Inside the Air Force highlights

Some must-reads from the year-end issue of Inside the Air Force:

1. Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan told reporters this week that the likely new Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin is a possible candidate to take over the duties of the principal Defense Department space adviser role after Congress terminated the position and stripped those responsibilities from the Air Force secretary in the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

Full Story: Shanahan: Griffin 'a possibility' for re-delegated PDSA responsibilities

2. The Air Force says Northrop Grumman hasn't improved the quality or speed of maintenance on E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System jets despite efforts to nudge the company along, although Northrop argues it is taking steps to better its workflow.

Full Story: Northrop misses JSTARS availability goals despite contract changes

3. The Air Force's new mechanism to prototype space capabilities may be more popular than anticipated, prompting the service to consider what to do if the program hits its $100 million project ceiling before the end of its initial five-year term.

Full Story: Space Enterprise Consortium interest could surpass $100M ceiling

Happy Holidays! The next Inside the Air Force highlights will be posted Jan. 5.