Friday, April 26, 2024
Key Issues Optical clocks Prototype funding SPAFORGEN
Sara Sirota was an associate editor for Inside the Air Force until April 2021. 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.
Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper signed a memo today that transitions the experimental Advanced Battle Management System program to a "demonstration-deployment phase" and designates the service's Rapid Capabilities Office as the "integrating" program executive office to buy and field new technologies.
The Air Force has completed a final design review of a new arming and fuzing assembly for the military's intercontinental ballistic missiles after the service had to delay the milestone by eight months from its original schedule.
The Air Force is on schedule to conduct a preliminary design review in the coming months of Lockheed Martin's solution for the future Ground Based Strategic Deterrent's Mk21A reentry vehicle.
The Air Force is planning to award Northrop Grumman a contract to support and sustain the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System.
The Air Force has received Raytheon's proposal for the Long-Range Standoff Weapon and will seek the Defense Acquisition Board's approval to begin developing the multibillion-dollar, nuclear-armed cruise missile next May, about nine months ahead of schedule.
Air Force Materiel Command is researching industry solutions that enable airborne sensors to autonomously exchange classified signals and geospatial intelligence data.
Senate appropriators are recommending a $30 million cut to the Air Force's Long Range Standoff Weapon budget request in fiscal year 2021 even though the service has said it needs full funding to accelerate testing and make the program schedule more flexible.
Senate appropriators have joined a chorus of lawmakers who are rejecting the Air Force's proposal to shut down the MQ-9 Reaper acquisition program early and want to keep the production line open while also looking to accelerate development of low-cost, attritable aircraft that could transform future drone operations.
Senate appropriators are recommending that lawmakers cut more than $93 million from the fiscal year 2021 budget the Air Force requested to develop the Advanced Battle Management System -- making it more likely the service will have reduced funding to execute on-ramp operational exercises over the next 11 months.
Senate appropriators are recommending lawmakers reject the Defense Department's request to bypass current contracting requirements guiding the construction of launch facilities and launch centers for the military's next intercontinental ballistic missile system.
The Air Force is beginning market research into laser projection solutions that can assist the military's Enhanced Regional Situational Awareness system that defends the National Capital Region's airspace.
The Air Force has awarded a new group of companies indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity agreements to share technologies that enable joint all-domain command and control -- growing the service’s JADC2 industry team to about 95 vendors.
The chief executive of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions is feeling confident about the company's near-term drone sale prospects even though the Air Force recently more than tripled the competitive field for Skyborg, an emerging program for autonomous, unmanned vehicles.
The Air Force Research Laboratory is sole sourcing an 18-month contract to Raytheon to experiment with the company's directed-energy weapon prototype called the Counter-Electronic High Power Microwave Extended Range Air Base Air Defense (CHIMERA).
The military today launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, to verify the nuclear weapon's readiness and accuracy.
The Air Force's armament directorate is planning more tests of its boost-glide hypersonic Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon while also looking to establish new industry partnerships to support development of scramjet-powered munitions like the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile.
Brig. Gen. Heath Collins is taking on his new position as the Air Force's program executive officer for weapons by launching initiatives like the Global Precision Attack Weapon to promote the use of digital engineering and open architecture principles in legacy and future munitions.
The Pentagon made significant headway advancing its surveillance capabilities last week when the Air Force updated software on a U-2 Dragon Lady mid-flight for the first time -- opening the door to greater use of data streaming and machine learning aboard aircraft during spy missions.
The Air Force is seeking to further develop an unidentified directed-energy weapon it's buying for base defense against unmanned aerial systems, according to a new request for information.
The Air Force is looking for a next-generation Global Precision Attack Weapon to fly on the F-35 fighter jet and B-21 bomber to defeat adversaries' "hard and deeply buried targets."