The Air & Space Brief: Tanker damage; Pacific comms; Smaller sats, at last; and more
JENNIFER HLAD | NOVEMBER 8, 2022
THE AIR & SPACE BRIEF AIR FORCE SPACE FORCE
Welcome to the Defense One Air and Space newsletter. Here are our top stories this week:
C-130H damage. The Air Force’s procedure of etching serial numbers on propellers “likely contributed to cracks that are being found on the C-130Hs,” about 100 of which have been grounded since early October, an Air Force spokesperson told Defense One’s Marcus Weisgerber. Read more of the exclusive story, here.
Comm check. Air Force intelligence must be able to operate whether they have full connectivity or no connectivity at all, so the Air Force Research Laboratory is building in “as much redundancy as possible” as it plans for the future, Defense One’s Lauren C. Williams reports. “The public cloud offers great services as long as you have connectivity. If you’re disconnected, how do you still function and do what you need to do during that time frame?” said Norman Leach, a director in the lab’s information directorate. “You need to be able to get stuff through with those higher latencies and lower network comms.”
Smaller satellites. The Space Force’s long-anticipated move to cheaper, smaller satellites is the official policy as of Oct. 31, Defense One’s Marcus Weisgerber reports. Acquisition chief Frank Calvelli made the decision shortly after the Space Development Agency, which buys satellites, was formally transferred from the Office of the Secretary of Defense to the Space Force.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2022/11/the-air-space-brief-november-08-2022/379491/
