Air Force Global Strike Command will regularly rotate a small number of bombers to the Pacific and Middle East theaters to maintain a regular deterrence presence and to conduct combat operations as needed, but it will no longer operate out of bases such as al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, or Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for extended periods. The move keeps USAF strategically relevant and operationally unpredictable, AFGSC boss Gen. Timothy Ray said during an AFA Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual event April 29. “We can come and go anytime they need us, we don’t need to be there physically,” Ray said.

The Air Force is spearheading development of the Defense Department’s first hypersonic cruise missile. The service on April 27 reached out to industry to seek input on a “solid rocket-boosted, air-breathing, hypersonic, conventional cruise missile” that can be launched from existing fighters and bombers. Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper said April 29 the program will leverage work already done by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Air Force Research Laboratory, and partner with industry to speed the design into production. “We would absolutely pursue this the exact same way we did with [the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon and Air-Launched Rapid-Response Weapon] as a rapid prototyping … program which is not encumbered by unobtainable requirements,” Roper said.

Boeing expects to spend $551 million of its own money on the design and implementation of fixes to the KC-46 Remote Vision System, as part of a new $827 million charge on the aircraft, the company announced April 29. The Air Force and Boeing early this month announced “Remote Vision System 2.0,” an agreement to replace the cameras and other significant components of the new tanker, which have been the biggest problem plaguing development of the program. The remainder of the new $827 million charge, outside of the RVS costs, centers around “productivity inefficiencies” and impacts of the company’s decision to shut down its Washington state facilities because of the new coronavirus outbreak.

The Veterans Affairs Department has treated COVID-19-positive veterans with the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine, but its use was in line with Food and Drug Administration regulations and wasn't experimental, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in an April 29 letter to Veterans Service Organizations. “Recently, a records review was posted on a public website at the request of the New England Journal of Medicine, out of one of our medical centers,” the letter states. “The review documented some initial findings on the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 that gained a lot of media attention. This led to misinformation about what did and did not happen at VA, and what the findings indicated.”

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.