Defense One
Within weeks, scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to announce that they have developed a vaccine that is effective against COVID-19 and all its variants, even omicron, as well as from previous SARS-origin viruses that have killed millions of people worldwide. The achievement is the result of almost two years of work on the virus. The Army lab received its first DNA sequencing of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020. Very early on, Walter Reed’s infectious diseases branch decided to focus on making a vaccine that would work against not just the existing strain but all of its potential variants as well.
Air Force release
The Department of the Air Force selected MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., as the preferred location to host the next Active-duty KC-46A Pegasus aircraft. Twenty-four KC-46As will replace Active-duty KC-135 Stratotankers at MacDill.
Air Force Times
The Defense Department inspector general has put the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency on notice that it will conduct a sweeping review of management and oversight of the Navy’s Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii. Hawaii’s congressional delegation requested the review Dec. 6 following reports of petroleum found in the tap water of military housing on Joint Base Pearl Habor-Hickam. But the delegation has made multiple requests for a review of the facility based on concerns about safety hazards.
Air Force release
Aircraft crew chiefs are typically responsible for daily maintenance, aircraft care, and inspections to ensure their aircraft are mission ready. However, two crew chiefs at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, became part of a unique team tasked with rebuilding an F-22 Raptor. Tech. Sgt. Kevin Fitch and Staff Sgt. Ethan Rentz, 3rd Aircraft Maintenance Unit F-22 crew chiefs, are nearing the end of a years-long process that began shortly after tail number AF-07-146 skidded to a stop on its belly immediately after takeoff at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, in April 2018.
Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies
In episode 55 of the Aerospace Advantage podcast, "Russia’s Military Strategy in Europe,” host John "Slick" Baum is joined by Justin Bronk and Samuel Cranny-Evans of the Royal United Services Institute, along with the Mitchell Institute's own Heather Penney, to dive into Russian strategy. Russia poses an equally concerning threat to the U.S. and allies as China does, and the two threats have distinct differences. Whether it be military intervention in Ukraine, Syria, or Georgia, Russia's conventional military might is still strong.
Air Force Times
Mohammad Tawfiq Safi learned to fly in the United States, first in undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, and later at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., for A-29 pilot and instructor courses. His time in combat ended Aug. 14, when he accidentally crashed a C-208 in a last-minute effort to relocate and keep military planes out of Taliban hands. Now Safi is again on U.S. soil, this time in limbo at Fort Pickett, Va.—the Army installation housing him and other Afghans who fled the country when the Taliban returned to power over the summer.
Air Force Magazine
Defending against missile threats launched in, at, or through space has never been more challenging—nor important. Learn more on Air Force Magazine’s Missile Warning & Defense page.
SpaceNews
The Space Force awarded Boeing a $329.3 million contract to support operations of Global Positioning System satellites for the next 10 years. The contract, announced Dec. 20, is for on-orbit support of GPS 2F satellites, manufactured by Boeing. The current constellation of 31 operational GPS satellites includes 12 of the 2F model.
The Associated Press
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard staged a major military exercise across the country's south Dec. 20 amid heightened tensions over Tehran's nuclear program, state TV reported. The Guard's aerospace division, ground troops, and naval forces joined in the five-day drill, the report said, with maritime forces set to maneuver in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway for 20 percent of the world's traded oil.
SpaceNews
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected Mynaric to participate in a program to develop next-generation laser communications terminals to connect government and commercial satellites, the company announced Dec. 20.
Nextgov
In the wake of the first Air Force chief software officer’s fiery departure, officials in the office are pinpointing complex questions about properly delivering software with which to strategically confront their next chief.
One More Thing
Task & Purpose
One Christmas tradition that seems particularly at odds with the environment it finds itself in, yet it persists nonetheless: Santa Claus at war. Santa’s forays into war and conflict zones date back to at least the 1800s, with Harper’s Weekly publishing an illustration of Kris Kringle giving gifts to beleaguered Union troops in 1862—a year into the Civil War.
