The Air Force is moving forward with a new Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile as one of its top two hypersonic weapons programs, Weapons Program Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Heath Collins said in a recent interview. The service has discussed similar efforts underway in its hypersonic portfolio but has not yet named HACM as a central project. HACM is envisioned for use in conventional strike weapons on fighter and bomber aircraft, according to the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Lawmakers have approved a slew of funding shifts the Pentagon requested in June to pay officers, avoid hiring freezes in the Department of the Air Force, and set up U.S. Space Command, among other priorities. The Defense Department routinely asks the House and Senate Appropriations and Armed Services committees to let the military move money between accounts in a process known as reprogramming. This omnibus reprogramming request looked to shuffle more than $2 billion in fiscal 2019 and 2020 dollars.

The Department of the Air Force has released its first-ever video-based suicide prevention training for USAF and Space Force families. The online course, entitled “Equipping Family Members to Help Airmen in Distress,” educates viewers on different ways they can intervene and how to access resources at their disposal, according to a release. The course is meant to piggyback off of last year’s Resilience Tactical Pause, which aimed to give units across the Total Force a chance to halt operations, check in on their Airmen, and address issues of suicide prevention and resilience in the wake of record-high suicides among service members.

Leaders from 20 European nations are calling on the United States to extend the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, commonly referred to as New START, saying the agreement has “directly contributed” to the stabilization of European security. New START, which is slated to expire on Feb. 5, 2021, “is the only remaining agreement that limits the nuclear forces of the United States of America and the Russian Federation,” states the Oct. 13 letter, addressed to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.

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.