PA Morning Report
United States Air Force sent this bulletin at 07/25/2011 04:26 AM CDTEXECUTIVE SUMMARY
NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE
NSTR
WIN TODAY’S FIGHT
Reuters: Blasts rock Tripoli, Nato targets Gaddafi compound (1)
Defence Web: Royal Air Force, Navy continue to strike at Gaddafi regime (5)
CARING FOR AIRMEN
AP: Military ban on gays formally repealed (8)
Stars & Stripes: Number of voluntary separations spares more AF career fields from RIFs (10)
MODERNIZATION
Defense News: Toxins Grounded F-22s: Sources (11)
MSNBC: Air Force Special Forces seek stealth robot jeep (14)
ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE
Federal Times: Feds driving harder bargain at procurement table (16)
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
Defence Web: Uganda receives Su-30s (20)
OF INTEREST
CNN: Iran backtracks on report it downed U.S. 'spy drone' (21)
Postmedia News: NATO investigating hacking claims, group claims release of class docs (25)
CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN THE NUCLEAR ENTERPRISE
NSTR
PARTNER WITH JOINT AND COALITION TEAM TO WIN TODAY’S FIGHT
1. Blasts rock Tripoli, Nato targets Gaddafi compound
(Reuters, 25 Jul 11) … Missy Ryan
Explosions rocked central Tripoli for the second night in a row and Britain said weeks of Nato bombardment had inflicted extensive damage on Muammar Gaddafi's heavily-fortified compound.
2. Pro-Russia policy stalls Afghan copters
Moscow demands sole-source role
(Washington Times, 24 Jul 11) … Bill Gertz
A Pentagon program to rush 21 helicopters to Afghan military forces in time for this summer’s fighting season was derailed by the Obama administration’s conciliatory policy toward Russia and by Army procurement missteps amid allegations of corruption, according to current and former defense officials and military contractors.
3. The allies' eyes in the skies
Canada's three CU-170 Herons separated the innocent from the insurgents
(Postmedia News, 23 Jul 11) … William Marsden
The sprawling tarmac of Kandahar Air Field parks pretty well every type of modern military plane in existence. From heavily armed French Mirages and U.S. F-16s and Warthogs to British Harriers and transport planes such as Hercules and Globemasters.
4. Civilian casualties a concern with drones
(Postmedia News, 23 Jul 11) … Unattributed
The United States and Britain are the biggest users of drones in Afghanistan with a fleet of unmanned reconnaissance vehicles and hunter-killers.
5. Royal Air Force, Navy continue to strike at Gaddafi regime
(Defence Web, 22 Jul 11) … Unattributed
The Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy (RN) have continued attacks against targets in Libya as part of Nato’s Operation Unified Protector, with RAF fighters flying more than 2 400 hours in support of combat operations.
6. NATO: 50 insurgents killed in east Afghanistan
(AP, 22 Jul 11) … Deb Riechmann
KABUL, Afghanistan — International and Afghan troops battled heavily armed insurgents holed up in caves and bunkers that served as a way station for foreign fighters crossing into the country from Pakistan, the U.S.-led coalition said Friday. The two days of fighting killed more than 50 of the militants, it said.
DEVELOP AND CARE FOR AIRMEN AND THEIR FAMILIES
7. Air Force civilian retirement incentives canceled
(News Herald, 24 Jul 11) … Randal Yakey
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE — Bonuses for early retirement of civilian employees of the Air Force will no longer be included in retirement packages.
8. Military ban on gays formally repealed
Obama signs certification ending 17-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy
(AP, 22 Jul 11) … Erica Werner and Lolita C. Baldor
WASHINGTON — The ban on gays in the military has stood for nearly a century. In 60 days, after decades of discharges, lawsuits and lobbying, that will change.
9. Forecast improves for weather airmen
Audit criticizes training, but Air Force says it’s resolved problems
(Air Force Times, 22 Jul 11) … Scott Fontaine
A lack of training and gear for battlefield weather airmen had Army commanders wondering whether the airmen attached to their units could do their job, according to an Air Force audit.
10. Number of voluntary separations spares more AF career fields from RIFs
(Stars and Stripes, 22 Jul 11) … Jennifer H. Svan
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Two more career fields will be spared consideration for early separation when the Air Force gives perhaps hundreds of midgrade officers their pink slips in the coming months.
MODERNIZE OUR AGING AIR AND SPACE INVENTORIES
11. Toxins Grounded F-22s: Sources
Post-Flight Tests Found Chemicals in Pilots' Blood
(Defense News, 24 Jul 11) … Dave Majumdar
The U.S. Air Force's fleet of F-22 Raptor fighters has been grounded since May 3 due to toxins entering the cockpit via the aircraft's life support systems, sources with extensive F-22 experience said.
12. Warfighter digital wireless system approved by Air Force
(Military and Aerospace Electronics, 23 Jul 11) … John McHale
ORLANDO, Fla. – U.S. Air Force officials gave their blessing to Northrop Grumman engineers to begin producing a wireless communication system for remote warfighters called the Theater Deployable Communications (TDC) Wireless Distribution Module (WDM).
13. F-22's getting state-of-the-art hangar
(Hawaii News Now, 22 Jul 11) … Jim Mendoza
HICKAM - Despite the forced grounding of America's fleet of F-22 Raptors because of suspected problems with their oxygen systems, Hawaii's Air National Guard (HIANG) pilots call the jets the best fighters in flight.
14. Air Force Special Forces seek stealth robot jeep
It has to carry two fighters, gear over rough terrain under cover of darkness
(MSNBC, 22 Jul 11) … Unattributed
Self-driving cars may already seem like a dubious idea to most drivers, but the U.S. Air Force wants to raise the stakes. U.S. Special Forces soldiers may soon trust their lives to a stealth robot jeep that can autonomously carry them to their target and back, through mountainous terrain under the cover of nightfall, without alerting enemy patrols.
15. Not Your Average Linux Distribution: DOD's Flavor
The Department of Defense has released a unique Linux distribution with special security considerations for telecommuters.
(Information Week, 22 Jul 11) … Elizabeth Montalbano
The Department of Defense (DOD) has released a unique Linux distribution designed to be a secure option for people, such as telecommuters, who need remote access to internal government and corporate networks from potentially insecure desktops.
RECAPTURE ACQUISITION EXCELLENCE
16. Feds driving harder bargain at procurement table
(Federal Times, 24 Jul 11) … Sarah Chacko
After receiving the first round of bids earlier this year from small businesses for a five-year, $10 billion governmentwide information technology services contract, the General Services Administration put the squeeze on.
GLOBAL AIR, SPACE, and CYBERSPACE ENVIRONMENT
17. France Ends Ban on Arms Trade with Israel
End of an era: France has ended a four decades-long ban on weapons trade with Israel.
(Israel Nation News, 24 Jul 11) … Chana Ya'ar
After more than 40 years, France has ended its ban on weapons trade with Israel. Paris has decided to purchase the Heron TP (Eitan) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from Israel Aerospace Industries.
18. Israel Studies Airborne Launch Scheme for Shavit Rocket
(Space News, 22 Jul 11) … Barbara Opall-Rome
TEL AVIV, Israel — Faced with a requirement for heavier military spy satellites, Israeli planners have devised an airborne launch concept in which the country’s indigenously built Shavit 2 rocket would be released from a modified Boeing 747 aircraft in international airspace high above the Indian Ocean, sources here said.
19. Japanese F-15s flying again
(Warner Robins Patriot, 22 Jul 11) … Gene Rector
Japanese F-15s are flying again after being temporarily grounded following a July 5 crash 100 miles northwest of Okinawa. Some 200 aircraft had been impacted.
(Defence Web, 22 Jul 11) … Unattributed
Uganda has received the first of six Su-30MK fighters bought from Russia, after more than a year of speculation and rumours about the deal.
ITEMS OF INTEREST
21. Iran backtracks on report it downed U.S. 'spy drone'
(CNN, 24 Jul 11) … Unattributed
Iran's military shot down a report that it downed a U.S. "spy drone" flying near its Fordo nuclear enrichment plant in Qom province, according to Fars, the official Iranian news agency.
22. Walter Reed closing ‘an emotional time’
(AP, 23 Jul 11) … Kimberly Hefling
WASHINGTON — Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army’s flagship hospital where privates to presidents have gone for care, is closing its doors after more than a century.
23. Panetta: U.S. must keep up pressure on al-Qaida
(AP, 22 Jul 11) … Robert Burns
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Friday he is confident the Pentagon can manage coming budget reductions without weakening the military.
24. Former JCS chief Shalikashvili dies
(AP, 23 Jul 11) … Manuel Valdes
SEATTLE — Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili, an immigrant who rose to the top job in the Pentagon where he advised President Bill Clinton over military involvement around the world, has died at age 75, the Army said in a statement.
25. NATO investigating hacking claims, group claims release of classified documents
(Postmedia News, 22 Jul 11) … Unatttributed
News that hackers broke into NATO's computer system and stole classified documents has prompted one security expert to suggest security breaches might make it difficult for military organizations to work in countries such as Afghanistan and Libya.
HEADLINES
CNN at 0530
Man accused of Norway terror attacks set to appear in court
Strauss-Kahn accuser goes public
Obama cancels events amid debt talks
FOX News at 0530
Dems, GOP Hit 'Deadlock' in Debt Talks
Suspect Sought to Start Anti-Muslim Crusade
Pelosi Calls for Ethics Probe Into Wu Sex Report
NPR at 0530
Lawyer: Suspect In Norway Attacks Seeks Open Hearing
Democrats, GOP Stubbornly Hold Debt Positions
Flow Of Somali Refugees Strains Kenyan Town
USA Today at 0530
Leaders seek own debt plans
Norway clings to peaceful values
Chickenpox vaccine cuts kid deaths
Washington Post at 0530
Strategies diverge as talks hit another wall
Investors wary as Asian markets open
Voter anger spurs third-party groups