Friday, February 28, 2020
Key Issues LOGCAP V CRS on 5G Esper on mid-band spectrum
Sara Sirota is an associate editor for Inside the Air Force. Previously, she reported for The Hill and The Cazenovia Republican. She has a master's degree in security studies from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a bachelor's degree in political science from Colgate University.
ORLANDO, FL -- The Air Force is preparing to defend its fiscal year 2021 budget realignments to Congress, holding classified briefings with lawmakers and staffers ahead of hearings likely to expose the service's proposals to heavy scrutiny.
The Air Force has established an "innovative capabilities opening" to assess the transformative vertical flight market with the goal of accelerating certification and evaluating the potential for early adoption and fielding.
Northrop Grumman has added Bechtel and Kratos to its team that will develop the military's next-generation intercontinental ballistic missile system -- the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent.
Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper is eyeing the service's new approach to shared network testing, commercial start-ups and even the flying car industry as potential game-changers to the Pentagon's traditional relationship with contractors and the global technology market.
The Air Force is looking to invest more than $1 billion over the next five years and will publish a request for proposals this spring to upgrade a developmental Navy guided missile that's intended to enhance the F-35 fighter jet's performance against anti-access/area-denial defenses.
The president's fiscal year 2021 budget proposal gives the first peek into the Air Force's acquisition plans for new utility helicopters that will patrol the military's intercontinental ballistic missile silos -- showing an anticipated expenditure of $1.9 billion on 54 MH-139 Grey Wolf aircraft across the future years defense program.
The Air Force is planning to spend up to $125 million for software updates to its inventory of AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles.
Software developers for the military's next intercontinental ballistic missile system will be able to begin using DevSecOps right after a manufacturing contract is awarded this summer, giving the program a head start on writing code.
The Air Force is moving forward with a contracting solution worth up to $490 million for research and development of capabilities that can combat commercial off-the-shelf small unmanned aerial systems.
The Air Force is considering awarding multiple contracts in fiscal year 2021 for risk-reduction work supporting the effort to build and purchase the president's next emergency command-and-control aircraft.
The Air Force is investing $1.6 billion more than expected in its HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter acquisition program over the next four years to buy the Sikorsky-built aircraft on a faster schedule, according to the service’s latest budget documents.
The Air Force is planning a major investment into its joint all-domain command and control efforts over the next five years -- projecting expenditures of more than $3.2 billion to develop the Advanced Battle Management System.
The Air Force's fiscal year 2021 budget makes major changes to the service's fleet of remotely piloted aircraft -- ending purchases of MQ-9 Reapers and retiring more than two-thirds of its RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet.
The Air Force's $168.9 billion fiscal year 2021 budget request proposes a $4.1 billion realignment across the future years defense program to fund increases in future air and space dominance capabilities through cuts to legacy bombers and tankers, Block 20 and 30 Global Hawks, Guard and Reserve Component A-10s and planned missile procurements. (UPDATED)
The Air Force is terminating the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon program -- one of two prototyping efforts the service is pursuing to achieve a capability that can travel faster than Mach 5 -- following completion of its critical design review this spring.
The Air Force plans to solicit proposals from industry for a gateway capability that can be added to an E-3 Sentry to enable data sharing between fifth-generation and fourth-generation aircraft.
Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist officially ordered the establishment of a joint all-domain command and control cross-functional team in a memo signed last week.
After the Defense Department inspector general's office found the Air Force wasted nearly $18 million from the Overseas Contingency Operations budget on a capability that was never delivered, the service's chief auditor is conducting a review of how this funding is used to develop "innovation projects."
Air Force Global Strike Command launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile with a test reentry vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, early this morning.
The Air Force has selected variants of the Small Diameter Bomb I and Miniature Air Launched Decoy as the initial demonstration weapons for the Golden Horde swarming munitions vanguard program, according to a service spokeswoman.