USAF Center for Strategy and Technology

[bobbymike]

http://csat.au.af.mil/index.htm

Lots of great studies and papers including the latest Air Force 'Blue Horizons II'. They now have the entire Air Force 2025 and Spacecast 2020 studies as PDFs which I don't remember them having last time I visited awhile ago.

 

[starviking]

Cheers! Looks interesting ;D

 

[jsport]

Expeditionary Theater Support Group created by AFCENT

AFCENT has stood up the ETSG to provide expeditionary logistics, sustainment, and engineering support for more effective warfighting missions.

www.airforcetimes.com

 

[jsport]

Sprawling Pacific exercise revealed Air Force needs some doctrine 'refresh': General - Breaking Defense

“So when you have this mix of [major command]-retained [operational control] — those forces coming into another combatant commander’s theater, where he’s got his own theater-assigned forces — you can imagine that there may be some differences,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. John Klein.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

What’s next for air mobility, according to Gen. Mike Minihan

"One of the biggest insights I got after Operation Allies Refuge was airmen telling me they wished they had known what they were getting into."

www.airforcetimes.com

 

[jsport]

Decentralize and Conquer: Brown Pushes for More Autonomy in New Doctrine Publication

Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. released a memo and doctrine publications for leaders to empower subordinates in a future fight.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

National Guard chief looks to keep 25 Guard fighter squadrons, but may need help from Hill - Breaking Defense

“We have 25 fighter squadrons in the Guard right now. And when I look at the global demand, my personal view is I think we need to keep all 25 of those. I think our nation needs that capability,” said National Guard chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

Air Force to Miss Recruiting Goals for First Time in More Than 2 Decades

The last time the Air Force did not reach 100% of its recruitment goal was 1999, according to the Air Force Recruiting Service.

www.military.com

 

[jsport]

Air Force’s enlisted education revamp means more classroom time, new curriculum

Enlisted airmen will be hitting the books harder and sooner for professional studies as a result of a wide-ranging overhaul of the Air Force’s education program.

www.stripes.com

 

[jsport]

Air Force Revamps ‘Zero Week’ at BMT to Better Prepare Recruits for Stress

The Air Force is changing the first days of Basic Military Training (BMT), 'Zero Week,' to give trainees skills to deal with stress and more.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

As the Air Force Prepares for Austere Ops, Who Will Watch the Weather?

Air Force weather specialists are used to providing essential data in austere conditions, and they have new tools to move even faster.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

Research team studies threats to military bases from electric vehicles

Researchers are plotting a new defense for military bases — one that can withstand a misused electric vehicle.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[jsport]

Minihan: These ‘Magic’ Airmen Need More SOF-Like Capabilities

Air Mobility Command boss Gen. Mike Minihan wants contingency response Airmen to be more SOF-like for opening airfields in high-threat areas.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

As adversaries advance, US Air Force increasingly reliant on synthetic training - Breaking Defense

“Future combat employment is about kill chains and kill webs, it’s about systems of systems warfare,” and pilot training has to reflect that, Col. Matt Ryan told Breaking Defense.

breakingdefense.com

 

[jsport]

Congress wants US Air Force to better explain reorganization plans

The Air Force says this reorganization is needed to prepare it for a fight against China, but lawmakers say they need to hear more about these plans.

www.defensenews.com

who is running this asylum anyway?

 

[jsport]

‘Bend Minds, Not Metal’: Where Airmen Learn to Change USAF

An Air University program called Project Mercury teaches students how to go about solving some of the Air Force's most complex problems.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

Air Force splitting up intelligence and cyber effects organization

The Air Force will be creating a separate A2 for intelligence and A6 focused on cyber and networks on the Air Staff.

defensescoop.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Air Force splitting up intelligence and cyber effects organization

The Air Force will be creating a separate A2 for intelligence and A6 focused on cyber and networks on the Air Staff.

defensescoop.com

That's rather liable to backfire badly there...

‘Bend Minds, Not Metal’: Where Airmen Learn to Change USAF

An Air University program called Project Mercury teaches students how to go about solving some of the Air Force's most complex problems.

www.airandspaceforces.com

Hmmmm....

 

[jsport]

View: https://youtu.be/x3k4hWurqBs?t=32

 

[jsport]

The Air Force Unveiled an Ambitious Reorganization Plan. Can It Survive a Presidential Election?

The Department of the Air Force's ambitious reorganization plan designed to keep the Air Force and Space Force competitive against China was unveiled earlier this year, listing 24 items ranging from bringing back warrant officers and reorganizing training to creating new offices and elevating...

www.military.com

 

[jsport]

Air Force meets recruitment goals, eyes 20% increase in 2025

The Air Force plans to add about 377 more recruiters to help it meet next year's ambitious goal.

www.defensenews.com

 

[jsport]

Removing Barriers to Service Netted Air Force 10,000 Recruits

The Air Force Recruiting Service met its 2024 goals by removing barriers to service but will not be establishing a prep course for recruits.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

Air Force wing deployments could leave bases understaffed, GAO warns

Deploying large groups of a base's airmen together could help unit cohesion, the Air Force hopes — but critical missions like cybersecurity could suffer.

www.defensenews.com

 

[jsport]

How an AI-powered dashboard gets Air Force reservists deployment-ready

The AI-driven personnel management system “was the equivalent of having one extra body in that department, saving them approximately 1,000 hours a year."

www.militarytimes.com

 

[jsport]

How the Air Force Brought Back Warrant Officers In Just 296 Days

The first new Air Force warrant officers in decades will graduate Dec. 6 after an all-out sprint to stand up the program in less than a year.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

Allvin: USAF Force Design Maps Out Plan to Scale Up or Down

Air Force Chief of Staff David Allvin said the aim of the new force design is to refine the service’s thinking and give it options.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

‘Policy by PowerPoint’: Watchdog agency finds flaws in Air Force’s deployment revamp

Air Force Force Generation, the service’s new model for deployments, may have been rolled out too hastily, the Government Accountability Office says in a new report.

www.stripes.com

 

[jsport]

Air Force Chief: Small Drones Are Both 'Threat and Opportunity'

Small drones offer "a threat and an opportunity," but the Air Force shouldn't overstate their impact, Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

Kendall: AI May Be Key in US-China ‘Race for Technological Superiority’

AI will be key to competition between the U.S. and China as they pursue technological advantages, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

Robot reality check: Crewed warplanes will remain vital for years, USAF general says

Air Force pushes back on assertions that new manned aircraft are no longer needed.

www.defenseone.com

 

[jsport]

No runways, no sorties: Chinese missiles threaten US airpower plans

Opinion: American warplanes could be kept from joining the fray of a conflict with China for days or weeks, analysts have concluded.

www.defensenews.com

 

[jsport]

CCAs May Escort Bombers After Concept Matures in Fighter Force

The Air Force is considering Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) to escort bombers but will wait until they prove out in tactical operations.

www.airandspaceforces.com

 

[jsport]

Super Galaxys will now soar for decades, but the service has other transport problems​

17 years of upgrades to the C-5M fleet will extend the Super Galaxy’s service life into the 2040s, but now the Air Force is planning more changes for its airlift fleet.

www.airforcetimes.com

Air Force studies found that the newer C-17, a strategic airlifter, is in higher demand than the much older C-130, a tactical aircraft put to use in transport, airborne assault, search and rescue, aerial refueling and other roles.

The rejiggering described by Miller, first reported by Defense News, a sister publication of Air Force Times, would give the service 54 airlift squadrons — one more than it has now.
But there's always a catch. The C-17 production line run by Boeing in Long Beach, California, has been shut down. The firm produced its last Globemaster in 2015, according to Defense News.

Restarting it would be an expensive proposition, and Miller said it’s one the service has not discussed with Boeing, stressing that discussions of the airlift fleet’s future composition will also be shaped by a study that is underway.

“Those are the details that we have not looked at,” Miller said of restarting the production line. “That will be the next discussion as we proceed, talking with Congress and working with Congress, because the same would apply for the tanker fleet. An additional 14 squadrons by 2030 — what would be the path to get there?”

But there's always a catch. The C-17 production line run by Boeing in Long Beach, California, has been shut down. The firm produced its last Globemaster in 2015, according to Defense News.

Restarting it would be an expensive proposition, and Miller said it’s one the service has not discussed with Boeing, stressing that discussions of the airlift fleet’s future composition will also be shaped by a study that is underway.

Could the Air Force restart the C-17 production line?​

https://simpleflying.com/reasons-c-17-globemaster-iii-hard-to-replace/​

Pacific "pop up" bases, transports/tankers the often ignored real USAF issues,

 

[jsport]

The US Air Force lacks imagination, and that’s a dangerous thing - Breaking Defense

"The US Air Force needs to rethink its approach to procurement before it’s too late," write Col. Maximilian K. Bremer and Kelly A. Grieco in this op-ed.

breakingdefense.com