Saturday, December 7, 2024
Key Issues MQ-25 Stingray USSF pLEO spending cap JLTV funding
President Biden has tapped Space Force Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt to serve as the new deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber and nuclear, according to a press release from the Defense Department, an appointment that would include promotion to lieutenant general.
The Air Force declared initial operational capability for the HH-60W Jolly Green II Combat Rescue Helicopter, according to a press release from Lockheed Martin, achieving a major milestone for a program that officials are seeking to truncate.
A fix for the KC-46A's long-troubled Remote Vision System has been delayed 19 months to October 2025 due to subcontractor negotiations and additional time needed to achieve airworthiness certification, according to a statement from the Air Force's acquisition office.
Market research for an electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft is underway for the Air Force, according to a request for information posted by the service.
The Space Development Agency has tapped York Space Systems to deliver Tranche 1 Demonstration and Experimentation System satellites, SDA Director Derek Tournear told reporters during a virtual roundtable today.
The Air Force has certified an initial design for the F-35A to carry nuclear bombs, Inside Defense has learned, putting the service months ahead of its January 2023 goal.
The Space Development Agency today awarded Ball Aerospace a $176 million contract for 10 space vehicles for the National Defense Space Architecture Experimental Testbed, according to an SDA press release.
The Space Surveillance Telescope that will be operated jointly by the Australian Defense Department and Space Force reached initial operational capability today, according to a press release from Space Operations Command.
The Space Development Agency will formally join the Space Force tomorrow due to a congressional mandate, a move that will add a new acquisition arm to the service, expand its satellite portfolio and potentially transform its procurement strategy.
The Senate voted by unanimous consent yesterday evening to confirm Lt. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman as the next chief of space operations and promotion to general.
The National Reconnaissance Office today awarded six commercial vendors study contracts for space-based radio frequency remote sensing, according to an agency press release.
International agreements will be needed to control the burgeoning number of objects in orbit, a top Space Force official said today, warning that the continued growth of satellites without certain guardrails will harm future space operations.
The Air Force's slowed cadence of delivering new fighter aircraft is "concerning," the service's top uniformed official said today, emphasizing that quicker innovations are needed to maintain an edge over adversaries.
Delivery of the Space Force's troubled Next Generation Operational Control System has been pushed from next month to December, according to a statement from the service's acquisition office, potentially shaving off the program's remaining schedule margin as officials work to meet an April 2023 deadline for initial operational capability.
The Defense Department inspector general plans to launch a review next month of critical technologies associated with the Air Force's Next Generation Air Dominance platform.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Next Generation Overheard Persistent Infrared satellites planned for launch to geosynchronous orbit will be the Space Force's final missile warning and tracking satellites deployed to that layer, the director of the Space Development Agency said today.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The Space Development Agency’s model of rapid satellite acquisitions is poised to shake up the Space Force's procurement strategy, the service's top acquisition official said today, who heralded SDA's operations ahead of the agency's planned transition into the Space Force next month.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- The KC-46A Pegasus has been cleared by Air Mobility Command for combat deployment, AMC’s top official told reporters today, marking a turning point for the troubled tanker that had previously been sidelined by technical defects and cost overruns.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- L3Harris Technologies and Brazilian aerospace company Embraer are offering a jointly developed KC-390 Millennium as a new tanker for the Air Force’s consideration, aiming to break into the U.S. military air refueling market as the service looks to field a new generation of aircraft, the two companies announced today.
NATIONAL HARBOR, MD -- As the United States increasingly leverages commercial space capabilities to support national security objectives, the Defense Department is considering steps to indemnify private space vendors due to risks to their systems, top officials said today.