A lack of flying hours and overworked maintainers are contributing to high rates of crashes and other aviation mishaps, according to a new Congressionally mandated report, which called on the services to quickly overhaul how they manage maintainers and pilot training. The National Commission on Military Aviation Safety, in a report released Dec. 3, looked at more than 6,000 aviation mishaps, including 198 deaths, 157 aircraft destroyed, and about $9.41 billion in losses, from 2013 to 2018. None of the losses were due to combat operations. Although the Air Force saw a decrease in “Class A” mishaps—the most serious, which involved a death or more than $2 million in damage—there was an increase in “Class C” mishaps, largely because of maintenance or other on-the-ground issues.

As the final days of 2020 count down, House and Senate negotiators have agreed on sweeping defense policy legislation that offers nearly $732 billion to the armed forces in fiscal 2021. “The FY21 NDAA focuses on maintaining the strength of our defense enterprise as our nation grapples with a once-in-a-generation health crisis and a heightened social crisis against the backdrop of sustained systemic discrimination,” the House Armed Services Committee said in a summary of the agreement, now in its 60th year. But the legislation has ballooned to more than 5,300 pages across its text and accompanying explanatory report, as lawmakers across Capitol Hill increasingly piggyback on what is seen as a “must-pass” annual bill.

Airmen at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, and Scott Air Force Base, Ill., won’t have to take official physical fitness assessments until April 1, 2021. Air Force guidance issued earlier this year authorizes commanders to make these kinds of delays, Air Force spokesperson Capt. Leah F. Brading confirmed in an email to Air Force Magazine. Although there have been two other force-wide PT testing delays due to the pandemic, the service has yet to announce a third postponement and is slated to resume testing on Jan. 1, 2021.

New Pentagon acquisition rules are making it possible to field the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) hypersonic missile five years faster than would be possible under the old rules, top USAF uniformed acquisition official Lt. Gen. Duke Z. Richardson said Dec. 3. He also touted new rules for speeding acquisition of the F-15EX, but “implored” Congress and the Pentagon to go easy on acquisition “mistakes” driven by the push for speed, saying the workforce will resume a risk-averse posture if they get punished for thinking innovatively.

President Donald J. Trump nominated Adm. John C. Aquilino to lead U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the Pentagon announced on Dec. 3. If confirmed by the Senate, Aquilino—who has led U.S. Pacific Fleet since May 2018—will replace Admiral Philip S. Davidson. Aquilino would take command of the Defense Department’s “priority theater” as the U.S. military shifts its focus from decades of counterinsurgency operations in the Middle East to great power competition with China and Russia, and as the department fields and tests new military capabilities in the region.

Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, a leading Space Force proponent, will become the top Republican member of the House Armed Services Committee, his office said Dec. 3. “It’s an honor to be selected by my colleagues to lead the Republicans as Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee for the 117th Congress,” he said in a release. “The nature of warfare is changing, and we must adapt accordingly. … I will work to modernize our military, combat our rising adversaries, and dominate the battlefields of this century.” He’ll take over for Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), who is retiring when his term ends Jan. 3, 2021.

President-elect Joe Biden’s administration will have just 16 days after Inauguration Day in January to strike a deal with Russia to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. If they fail to agree, the last remaining pact limiting the two countries' nuclear arsenals will expire. Rose Gottemoeller, who previously served as NATO’s deputy secretary-general and as U.S. undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, has long been an advocate of a five-year extension. She argues the “predictability and stability” it will provide is necessary as the U.S. looks to modernize its nuclear capabilities over the next decade.

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.