The Pentagon on Oct. 29 released a strategy for military use of the electromagnetic spectrum that could ultimately spur the creation of a new combatant command to oversee those operations. The Defense Department has waged war via the electromagnetic spectrum for decades, using aircraft like the E/A-18G Growler and the EC-130H Compass Call to jam electronic signals and transmit computer code to other wireless devices. But a growing number of commercial companies, personal electronic devices, and military systems that use wireless wavelength have crowded and complicated the spectrum in the digital age. That’s leading the military to see electromagnetic warfare and spectrum management as intertwined, not independent, concepts that should be coordinated across the department for the first time.

Air Force airlifters are one step closer to becoming bomb trucks after the service awarded Lockheed Martin a $25 million contract to continue developing palletized munitions. The contract, awarded in August and announced this week by the company, includes a demonstration in 2021 to assess the ability of C-130s and C-17s to deliver air-launched weapons, such as Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles. The Air Force already has tested the capability on a special operations MC-130 and a C-17 during the Advanced Battle Management System “on-ramp” demonstration in early September. The roll-on capability, which does not require any hardware changes to aircraft, can fit on any C-130 that carries palletized cargo.

F-15 Eagle drivers will get upgraded ejection seats under a new $700 million contract to Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary, awarded on Oct. 29. The new ACES 5 ejection seat will replace the F-15’s older ACES II ejection seat, found in most of the Air Force’s fighter and bomber fleet. Collins, in a release, said its new seat includes improved head, neck, arm, and leg “flail prevention,” along with a catapult that can adjust based on the occupant’s weight. Work will be conducted in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is expected to be complete by Oct. 22, 2030.

Air Force Global Strike Command test-launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in the predawn hours of Oct. 29, AFGSC announced. Such tests help the service ensure the Minuteman's weapon system is accurate and reliable, and yield data that USAF can use to make sure the nation's nuclear deterrent stays “safe, secure, and effective,” according to a command release. The test also helps reassure America's allies and partners, added Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. “We must continue to invest in this viable deterrent, and the Airmen who support this mission, as part of the most responsive leg of our nuclear triad,” he said in the release.

The Defense Department hasn’t seen an increase in domestic violence reports among military families since the new coronavirus crisis began, despite the COVID-19 pandemic reportedly causing a spike in such activity across the globe, the head of the Pentagon’s Office of Military Family Readiness Policy told reporters Oct. 29. However, a lack of reporting may not be a reliable indicator of stagnant or decreasing domestic violence incidences.

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.