Inside the Air Force highlights

Here are some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Air Force:

1. The Air Force's strategy to develop the next generation of missile warning satellites on an aggressive schedule using new acquisition concepts and resiliency standards hit a snag last fall when Congress partially denied funding for a reprogramming request, delaying the start of payload development by about four months, according to a service official.

Full story: USAF works to mitigate early Next-Gen OPIR delay in the wake of reprogramming denial

2. The Air Force has established a $9.9 billion price tag for its new Advanced Pilot Training program, the Boeing-led project -- also dubbed T-X -- to recapitalize the aging fleet of T-38C aircraft used to train fighter and bomber pilots.

Full story: Air Force sets $9.9 billion price tag for new T-X program

3. A defense intelligence official told reporters this week that the biggest threat to U.S. space superiority is likely not a single adversary capability, but rather actions in recent years by Russia and China to better organize and integrate space capabilities within their militaries -- actions that could help the Pentagon as it makes a case to create a new Space Force.

Full story: Officials: Russian, Chinese organizational shifts signify greater space focus

4. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said this week he would back the Pentagon if it submitted a budget requesting a massively inflated warfighting account intended to skirt statutory spending caps, but his Democratic counterpart Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) opposes the move on the grounds that it is a "dramatic retreat . . . from common sense and good government."

Full story: Pentagon's plans for inflated OCO request spark conflict on Capitol Hill