Gen. David W. Allvin received his fourth star and took over as the service’s new vice chief of staff on Nov. 12. Allvin, who previously served as the director for strategy, plans, and policy for the Joint Staff, takes over as the Air Force’s No. 2 as Gen. Steven W. “Seve” Wilson retires on Nov. 13. Wilson, who served in the role since July 2016, is the Air Force’s longest serving vice chief. During the ceremony at Joint Base Anacostia-Boling, Washington, D.C., Allvin said the “stakes I don’t think have been higher. The future security environment is evolving in a way that plays right into the wheelhouse of the Air Force.”

China and Russia are making troubling gains in electromagnetic spectrum warfare, and this is one reason the Air Force is forming a new spectrum warfare wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Air Combat Command boss Gen. Mark D. Kelly said in a recent interview. Opponents will use their facility in EMS warfare to enhance their own kill chains and try to break those of the U.S. and its allies, he said.

The Air Force’s next massive force networking demonstration will focus on protecting troops in Europe from incoming missiles and other airborne threats, the service said in a recent notice. The fourth Advanced Battle Management System exercise, slated for February 2021, will pull data from next-generation sensors into a common operating picture to detect and track surface-to-air threats against U.S. European Command forces, as well as fending off enemy cruise missiles, USAF said Nov. 10. Under the “agile combat employment” strategy, military participants will also practice deploying away from brick-and-mortar bases and setting up a makeshift camp where they can reconstitute forces and launch attacks.

The Senate Appropriations Committee wants to keep a closer eye on the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program. Lawmakers added multiple provisions to the committee’s version of the fiscal 2021 defense spending bill that call for more reports on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, as well as greater transparency in future budgets. The committee is offering $1.1 billion for 12 more F-35As, and $525.5 million for five more F-35Cs, than the Pentagon requested. In total, Senate appropriators want to spend $5.5 billion on 60 F-35As for the Air Force in 2021. That’s nearly identical to the House’s plan for the F-35A, which offers $5.8 billion. Still, appropriators seek more information on the ripple effects of America’s decision to oust Turkey from the Joint Strike Fighter program and other aspects of its progress.

The Air Force’s C-130 fleets have again caught the eye of congressional lawmakers, who asked for more information on the future of those aircraft in a version of the fiscal 2021 defense spending bill. Senate appropriators want the Air Force Secretary to send Capitol Hill a report on C-130 fleet management plans, and a similar road map for the ski-equipped LC-130s that allow the military to travel in polar regions.

Five American troops, along with one French and one Czech service member, were killed Nov. 12 when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from the Multinational Force and Observers crashed in Egypt. Multinational Force and Observers is an international peacekeeping force tasked with overseeing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The U.S. Army’s Task Force Sinai Aviation Command flies specially painted UH-60s carrying peacekeepers throughout the Sinai Peninsula. In addition to those killed, one U.S. service member survived and was medically evacuated. “The MFO will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the accident,” MFO said in a statement.