Air Force Manpower Nominee Pledges to Make Diversity a Priority

Oct. 5, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

Alex Wagner, the Biden Administration’s nominee to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, said in his Senate confirmation hearing Oct. 5 that he’ll make expanding diversity and attacking the problems of suicide and sexual harassment his priorities if confirmed. He also pledged to expand recruitment in the Northeast of the U.S.

Wagner said the Air Force needs to step up its recruitment and will do so by ensuring the service reaches out across the full spectrum of candidates. He thanked President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall for their confidence in him and allowing him to “contribute as an openly gay man,” who is able to serve as an example of how the military offers “the opportunity that now empowers us to bring our authentic selves to this important mission.”

Kendall has pledged a strong emphasis on diversity. The nomination of Wagner, as well as the confirmation in July of Gina Ortiz Jones as the first gay woman of color to serve as the undersecretary of the service, signal the seriousness of the administration in this regard. The Air Force has recently reported on service surveys that indicate that the Air Force is making little progress in addressing racial disparities in advancement within the ranks.

Diversity “is not only the right thing to do, but it also offers us strategic advantages,” Wagner said in colloquy with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine).

Wagner also pledged an unrelenting effort to prevent suicides and sexual harassment in the service and agreed with several Senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) that taking criminal prosecution of rape out of the chain of command should be explored more intensively.

“There’s clearly value in moving significant crimes out of the chain of command with respect to sexual violence,” Wagner said. “I’ll have to look into the data” as to whether murder and other serious criminal offenses should be dealt with the same way, he said. “I’m aware that prosecution of some of these crimes has been disproportionate, based on race.”

He said service members deserve a military justice system “worthy of the sacrifices they make every day” and said “stamp[ing] out the scourge” of sexual assault, sexual harassment, child abuse, and other violent crimes would be “one of my top priorities, if confirmed.”

Wagner referred to the Air Force’s disparity review from earlier this year, and a “progress report” within the last month, saying, “I take disparities in racial prosecutions extremely seriously, and if confirmed, I would really look forward” to working with the committee to ensure that all crimes are prosecuted “free of bias,” both “in terms of the victims, as well as those who have been charged.”

Wagner agreed with King, who expressed dismay that the U.S. now disproportionately recruits from the South, Southwest, and Midwest states and draws fewer than a third of service members from the Northeast. King said it may have to do with a dearth of military bases in the region, thus giving local students few role models for military service. Wagner noted that he grew up in Los Angeles, Calif., and went to school in Rhode Island, with “scarce ability to interact with people who served … and have people to look up to” in the military.

King asked Wagner and the Army nominee for installations and the environment, Rachel Jacobson, to “make a conscious effort to address this problem, … not just an additional recruiting office in Boston or something, …. because the numbers are pretty startling, to have gone from an even distribution [of recruits] in 1975 to two-thirds [versus] one-third today. That, to me, is a shocking change.”

After Afghanistan, Stoltenberg Says NATO Mission Turns to Deterrence and Defense ‘at Home’

Oct. 5, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Oct. 4 and said the following day that after two decades in Afghanistan, NATO will redirect its resources to defense of its 30 member countries. That will include new alliances with Pacific partners and efforts to defend against the “blurred line” between peace and war created by cyber threats.

Stoltenberg’s meeting with Austin was his 11th virtual or in-person meeting with the Defense Secretary since February, when consultations focused heavily on the American and NATO exit from Afghanistan.

In public comments at an event Oct. 5 co-hosted by the Brookings Institution and Georgetown University, the Secretary General defined the importance of transatlantic unity to confront an aggressive Russia and coercive China.

“The need for transatlantic unity is greater today than at any time since the end of the Cold War,” Stoltenberg said.

“We are at a pivotal moment for our shared security where we face a more dangerous and more competitive world,” he said, characterizing Russia as “more aggressive abroad” and China as using its economic and military might to “coerce other countries and exert control over global supply chains, critical infrastructure, and other assets.”

Stoltenberg said the alliance has been evolving since 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. NATO has strengthened Baltic and Black Sea partners and placed more combat-ready troops on its eastern flank. He said that as the alliance develops its NATO 2030 strategic concept, China will figure heavily into the security of the North Atlantic alliance.

“We are shifting our efforts and resources from large combat operations outside the NATO territory to further strengthen our deterrence and defense at home and prepare for a world of greater state-to-state rivalry,” he said.

In welcoming remarks at the Pentagon, Austin thanked Stoltenberg for NATO’s assistance with the Afghanistan evacuation effort that concluded Aug. 31 in Kabul, and he underscored the importance of NATO’s deterrent effect.

“NATO remains the essential forum for consultation, decision, and action on transatlantic security and defense issues,” Austin said. “We need continued investment in NATO’s deterrence and defense as well as a revised strategic concept that will guide the alliance’s approach to the evolving strategic environment.”

Stoltenberg indicated at Brookings that would mean strengthening the capabilities of aspiring NATO members such as Georgia and Ukraine, which suffer from protracted conflicts spurred by Russia.

“There is a lot in between nothing and full membership,” Stoltenberg said.

“This is something I discussed, actually, yesterday with President Biden,” he added—“that we need to step up and do more for those aspirant countries because as long as they’re not members, we should provide more support, more training, more capacity building, help to implement reforms to fight corruption, and build their security and defense institutions.”

Afghanistan After the NATO Withdrawal

In a question-and-answer period hosted by Brookings and Georgetown, Stoltenberg said the Afghanistan effort was worthwhile and that the alliance still needed to evacuate refugees and protect against the country again becoming a terrorist safe haven.

“The mission was not in vain,” he said, highlighting that no terrorist attack has been staged from Afghanistan in the past 20 years. “Those who have paid the ultimate price, those who have lost loved ones, family members, they should know that actually, they made an important contribution. They made the difference in the fight against terrorism.”

Stoltenberg also said it was not surprising that the Taliban took Afghanistan—the surprise was how quickly the group was able to seize power—and he said NATO must stay vigilant in tracking the developments in the country.

“The main task now is to do whatever we can to preserve as much as possible of the achievements we made on terrorism,” he said. “That means to hold the Taliban government accountable for their promises on terrorism, … but also to be ready to strike over the horizon, long distance, and to stay vigilant as NATO allies, to follow and monitor closely any attempt to reconstitute international terrorist groups in Afghanistan aiming at us.”

Stoltenberg said he did not like to “use the word hopeful about the Taliban” and said NATO capabilities to strike have appeared to pressure the new government to cooperate with the allies and restrain from outright conflict.

China and New Pacific Partnerships

The Secretary General explained how China’s global cyber presence and push to sell 5G technology to NATO allies in recent years helped allies understand the threats posed by hybrid warfare.

“China’s close to us in cyberspace. We see them in Africa. We see them in the Arctic. We see them investing heavily in our own infrastructure,” he said. “NATO allies realized that 5G network matters for our security, for the resilience of societies.”

Stoltenberg said NATO is strengthening its cyber defenses, increasing the resiliency of critical infrastructure and supply chains to reduce vulnerabilities.

He also said the trend of more cyber attacks, which often emanate from adversaries such as Russia and China, is blurring the line between peace and war.

“In hybrid, in cyber, and so on, there is a much more blurred line between peace and war, aggressive actions or peaceful interaction,” he said—a truth that makes cyberspace a warfighting domain.

NATO is also working with Pacific allies to defend the “rules-based international order,” the term often used to describe freedom of navigation in areas such as the South China Sea and East China Sea, where China has exerted territorial claims and demonstrated hostile behavior toward commercial vessels of smaller, neighboring countries.

Stoltenberg was asked if he supported the recent military technology sharing agreement between the Australia, United States, and the United Kingdom, known as AUKUS, the first effort of which is the sharing of nuclear submarine technology, a move that miffed France, a NATO ally, which will lose a lucrative diesel submarine contract with Australia.

“I understand that France is disappointed,” he said. “At the same time, NATO allies agree on the bigger picture that we need to stand together, also working with our Asia-Pacific partners, which includes Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea—and the AUKUS deal is not directed against Europe or NATO.”

While AUKUS will strengthen Australia’s capacity to help the U.S. deter Chinese aggression by significantly enhancing the reach of its submarine fleet, Stoltenberg predicted that the NATO 2030 strategic concept also will focus a lot more on China. He said he is looking ahead to the defense ministerial meeting later in October.

“The rise of China matters for our security. It has an impact on our security, and that applies for all allies,” he said. “I expect that the upcoming new strategic concept for NATO will actually reflect a much more comprehensive and unified position on how to relate to China.”

FirstNet, the Dedicated Communications System for First Responders, Is Coming to Air Force Bases

Oct. 5, 2021 | By Shaun Waterman

The Air Force is bringing a new dedicated broadband communications system for first responders to its bases and installations, making it easier for police, firefighters, and paramedics to talk to each other as well as to Air Force security and operations personnel.

AT&T will install the FirstNet network on 15 bases while the Air Force weighs a broader rollout, the company announced.

Once up and running, FirstNet will provide interoperable data and voice communications, plus streaming video, to first responders with specially equipped mobile phones or handhelds—whether they work for the Department of Defense, federal law enforcement, or state and local police, fire service, or emergency medical service agencies.

“When off-base first responders support on-base responses, they will benefit from these coverage enhancements,” retired USAF Col. Lance Spencer, the client executive vice president for defense at AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet, told Air Force Magazine by email. “Key command and operations positions will also be able to access this network,” he added.

AT&T manages the nationwide FirstNet network in a public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority, an independent federal agency. Originally conceived following the disastrous events of 9/11, when firefighters’ inability to hear police communications resulted in dozens of fatalities, FirstNet provides dedicated broadband cellular communications to first responders and public safety personnel in more than 17,000 organizations across the country. Because only authorized personnel use the system, and because of a nationwide network of more than 100 mobile cell towers that can be deployed to affected areas in an emergency, FirstNet is designed to keep working when conventional cell systems fail. It also offers end-to-end encryption.

The company declined to identify the 15 pilot locations or to make a dollar amount public, but Spencer told Air Force Magazine that AT&T is doing the work at its own expense.

“To mitigate existing gaps in coverage on military bases and provide FirstNet capabilities on bases, AT&T delivers infrastructure using its own capital investment,” Spencer said. “Each installation undergoes its own infrastructure design that is fine-tuned by our … engineers to provide optimized base-wide coverage. The infrastructure install takes place after we have a signed lease with the installation commander.”

The deal commits AT&T to provide FirstNet for 21 years—the length of AT&T’s contract with the federal government to manage the network.

“Ultimately, we expect to deliver FirstNet to all Air Force and Space Force bases,” Spencer added.

Minihan Takes Command of AMC, Van Ovost to Lead TRANSCOM

Oct. 5, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

Gen. Mike Minihan assumed command of Air Mobility Command from Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, who will soon take the reins of U.S. Transportation Command, during a ceremony Oct. 5 at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Minihan, who last served as deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, pinned on his fourth star hours earlier.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who presided over the ceremony, said Minihan now leads about 110,000 Total Force Airmen and oversees a fleet of nearly 1,100 aircraft at a time when modern warfare is changing.

“There will be a contest among connected operational systems, not simply individual units or platforms,” and “uncontested freedom of movement, provided by our mobility Airmen and enjoyed by the Joint Force, will be challenged by our strategic competitors,” noted Brown.

Amc Change of command — Air Mobility Command Airmen salute Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost a final time before she handed over command to Gen. Mike MInihan during a ceremony Oct. 5, 2021, at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.

Flanked by a C-32 in Air Force 2 markings and a KC-135 tanker, Brown praised Van Ovost, who has led the command since August 2020. Under her leadership, Brown said AMC Airmen flew 12,000 combat airlift sorties and 7,000 combat air refueling sorties, offloaded more than 33 million pounds of fuel to more than 600 bomber task force missions, flew nearly 700 Presidential and senior leader airlift missions, and delivered hundreds of aeromedical patients and millions of COVID-19 vaccines and critical supplies across the globe.

During the ceremony, Van Ovost received the Distinguished Service Medal with her first Oak Leaf Cluster for distinguishing herself while in command.

According to the citation, which was read during the ceremony, Van Ovost “fundamentally redefined rapid global mobility culture, invigorating competition, innovation, experimentation, and data-to-decision focus across the command; accelerating national defense strategy implementation; and energizing the Mobility Air Forces,” or MAF, “as the indispensable maneuver force for the Joint Force.”

She also helped negotiate incremental capability releases for the KC-46 Pegasus, helping to bring the Air Force’s newest weapon system online faster and easing the burden on the service’s legacy tankers.

Also under her leadership, “Air Mobility Command shouldered the nation’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, flying over 2,000 missions, delivering over 66 million pounds of cargo, and closing six forward operating bases; and subsequently executed the largest noncombatant evacuation operation in United States history, facilitating the evacuation of over 124,000 American citizens and Afghan partners in 18 days,” according to the citation.

Brown told Van Ovost, “What you’ve accomplished as the AMC commander this last year is simply astonishing.”

But in an emotional speech, she credited all the success to AMC Airmen and leaders.

“To all Wing commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and the many other commanders across AMC, saying thank you is not enough,” Van Ovost said. “Implementing our vision relied on shifting culture. And I witnessed our Airmen embracing this culture shift, which began with your leadership.”

Brown also expressed his support for Minihan, whom he worked with both in Korea and the Pacific. He noted that Minihan played a “vital role” in negotiations with North Korea that led to the repatriation of 55 United Nations Command service members.

“I couldn’t imagine anyone more perfect to lead AMC,” Brown said. “Warfare is changing, and our MAF needs your leadership to stay at the forefront … Mini, it’s up to you and your leadership and this team to continue to accelerate change, so the only thing impossible is losing.”

Minihan also credited AMC Airmen for an incredible year and promised to be just as ready for the future fight.

“When they said, ‘There is no way, too many people, too far, only one runway,’ you said, ‘Just watch us.’ When they said, ‘That many people can’t fit on a C-17,’ you said, ‘Just watch us,’” Minihan said. “And with the next fight brewing, this team will be ready. Just watch us.”

F-35 Completes Final Test for Nuclear-Capable B61 Series Weapons

Oct. 5, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

American deterrence efforts came one step closer to a critical new level when the Air Force proved a stealth fighter is capable of delivering a tactical nuclear weapon inside hostile territory, Air Combat Command confirmed Oct. 4.

The F-35A is the first fifth-generation fighter to near certification as a nuclear-capable platform after completing the first full weapon system demonstration and completing the nuclear design certification process. During the demonstration, two F-35s dropped B61-12 Joint Test Assemblies (JTAs), which mimic a real-world tactical gravity nuclear weapon, at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.

“It makes our potential adversaries think more about their game plan before launching it,” Air Combat Command deputy director for strategic deterrence Lt. Col. Douglas A. Kabel told Air Force Magazine.

“It can get closer to, further inside a combat area that may otherwise be impossible for non-stealth assets,” Kabel added.

Air Combat Command’s 422nd and 59thTest and Evaluation Squadrons, based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., flew the final flight test exercise for the aircraft to receive nuclear design certification. Test data is now under review at the Department of Defense and Department of Energy to ensure the F-35A and B61-12 JTAs performed correctly.

The next step is nuclear operational certification to ensure training and validation of maintenance and air crews at desired wing locations where nuclear-capable F-35 missions exist. Approval would mean the United States has a fighter capable of hitting targets with tactical nuclear weapons inside hostile territory without detection.

“What happened was for the first time, an operationally representative F-35 aircraft executed a drop of a B61-12 Joint Test Assembly, which is basically exactly like a B61 that comes out of the nuclear stockpile without the physics package in it—the part that makes it go ‘boom,’” Kabel explained. “It can get closer, and with a gravity type of weapon, the closer you can get to your actual target, the more likely it is you’re going to hit it.”

Lt. Col. Daniel Jackson, headquarters ACC strategic deterrence and nuclear integration division chief, said the B61 series weapons can be used on other dual-capable aircraft such as the F-15E and F-16 C/D.

“Having a fifth-generation [dual-capable] fighter aircraft with this capability brings an entirely new strategic-level capability that strengthens our nation’s nuclear deterrence mission,” Jackson said in an Oct. 4 press release.

The F-35s used for the JTA test required two major hardware component modifications to take on the nuclear weapon, a nuclear consent switch in the cockpit, and a mission select switch in the weapon bay.

“The switch has to be in a certain position for the aircraft to recognize that it’s a new capable type of configuration,” Jackson said of the mission select switch, which must be engaged on the ground. “There is kind of an extra added safety measure, I would say, added to the jet as well.”

The nuclear certification process is broken into two phases: nuclear design certification and nuclear operational certification. This test conducted is considered the graduation flight test exercise for the F-35A’s nuclear design certification.

Jackson said that right now, the B-2 bomber is the Air Force’s only nuclear-capable stealth aircraft.

However, once certified, not every F-35 will become nuclear capable, Kabel said.

“At the end of the day, once the aircraft is design certified, it still has to be operationally certified,” he said. “That will be done at the location, the operational wing, that has the mission to utilize this.”

The two ACC officers declined to disclose a timeline or location for the operationally certified aircraft but indicated it would come soon.

“There’ll be an initial design certification here in the not-too-distant future,” Kabel said. “Then, follow on after that is the operational certification, which completes the process, making the F-35 a fully certified, dual-capable aircraft, and that capability is one that now we can put in the hands of the combatant commanders.”

SpOC Receives First Army Transfers Amid Concern Over Congressional Delays

Oct. 4, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

Space Operations Command welcomed its first six Army Soldiers at a transfer ceremony Oct. 1 at Peterson Space Force Base, Colo., amid concerns that units slated for transfer to the Space Force will be held up until Congress passes a fiscal year 2022 defense budget.

The six enlisted Soldiers from the 53rd Signal Brigade at Schriever Space Force Base, Colo., are now Guardians responsible for satellite communications as part of SpOC’s Space Delta 8.

The service members are part of an initial cadre of just 50 Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines approved for transfer to the Space Force during the 2021 fiscal year, chosen from more than 3,700 applicants. But hundreds more future Guardians whose units are transferring from other services will not move until Congress acts.

Space Force spokesperson Lynn Kirby told Air Force Magazine that the first round of 50 transfers and a second round of 455 transfers will not be affected by the National Defense Authorization Act delay, but the service members who are part of the unit transfers will not move.

“The [continuing resolution] does not affect our ability to continue transferring personnel from the other services except for the members encumbering billets at the Army and Navy units slated for transfer,” she said. “Those units and billets do require authorization in the NDAA to transfer.”

Some 215 additional uniformed service members and 259 civilians are held up from transferring to the Space Force until Congress passes the 2022 NDAA.

Those individuals are part of Army and Navy units slated to move to Space Force, part of a department-wide push to reduce duplication and create better unity of effort.

Speaking at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., SpOC commander Lt. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting highlighted the important role SpOC personnel play.

“We sit at the nexus of the new Space Force and U.S. Space Command because we are the service component, the Space Force service component to U.S. Space Command,” Whiting said at a media roundtable Sept. 20. “We’re the largest of those service components, and we present capability and personnel to Gen. [James H.] Dickinson at U.S. Space Command for operational employment.”

Congress passed and President Biden signed, just hours before a midnight deadline Sept. 30, a continuing resolution to keep the government open until Dec. 6. Congress must pass an FY22 NDAA to start any new programs, including paying for the unit transfers, many of which are in-place, such as those at Schriever.

That also means the Department of the Air Force is capped at fiscal year 2022 end strength numbers.

Space Force announced Sept. 30 that 670 additional military members had been chosen for transfer in fiscal year 2022.

Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. Thompson told Air Force Magazine on the sidelines of the ASC conference that service members and units waiting to transfer will still do their jobs for their home services, but that the NDAA passage would help the continued standing up of the Space Force.

Space Force’s Top Spouse Wants to Connect With Loved Ones of Guardians

Oct. 4, 2021 | By Amanda Miller

The wife of the Space Force’s first Chief of Space Operations is opening up channels of communication to try to connect with the loved ones of members, including an email newsletter to which she hopes to add subscribers.

The newness of the Space Force provides “an opportunity to build a culture of care, and connection, and support with our family members and our loved ones,” said Mollie Raymond, wife of Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond, during a town hall talk on families during the Air Force Association’s 2021 Air, Space & Cyber Conference.

And because of its small size, she suggested that the service could “do things a little creatively.”

Mollie Raymond’s October 2021 newsletter includes a rundown of recent developments in the service including the publication of the USSF’s talent management plan, The Guardian Ideal; the previewing of uniform prototypes; and the transfers of five units from the Army and Navy into the Space Force.

She invited loved ones to subscribe to the newsletter and to connect with her on her official LinkedIn page, Facebook, or Twitter, where she encourages followers to contact her with any questions.

As of the town hall, she had about 1,300 addresses on her mailing list. “Tell your spouses,” she said. “Tell your loved ones. Tell your extended family members.” She hopes recipients will feel “supported and informed and connected,” she said. “I have parents reaching out—moms and dads—and I couldn’t be more pleased about that.”

During his earlier conference keynote speech, Gen. Raymond took the opportunity to provide some advice on the family front.

“Do me a favor: When you’re done today,” he said, “call back home and say thanks.” Because, he added later at the town hall: “When you’re done—when your career is all over—the only thing you have is your family.”

Lockheed Martin Opens New Hypersonic Missile Factory

Oct. 4, 2021 | By John A. Tirpak

Lockheed Martin opened a new “smart” factory in Alabama where the Air Force’s AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) will be manufactured, along with hypersonic systems for the Army and Navy, the company announced Oct. 4. The opening of the factory is noteworthy in that the ARRW has yet to make a successful flight.

The 65,000-square-foot facility, to be called Missile Assembly Building 4 (MAB 4), in Courtland, Ala., will also be used to build the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missile, Lockheed Martin said in a press release. Those two systems have major components in common, including the hypersonic glide body vehicle itself. The Air Force was also a partner on that project—under the name Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon, or HCSW—until it decided to pursue the ARRW exclusively in February 2020.

The move “represents Lockheed Martin’s commitment to establishing northern Alabama as the base of the company’s hypersonic strike programs,” the company said. MAB 4 is actually the second facility at the site for building the CPS.

Air Force leaders at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in September said a root cause analysis of the ARRW’s failure in a July test is still underway. The missile was originally to fly before the end of 2020 but has only succeeded in captive-carry tests so far. Getting the missile into production by the end of fiscal 2022, as the service has long planned, will require a “quick resolution” to the July failure and two successful flight tests, USAF’s program executive officer for weapons Brig. Gen. Heath A. Collins said in August.

If the root cause analysis is “prolonged” or drives an “excessive … redesign” it will affect the Air Force’s ability to make the next test window, Collins said at an Air Force Life Cycle Industry Days program. The Air Force has requested $161 million in the fiscal 2022 budget for 12 missiles. The cause of an April 2021 ARRW failure is understood and was corrected, and it did not manifest in the August re-attempt, Collins said.

He also said that if ARRW proves unworkable, “we can always go back to HCSW.”

Lockheed Courtland — An example of a digital tool used for assembly processes at Lockheed Martin’s recently opened Missile Assembly Building 4 in Courtland, Ala. Lockheed Martin photo.

The new facility is one of four “intelligent factory” sites Lockheed Martin is opening this year. In August, it opened one at its “Skunk Works” advanced development unit in Palmdale, Calif., for manufacture of secret prototype and operational systems, presumably unmanned vehicles, and the Air Force’s new Next Generation Air Dominance system. Skunk Works head Jeff A. Babione told reporters at the opening ceremony that Lockheed Martin will build the initial examples of ARRW at Palmdale then hand off production to the company’s Missiles and Fire Control unit in Alabama.

The MAB 4 “integrates critical digital transformation advancements, such as robotic thermal protection application capabilities; smart torque tools and mixed-reality capabilities for training and virtual inspection,” the company said. It will link digitally with the other new facilities for production and other activities “to enable unprecedented insights into the health, status, and optimization of operations.”

Lockheed Martin continues to “make significant investments in the development and manufacturing of hypersonic systems to counter rapidly-emerging threats from near-peer adversaries,” it said in a press release.

The company has added 117,000 square feet of manufacturing space at its Courtland plant over the past two years, and the opening of MAB 4 will add 70 jobs to the local economy, the company said. Lockheed Martin has about 2,600 employees in Alabama already. It makes the Air Force’s AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Missile in Troy.

Van Ovost Confirmed to Lead TRANSCOM; AMC Change of Command is Oct. 5

Oct. 4, 2021 | By Amy Hudson

The Senate on Oct. 1 confirmed Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost to be the next head of U.S. Transportation Command, making her just the third woman to lead a unified combatant command.

Van Ovost, the Defense Department’s only female four-star general and the commander of Air Mobility Command since August 2020, is a command pilot with more than 4,200 flight hours accumulated in more than 30 aircraft, including the KC-46A Pegasus, KC-135R, C-141B, C-17A, and C-32A. The 1988 Air Force Academy graduate has commanded at the squadron, wing, and major command levels. She’s also served as director of staff for Headquarters Air Force, vice director of the Joint Staff, director of mobility forces for U.S. Central Command, and vice commander of the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center, according to her bio.

She will assume command from Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons.

Lt. Gen. Mike Minihan, deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, will pin on his fourth star in a private ceremony the morning of Oct. 5 and then take command of Air Mobility Command from Van Ovost in a ceremony at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., at 10 a.m. CST. Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. will officiate the ceremony.

During her Sept. 24 confirmation hearing, Van Ovost said the U.S. addressed its aerial refueling capability gap when the KC-46 Pegasus was cleared for limited operations. But she said the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve tanker fleets will need to continue an increased operational tempo until the Pegasus reaches initial operational capability and is cleared for combat ops.

President Joe Biden nominated Van Ovost on March 6 along with Army Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson, who was tapped to lead U.S. Southern Command.

“Each of these women have led careers demonstrating incomparable skill, integrity, and duty to country,” Biden said at the time as Van Ovost and Richardson stood by his side at the White House. Having both of them lead combatant commands shows young girls and boys that “this is what generals in the United States armed forces look like,” Biden added.

Richardson was confirmed for her fourth star and to be the next commander of U.S. Southern Command by unanimous voice vote in August. That change of command has not yet taken place.