China is “acquiring a first-strike capability” with its nuclear forces, and the Department of the Air Force does not have “a moment to lose” in modernizing its conventional and nuclear capabilities, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in his keynote address at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference. To that end, Kendall said five B-21 stealth bombers are in production at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif., factory. Program officials have forecast a first flight in mid-2022. He urged Congress not to cling to “legacy systems” that don’t address existing threats and urged a faster pace to embracing new operational concepts.

The Air Force’s futurist has an alarming message for Congress: “We are out of time,” Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration, and requirements, told reporters at the start of the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 20. Hinote said the Department needs to modernize its forces now, divesting equipment that won’t stand up in a high-end fight, or face the reality that defeat is inevitable. Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. drove home that point in his keynote address, saying, “China continues to move its modernization timelines left at a rate of change that is outpacing the United States.”

A package deal similar to the Base Realignment and Closure process offers hope of getting Congress to let the Air Force retire old airplanes, Department of the Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said. The move could give members of Congress some political cover for allowing what could be an economic hit on their districts. Kendall said he'd also try to convince members that the threat must take precedence over jobs.

Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force Roger A. Towberman unveiled the insignia for the new service’s enlisted ranks Sept. 20, with nods to its Air Force roots and heavy use of the delta.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the lesson the Air Force and Space Force should take away from the sudden collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan is that divisions in that government and nation were responsible. Within the Department of the Air Force, he said, surveys show conclusively that the Air and Space Forces are not providing opportunities for all their people fairly. He pledged to embrace diversity and to act to improve the Department's performance on issues related to diversity and sexual harassment.

In the wake of the massive Afghanistan airlift operation, Air Mobility Command is surging its use of C-5s in order to give its C-17 aircraft and crews a break, officials said Sept. 20 at AFA's Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has spoken frequently about coming of age and serving in the military during the Cold War. On Sept. 20, he reached back to that era to talk about the capabilities that China—and potentially the Space Force—might use in the future.

Space Operations Command Lt. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting envisions more robust space intelligence to drive the Space Force’s future defensive and offensive capabilities, particularly to better confront China’s threat to American space architecture. “The pace at which China has developed the threat capabilities we've seen has just truly been breathtaking,” he said.

Air Force Special Operations Command needs a “true amphibious” platform to enhance capabilities in the Indo-Pacific theater and plans a demo flight of an amphibious version of the MC-130J by late 2022. AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. James C. "Jim" Slife said at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 20 that AFSOC has already considered a variety of configurations.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby highlighted the advantage veterans bring to United management, as long as they can make the transition from military hierarchy to private-sector independence. “You’ve got to make the transition successfully,” he said during a keynote address at AFA's Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 20. “With that history and that background, if you can do it, it gives you a leg up on everyone.”