The Air & Space Brief: First clues to fighter pilot cancers; New tanker locations; Space winner too heavy to fly

Welcome to the Defense One Air and Space newsletter. Here are our top stories this week:  

Clues to pilot cancers: While military pilots are getting the first acknowledgment that they are at higher risk of certain types of cancers, they still don’t know why, whether it’s something in the cockpits or on the flight decks—or something completely unrelated—that they were exposed to during their flying careers. But one study is betting that radars, magnetrons, and other toxic exposures may each leave a unique signature on aviators’ DNA, which could give researchers clues about the cause. 

New tanker locations: Lockheed Martin and Airbus will build new military tankers in Alabama and Georgia if the U.S. Air Force choses its aircraft over one proposed by rival Boeing, the companies announced Monday. Executives announced the decision during ceremonies in Mobile, Alabama, where Airbus currently builds commercial jetliners, and Marietta, Georgia. 

Space Force expands international reach: The Space Force is rapidly expanding the number of people it has in its international liaison offices, as more partner nations build up their own space capacity, Air Force Magazine reports. One of the goals of the expanded outreach is to get partner nations to develop an interoperable order of battle, the Space Force said. 

Space lottery winner was too heavy: NBC news reports that the actual winner of the SpaceX flight lottery ticket was a pilot—but he was too heavy to qualify for the launch. The Delta regional pilot ended up giving the ticket to his Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University roommate. 

Sign up to get The Air & Space Brief every Tuesday from Tara Copp, Defense One’s Senior Pentagon Reporter. Did you know: The Space Shuttle Enterprise was named for its “Star Trek” namesake “... after a promotional campaign by ‘trekkers’ such as had never been seen before in space program history,” NASA writes. 

From Defense One

Military Pilots’ DNA May Hold Key to What’s Causing Their Prostate Cancers // Tara Copp: Radars, magnetrons, and other toxic exposures may leave unique signatures on aviators’ cells, giving researchers the first evidence of cause.

Lockheed, Airbus Say They Would Build New Air Force Tankers in Alabama, Georgia // Marcus Weisgerber: Team takes aim at service’s “bridge tanker” contract against likely rival Boeing.

After 20 Years of Civilian Drone Strike Deaths, Pentagon Creates An Office to Stop More // Tara Copp: The military keeps repeating mistakes and is not ready for future fights because the lessons learned have not been instilled throughout the DOD, an independent review found.

SecDef Austin Summons Hypersonics CEOs // Marcus Weisgerber and Patrick Tucker: Pentagon meeting set for next week in race to outpace China and Russia.