Inside the Air Force highlights

Some must-reads from this week's issue of Inside the Air Force:

1. As the Air Force considers how, and whether, commercially hosted payloads might make its future satellite architectures more resilient, the service is looking to industry to develop a key enabling technology meant to help protect sensitive information contained in some military payloads.

Full story: USAF predicts application for hosted payloads despite lack of momentum

2. The Air Force is working with KC-46 Pegasus prime contractor Boeing to speed up the new tanker's Federal Aviation Administration certification process by conducting some exercises in parallel -- part of a larger effort to overcome schedule delays and support Boeing's requirement to deliver 18 tankers by next August.

Full story: Air Force, Boeing streamlining KC-46 certification to avoid RAA delay

3. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency could demonstrate technologies by 2020 that would enable the future launch of hypersonic vehicles, according to the agency's Tactical Boost Glide program manager.

Full story: DARPA aims to complete hypersonic demonstrations by 2020