The director of national intelligence announced today his agency is considering whether the Space Force should become a member of the U.S. intelligence community and said he will make a decision in the next month or two.
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Key Issues Optical clocks Prototype funding SPAFORGEN
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 director of national intelligence announced today his agency is considering whether the Space Force should become a member of the U.S. intelligence community and said he will make a decision in the next month or two.
The final version of the fiscal year 2021 defense policy bill includes a number of spacelift provisions, directing the creation of a certification and innovation fund, a tactically responsive space launch program and an acquisition strategy for small satellite launch.
The final version of the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill limits the Air Force's near-term plans to retire some legacy aircraft, but moves away from provisions included in earlier drafts that would have set minimum aircraft levels for major mission areas.
A national commission reviewing aviation safety across the Defense Department is recommending the creation of a Joint Safety Council that would report directly to the deputy defense secretary and be tasked with coordinating service-level safety centers' risk-mitigation efforts and bringing crucial decision-making data to top Pentagon leaders.
Air Mobility Command is in the midst of a three-step process to shape its future training environment, move toward a common training platform and upgrade its aging simulator fleet.
A cross functional team tasked by the Air Force Warfighting Integration Capability is developing a plan to improve the service's training infrastructure to support multidomain operations.
The Space Force has declared the fifth geosynchronous-orbit Space Based Infrared System satellite ready for launch in 2021, prime contractor Lockheed Martin announced today.
Boeing announced this week it has started production on the T-7A Red Hawk's ground-based training system, and assembly on the first two trainers is underway at its St. Louis site.
The Air Force on Monday awarded Lockheed Martin a 10-year C-130J foreign military sales sustainment services contract worth up to $1.4 billion.
The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee is calling the Air Force's decision this week to reveal four preferred alternative Air National Guard C-130J bases -- including one in Georgia -- a politically motivated move that muddies the service's strategic basing process.
The Space Force is finalizing the organizational details of a new Space Warfighting Analysis Center, which will play a key role in developing advanced tactics and proposing new force design elements for the service.
The head of Air Force acquisition said today he expects the service would see "immediate improvement" in its readiness rates if it were authorized to retire older aircraft as proposed in its fiscal year 2021 budget request.
The Air Force has completed its evaluation of Boeing's interim KC-46 remote vision system upgrade pitch and plans to integrate "a few capabilities" as it works toward replacing the existing system, service acquisition executive Will Roper told reporters today.
The Space and Missile Systems Center is using a new request for information to help shape a larger conversation about how future launch services acquisition strategies will build on past work and where they might move in a new direction.
The vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said today he plans to spend his last year in the seat pushing hard for changes to the way the Defense Department classifies space programs.
The Defense Department inspector general's office is planning several oversight efforts involving space programs and operations, including a review of DOD's space testing strategy and an audit of launch facility maintenance efforts.
The commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center said today the Space Force will request a significant plus-up in funding in its fiscal year 2022 budget proposal, reflecting the strategic importance of space investment as one of the Defense Department's top priorities.
The Air Force today announced six candidate bases to host U.S. Space Command Headquarters, including multiple locations not included in its initial attempt to choose a home base for the new combatant command.
In a new survey of 46 Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, the Government Accountability Office found that only three met their mission-capable goals in most fiscal years between FY-11 and FY-19 -- demonstrating the readiness and cost implications of the military's aging aircraft fleet.
Although key Defense Department strategy documents make a strong case for a more rapid, responsive launch capability, some launch officials and experts say the Pentagon needs more advocacy -- at all levels -- to move technology forward.