China boasts a “bonafide” nuclear triad and has ascended to the status of nuclear near-peer adversary, Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, head of Air Force Global Strike Command and nominee to head U.S. Strategic Command, told lawmakers. Cotton told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his nomination hearing that one of his top priorities if confirmed will be to move forward STRATCOM’s efforts to study China’s nuclear strategy and to reconsider the U.S.’s own doctrines and strategies in a tri-polar nuclear world.

The Biden administration is proposing new actions designed to confront the proliferation of space traffic and debris as Earth orbit becomes increasingly congested and contested. The government launched two efforts that it hopes will lead to a safer environment for the nation's military and commercial satellites. Vice President Kamala Harris confirmed that the United States would not conduct direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile tests at a meeting of the National Space Council. At the same time, the Department of Commerce and Department of Defense announced that they had signed a "memorandum of agreement" to transfer tracking responsibilities currently provided by the military to a civilian authority.

Air combat is “a real team sport” requiring agile thinking, persistence, and a willingness to sometimes disregard the rules, retired Col. Charles B. DeBellevue, the highest-scoring Air Force Vietnam ace, said at a seminar held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his last air-to-air kills.

The Air Force’s 12 Outstanding Airmen of the Year for 2022 will be formally recognized at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference from Sept. 19 to 21 in National Harbor, Md. Air & Space Forces Magazine is highlighting one each weekday from now until the conference begins. Today, we honor Senior Airman Caden A. Soper, an F-15 avionics journeyman for the 48th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 48th Maintenance Group at RAF Lakenheath in England.