperability with partner militaries, keep joint readiness on point, and assure the nation’s allies in the region, Waller wrote. Airmen from the 52nd Operations Group’s Detachment 1—which is based out of Lask Air Base, Poland, managed and supported by Spangdahlem Air Base’s 52nd Wing, and manned by USAF units that rotate in and out of the base—are also supporting the training exercise, Waller said.

Approximately 120 Airmen from the 31st Fighter Wing’s 606th Air Control Squadron deployed to six undisclosed locations in Southwest Asia on Oct. 12, the 31st Fighter Wing confirmed to Air Force Magazine. During the deployment, which is slated to last about six months, these Airmen will handle “command and control, air surveillance, airspace deconfliction, and air refueling management in support of” Air Forces Central Command, wing spokesperson Maj. Sarah D. Babcock wrote in an Oct. 19 email to Air Force Magazine.

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.