Page 2 - Aerotech News and Review, May 18 2018

Briefs
California’s National Guard begins Bor- der Patrol training
California National Guard troops have started training with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to be camera operators, radio dispatchers, intelli- gence analysts and fill other support roles to free up more agents to patrol the Mexican border.
Maj. Kimberly Holman told The Associated Press May 3 that some of the 250 troops who vol- unteered for the call to help Border Patrol agents started their on-the-job training Thursday after meeting their Border Patrol supervisors in San Di- ego. Depending on their jobs, some could begin officially working as soon as May 13.
Gov. Jerry Brown agreed to contribute 400 troops to the National Guard’s deployment to the Mexican border to help go after drugs, guns and criminal gangs — not immigrants
Holman says troops volunteered for the mission to keep California safe. AP
Source: Trump considering Army veteran for VA secretary
President Donald Trump is considering an Army veteran who is a Republican member of Congress for the position of Veterans Affairs secretary. It is part of a lengthening search for a nominee follow- ing the abrupt firing of David Shulkin in March.
A White House official says Rep. Brian Mast of Florida is among the list of candidates for the job serving 9 million veterans.
Mast is the first member of Congress to open a lawmaker office in a VA facility, setting up shop in the West Palm Beach VA to meet with veterans. He was wounded when serving in Afghanistan in 2010, which resulted in the amputation of both of his legs.
Trump is seeking a nominee to lead the VA after White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson with- drew his nomination. AP
Iraqi forces capture five top IS leaders in cross-border raid
The U.S.-led coalition says Iraqi forces in co- ordination with U.S.-backed Syrian forces have captured five senior Islamic State group leaders.
In a May 3 statement, coalition spokesman Army Col. Ryan Dillon called the arrest a “sig- nificant blow to Daesh,” using the Arabic acronym for the extremist group.
IS fighters no longer control significant pockets of territory inside Iraq, but do maintain a grip in- side Syria along Iraq’s border.
The U.S.-led coalition supported Iraqi ground forces and Syrian fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces in the more than three- year war against IS.
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted about the raid, saying those arrested were the “five most wanted” IS “leaders.”
None of the statements from the president or the coalition named the individuals. AP
Philippines to launch first missile-firing assault vessels
The Philippine navy chief says the country’s first- ever missile-firing assault vessels will be launched in about three months, likely for territorial defense, anti-insurgency operations and deterrence.
Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad told a news con- ference May 3 that the navy also plans to acquire torpedoes and submarines under a modernization program to bolster the security of the archipelago and combat piracy and other cross-border crimes.
Empedrad said the Israeli-made short-range mis- sile systems are being installed in three multipur- pose attack seacraft which were acquired earlier. He said the navy is finalizing plans where to deploy the vessels, which would possibly include western Palawan province and Zamboanga Peninsula in the south.
The underfunded Philippine military is among the most ill-equipped in Asia, although it faces
many national security and territorial threats. AP
Vietnam asks China to withdraw missiles from South China Sea
Vietnam has requested that China withdraw its military equipment from South China Sea outposts, saying its deployment seriously violates Hanoi’s sovereignty, increases tension and destabilizes the region.
CNBC reported last week that China has in- stalled anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three outposts in the contested Spratly Islands which are also claimed by Vietnam, among others.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement that Vietnam has suffi- cient legal basis and historical evidence to affirm its sovereignty over the Spratlys and the Paracels in the South China Sea.
“Vietnam requests that China ... show its re- sponsibility in maintaining peace, stability in the East Sea, do not carry out militarization activities, withdraw military equipment illegally installed on features under Vietnam’s sovereignty,” she said, using Vietnam’s name for the South China Sea.
In Manila, the Philippines, which claims owner- ship of the three Chinese man-made islands where missile systems have reportedly been installed, Sen. Panfilo Lacson backed calls for a Philippine Senate investigation. He also urged the conven- ing of the National Security Council, a top-level grouping of political and security leaders, to tackle threats posed by the purported Chinese missiles.
“If up to now, the government still has not con- firmed the presence of a foreign country’s missiles in one of our islands, we may have a serious na- tional security problem,” Lacson said in a state- ment.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has backed away from his predecessor’s vocal criticism of China’s expansionist moves in the disputed waters and reached out to China for trade and investment.
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said May 4 that “peaceful constructions and deployed defensive facilities” were aimed to “meet the need of safeguarding national sover- eignty and security, which is also the right of a sovereign state.”
Hua denied such work constituted militariza- tion and accused the U.S. of increasing military tensions in the area, adding that “they should be prepared for the consequences.”
China has constructed seven man-made islands and equipped them with runways, hangers, radar and missile stations, further cementing its vast ter- ritorial claims in the busy waterway. The U.S. says that militarization of the South China Sea runs con- trary to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s assurances
to Washington. AP
China says stealth fighter conducts first
training over sea
China’s homebuilt J-20 stealth fighter has con- ducted sea training for the first time, the air force said May 9.
The recent mission took the plane or planes out to sea for drills under “actual war conditions,” air force spokesman Senior Col. Shen Jinke posted to the service’s microblog. He called that a “further upgrade of the air force’s combat capabilities.”
China said in February that the plane had ob- tained initial operational capability and was being introduced into combat units.
First flown in 2011, the J-20 is China’s answer to fifth-generation jets such as the U.S. F-22 and F-35.
With its stealthy capabilities, speed and maneu- verability, it potentially represents a major upgrade to Chinese air power, although questions have been raised about some of its technologies, especially its engines.
Though developed domestically, the J-20 is be- lieved to have initially relied on Russian engines for propulsion due to manufacturing problems in China.
Some reports say they have since been replaced with Chinese engines, the WS-10B, which do not have a big enough thrust-to-weight ratio to allow the J-20 to cruise at supersonic speeds without us- ing afterburners, something that would expose it to detection. AP
Congress wants review of military child- on-child sex abuse
Congress has asked its watchdog agency to in- vestigate the Pentagon’s handling of child-on-child sex assaults on U.S. military bases.
The request follows reporting by The Associated Press that documented nearly 700 sexual assault reports over 10 years on bases where military kids live and learn. The reporting detailed how failures of justice leave victims with little support and of- fenders with little consequence.
In a recent letter, the top Republican and Dem- ocrat on the House Armed Services Committee asked the Government Accountability Office to get involved. That would mean a more transpar- ent review of an opaque system.
The two lawmakers wrote that they worried Pentagon-run schools, which educate about 70,000 military kids worldwide, do not have consistent policies. They also questioned how military inves- tigators and lawyers seek justice. AP
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See BRIEFS, Page 4
Military Retiree Appreciation Day slated for May 19
by Laura Motes
Edwards AFB, Calif.
Edwards Air Force Base’s 2018 Military Retiree Appreciation Day will be 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., May 19 in Hanger 1210.
Parking will be available at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School located at 220 Wolfe Avenue at Edwards.
All local military retirees and spouses are in- vited to attend. The event is designed to honor and provide valuable programs and resources to all military retirees. There will be informa- tion on topics such as legal services, immuniza- tions, TRICARE, Health Net Federal Services, Retiree Activity Office services and medical consultations.
Military I.D. card services will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Enjoy a continental breakfast, live entertain- ment, airfield tours, guest speakers and the op- portunity to win door prizes. The base commis- sary will also be having its Spring Sidewalk Sale that weekend.
A war bird fly-by is also planned.
For more information on the 2018 Military Retiree Appreciation Day, contact the Retir- ee Activity Office at 661-277-4931 or email 412tw.rao@us.af.mil.
If you fly a private plane, you can sign up to land by the base’s Aero Club located on the south side of Edwards. Contact the airfield manager before May 7 at 661-277-3808 to fly in. A DD214 is required.