Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Courtney Albon was senior editor for aviation and space at Inside Defense until December 2021. She covered the Air Force since 2012, reporting largely on space programs and fighter aircraft acquisition, development and budget from inside Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and from military installations around the United States. Courtney previously worked as a general assignment reporter at The Ashland Times-Gazette in Ashland, OH, covering education and local government. She graduated from American University in 2008, where she studied journalism and sociology.
The Space Development Agency is looking to improve automated target recognition on overhead persistent infrared sensors and is seeking "emerging algorithms" to help recognize high-velocity targets, to include hypersonic glide vehicles and cruise missiles and maneuvering re-entry vehicles.
The Space Force has awarded contracts totaling approximately $384 million to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance for four National Security Space Launch Missions slated to launch in fiscal year 2023.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense has waived key survivability testing requirements for the F-15EX, approving a test plan the Air Force expects will save $108 million and reduce the testing schedule by at least one year.
The Space Development Agency's warfighting council will meet at the end of this month to discuss the key capabilities for the next tranche of the agency's proliferated space architecture.
Welcome to today's Space Briefing -- a biweekly roundup of the latest national security space news.
Lockheed Martin is redesigning its LM 2100 spacecraft bus to enable on-orbit docking and plans to showcase the capability on a future Air Force GPS IIIF mission.
The head of Air Combat Command would like to move forward with an experiment that could change the way the Air Force trains fighter pilots, but he told reporters last week he needs a more stable funding plan in place beyond fiscal year 2022 to prove out the new concept.
Boeing has awarded a contract to BAE Systems to begin low-rate initial production of the F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System, which the Air Force plans to install on F-15E and EX jets.
The head of Air Combat Command said Friday he isn't confident the F-35 program can meet its target to reduce the F-35A's cost-per-flying-hour to $25,000 by 2025, and said he will meet with program officials and contractors this week to discuss affordability, availability and capability concerns.
The Air Force general in charge of Air Combat Command said today that while he is confident in the progress the service has made to develop Next-Generation Air Dominance capabilities, he is less sure "the nation will have the courage" to deliver the technology at a faster pace than its adversaries.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown said this week the service will request a similar slate of legacy aircraft retirements in its fiscal year 2022 budget despite pushback from lawmakers last year, telling reporters he's been ramping up congressional engagement to start earlier conversations about the strategy behind the service's force structure proposals.
Air Mobility Command is working on a plan to approve the KC-46 for limited operational missions beginning later this year, despite remaining deficiencies that have delayed full mission capability until 2024.
The Defense Department and Lockheed Martin have negotiated a significantly smaller scope for a forthcoming performance-based logistics sustainment contract for the F-35, opting for a "bridge" contract the company expects will yield less savings but instill confidence in its performance and set a foundation for a full PBL.
The Defense Department inspector general will launch a review this month of the Air Force's selection of the Army's Redstone Arsenal as the preferred permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command.
A Lockheed Martin official said today the company expects the Air Force to issue a request for proposals this spring for an F-35 performance-based logistics sustainment contract.
The new executive vice president of Lockheed Martin's aeronautics business told reporters today that as the Air Force evaluates the makeup of its tactical aircraft portfolio -- and considers a clean-sheet 4.5-generation fighter to replace the F-16 -- he thinks the three fighter aircraft the company already builds for the service provide a holistic, family-of-systems approach to meet a spectrum of capability needs.
Welcome to today's Space Briefing -- a biweekly roundup of the latest national security space news.
The Space Force and Boeing have completed key testing for a Wideband Global Satellite Communications upgrade meant to improve the system's anti-jamming capabilities.
The Air Force is working with the Pentagon's cost assessment office to consider options for a future tactical fighter aircraft mix -- one of which is buying a clean-sheet, "4.5-generation" fighter with an open mission systems architecture to help the service counter low-end threats.
The director of the Space Development Agency this week highlighted the organization’s success in achieving a $14.1 million average per-satellite cost for its first tranche of transport space vehicles and said he’s aiming to lower the cost even further as the proliferated architecture grows.