Friday, May 3, 2024
Key Issues Budget 'parity' Summer CUAS demo EW in Ukraine
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.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- The recent name changes of two high-profile organizations working to align the space interests of the Defense Department and intelligence community are not merely cosmetic, but indicate their evolution from experimentation and tactics development hubs to centers supporting national-level space operations, according to a military official.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Lockheed Martin and the Air Force completed shipment of the new Space Fence radar to Kwajalein Atoll in March and plan to begin installation at the radar site this month.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Air Force Space Command plans to partner with the service's Rapid Capabilities Office to more quickly field an Enterprise Space Battle Management Command and Control system.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Despite concerns that the Air Force's competitive launch strategy has emphasized price over reliability, longtime national security space launch provider United Launch Alliance is optimistic that approach will change as the service matures its source-selection process in a newly competitive environment.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- The Air Force has announced a number of changes to the way it organizes and manages the space enterprise, but a top House lawmaker is not convinced the measures go far enough to address fragmentation and a lack of space leadership within the Defense Department.
The head of U.S. Strategic Command announced today the Joint Interagency Combined Space Operations Center has been renamed the National Space Defense Center, effective April 1.
The Defense Department has selected Brig. Gen. Eric Fick as the new deputy director of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
The Air Force Sustainment Center is in the early phases of developing a sustainment strategy for the Northrop Grumman-built B-21 bomber, and is working to determine the gaps in skills and manpower it may need to address to support the new, stealthy bomber.
Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Air Force.
The re-emergence of a National Space Council could provide needed national leadership in the space community, but some Washington space policy experts say it could also prove to be a hindrance if not implemented correctly.
The Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday questioned President Trump's nominee for Air Force secretary about key modernization and readiness challenges as well as some ethics concerns surrounding a 2013 investigation into her consulting work with Sandia National Laboratories.
The Air Force thinks 1,900 fighter jets is its "bare minimum" inventory requirement, and one service official told lawmakers this week the true requirement -- to grow to 60 fighter squadrons -- is likely closer to 2,100 jets.
The Air Force is conducting a supplemental Environmental Impact Study as part of the process to beddown the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at Eielson Air Force Base, AK.
As the Air Force works toward full and open competition in the national security space launch market, analysts and industry executives say the service may find it a challenge to loosen its grip on oversight as it weighs the risks and benefits of a more commercial approach.
The Air Force confirmed this week it is working with the National Reconnaissance Office to jointly address indication and warning and space situational awareness requirements through its Space-Based Space Surveillance follow-on program.
The Air Force is analyzing its options for ramping up F-35 production beyond what is currently programmed over the next five years, but the service's top uniformed acquisition officer said this week that a steep incline to an annual 60-jet buy is unlikely under existing budget constraints.
Lockheed Martin expects an investigation into the A2100 propulsion system carried by four key military space constellations to wrap up in May.
F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin is still aiming to complete the Joint Strike Fighter program's development phase by the end of the year, telling reporters this week that key milestones this summer will offer a good indicator of whether it is executing to its aggressive testing schedule.
The Air Force on Friday released a series of documents detailing its plans for a light-attack aircraft experiment this summer that could field a rapid acquisition program to buy around 300 light-attack jets to supplement the service's fighter fleet.
The Air Force's military deputy for acquisition said this week that while he and his civilian counterpart have the authorities necessary to run the service's acquisition shop, the workload requires the leadership of a politically appointed acquisition executive.