DOT&E Report Noted F-35 Deficiencies A Month Before Full-Rate Pentagon Go Ahead
The Pentagon said on March 12 that it had approved the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 for full-rate production–nine years after the fifth-generation fighter entered service. A month before the DoD […]
View ArticleLockheed Martin Receives Nearly $870 Million in Long Lead Funding for F-35...
Lockheed Martin [LMT] has received a nearly $870 million award for long-lead items and parts for production Lot 20 of the company’s F-35, DoD said in a Friday contracts announcement. […]
View ArticleMusk Comments on F-35 Receive Pushback
While Elon Musk said that the “F-35 design was broken at the requirements level because it was required to be too many things to too many people,” the U.S. Air […]
View ArticleAir Force Eyes Proposal to Improve Sustainment of FPS-117
In the next year, the U.S. Air Force may issue a five-year Advanced Range and Radar Array Key Instrument for Sustainment (ARRAKIS) solicitation to improve the performance of the Lockheed […]
View ArticleU.S. Space Force Targets September Next Year for ATLAS IOC
The U.S. Space Force said this week that it has informed Congress that September next year will mark initial operational capability (IOC) of the L3Harris [LHX] Advancing Tracking and Launch […]
View ArticleU.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Asks for Input on Support for...
The U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s special operations forces, personnel recovery, and rotary division (AFLCMC/WIU) at Robins AFB, Ga., is surveying industry to determine its capacity to...
View ArticleSNC Says Its Design for USAF SAOC Moving Forward
Colorado-based Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) said on Monday that it has completed another step in engineering and manufacturing development of the U.S. Air Force’s planned survivable airborne operations...
View ArticleFifth NRO Mission in Proliferated Architecture Launched from Vandenberg
NROL-126–the fifth mission for the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) proliferated constellation–lofted into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., in the wee...
View ArticleTwo SASC Democrats Urge Biden Policy Directive Barring Unauthorized Use of...
On Nov. 18, President-elect Trump responded, “True!”, to a post on his Truth Social network by the president of the right wing organization, Judicial Watch, that praised a possible national […]
View ArticleEPS-R Arctic Communications Payloads Operational, Northrop Grumman Says
Northrop Grumman [NOC] said on Monday the company’s two Enhanced Polar System – Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads for U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command are operational. The EPS-Rs were part of […]
View ArticleTrump NASA Nominee: ‘The Second Space Age Has Only Just Begun’
President-elect Trump on Wednesday nominated 41-year-old Jared Isaacman, a private astronaut/pilot and the billionaire founder of the Shift4 [FOUR] payments processing company, as the next...
View ArticleU.S. Air Force Commander Broaches Outside Company Involvement in B-21 Production
Last year’s Strategic Posture Commission report advised the Pentagon to increase the planned buy of the U.S. Air Force B-21 stealth bomber and supporting tankers. The Air Force has said […]
View ArticleUSAF Acquisition Strategy Review of Sentinel Continues As DoD Awaits New...
As the White House prepares to change hands and parties next month, the U.S. Air Force is continuing its acquisition strategy review of the Northrop Grumman [NOC] LGM-35A Sentinel future […]
View ArticleRogers: ‘We’re Not Gonna Eliminate the F-35’
Elon Musk had his 4-year-old son X Æ A-12, or “X” for short, on his shoulders when the SpaceX billionaire emerged from a meeting with Capitol Hill legislators on Thursday […]
View ArticleUSAF Asks Industry to Update NGAD Proposals, As Service Defers Decision to...
The U.S. Air Force is asking industry to revise company proposals for Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD), as the service defers program decisions to the incoming Trump administration. Air Force […]
View ArticleWittman and Graves Prod FAA to Rectify ‘Extensive Delays’ in Commercial...
Two House Armed Services Committee (HASC) members, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) and Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), want the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take immediate action to shorten the...
View ArticleDefense Authorizers Lay Down Marker for F-35 in Fiscal 2025
Congressional defense authorizers would delay delivery of 20 of 68 Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35s in fiscal 2025 until the defense secretary submits a report on “certain corrective action plans and […]
View ArticleFielding Working Satellite Ground Systems First Priority in House-Senate...
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration Frank Calvelli has said that it makes no sense to field cutting-edge satellites without the requisite ground systems in […]
View ArticleRocket Lab Launched Hypersonic Test Last Month, Company Says
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. [RKLB] said on Dec. 9 that it launched a suborbital mission last month to test hypersonic technology for the Pentagon’s Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed […]
View ArticleAcceleration of Commercial Space for National Security Likely Under Trump
The incoming administration of President-elect Trump is likely to propose a ramping up of commercial space to serve national security needs, according to a new paper from the National Security […]
View ArticleManned NGAD Will Be Program to Watch in New Administration
Given SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s recent statement that manned fighters are “obsolete in the age of drones” and his role as a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, one of […]
View ArticleNext-Gen OPIR GEO Enters System Testing
Lockheed Martin [LMT] said that its first Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) Block 0 satellite has advanced to system level testing at the...
View ArticleDoD Awards First FY ’25 APFIT Funds To Transition Technologies Into Production
The Defense Department on Wednesday announced the award of at least $10 million each to five small businesses to transition their technologies into production for different Defense Department...
View ArticleDepartment of Air Force Has 20 Percent More Infrastructure Than Needed,...
The Department of the Air Force (DAF) has 20 percent more infrastructure, including bases, than needed, a department official said on Wednesday. “Fact–we probably have about 20 percent more...
View ArticleUSAF Awards Leidos Up to $987 Million for Taiwanese F-16 Sustainment
As Taiwan awaits the arrival of new Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-16 Vipers to help counter China, the U.S. Air Force on Wednesday announced a $987 million contract to Leidos [LDOS] […]
View ArticleWittman: Pentagon ‘Must Become a Software-Centric Organization’
The relative new kids on the defense block, such as Anduril and Palantir [PLTR], stand to win big, if one reads behind Thursday comments by Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the […]
View ArticleRolls-Royce: F130 Engine for B-52 Passes CDR
Rolls-Royce said on Friday that its F130 engine passed a U.S. Air Force Critical Design Review (CDR)–a step “clearing the way for final development, test, and production efforts to proceed […]
View ArticleDemocrats Introduce Bill to Spur System Sustainment by Military Services
Those in uniform have criticized military services’ outsourcing of sustainment to industry as leading to higher costs, causing repair delays, and lowering military readiness. Last week, Sen. Elizabeth...
View ArticlePoland and General Atomics Reach Deal on SkyGuardians
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) said on Monday that it is selling three of its MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones to Poland. Based on the U.S. Air Force MQ-9A Reaper, the […]
View ArticleSpaceX Proposing 25 Starship/Super Heavy Launches Annually
SpaceX wants the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to approve 25 annual launches of the company-touted reusable Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy boosters from SpaceX’s Starbase near Boca Chica,...
View ArticleRogers Says He Favors Budget Boost for U.S. Space Force, Opposes ‘Endless’...
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) says he favors an increase in U.S. Space Force numbers, including more general officers and personnel with acquisition experience and the...
View ArticleSpace Force Launches Seventh GPS III, As Others Await Vulcan Certification
U.S. Space Force launched the seventh Lockheed Martin [LMT] Global Positioning System III (GPS III) satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Monday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force […]
View ArticleAFRL/F-35 Program Investing in New Digital Engineering Hardware
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the program office for the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 are investing in digital engineering to speed development, as AFRL hosts a ribbon […]
View ArticleAustralia Gets Its Last Nine F-35As
Australia on Wednesday said it received its last nine of 72 total F-35A aircraft. The Royal Australian Air Force received its first two F-35As in December 2018. The Defense Ministry […]
View ArticleMusk “Needs to Learn A Little Bit More” About Operator Needs, Kendall Says
While top Trump advisor Elon Musk has suggested a near-term end to manned fighter aircraft, such as the F-35, and their replacement by artificial intelligence-enabled drones, former and current DoD […]
View ArticleBlue Origin Receives FAA License for New Glenn
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. “The FAA determined Blue Origin met all […]
View ArticleAir Force Over-the-Horizon Radars Facing Delays
Section 138 of the Fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act called for the Air Force to start buying up to six over-the-horizon radars–the first two to be in the United […]
View ArticleBoeing Sustainment Work for B61-12 May Carry Over to B61-13
The U.S. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC) at Kirtland AFB, N.M., may extend planned, Boeing [BA] sustainment work for the B61-12 to the B61-13, which the company is developing. […]
View ArticlePTS-P Build and Design Done, Northrop Grumman Says
Northrop Grumman [NOC] said on Monday that it has finished building and testing the company’s Protected Tactical SATCOM Rapid Prototype (PTS-P) payload and has delivered it to the company’s Gilbert, […]
View ArticleUSAF Awards Boeing Nearly $616 Million for EPAWSS Full Rate Production
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing [BA] a nearly $616 million cost-plus contract through Dec. 31, 2030 for full rate production of the AN/ALQ-250 F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning […]
View ArticleYork Space Systems Announces Satellite Linkage with SpaceX Bird
A question mark for the U.S. Space Force Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) has been whether one company’s satellites would link with other companies’...
View ArticleWicker Bill Has Provisions Favoring Non-Traditional Defense Companies
The bill introduced by Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) on Dec. 19th contains provisions that may favor defense start-ups and non-traditional defense contractors,...
View ArticleRocket Lab USA Completes Preliminary Design Review for SDA Communications...
Rocket Lab USA [RKLB] said that it has completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) phase for the U.S. Space Force Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL)-Beta program. “This […]
View ArticleManned NGAD Would Require More Than $20 Billion Extra in R&D, Kendall Says,...
U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said on Monday that a manned Next Generation Air Dominance fighter would require more than $20 billion extra in research and development (R&D), as […]
View ArticleLockheed Martin Names New Skunk Works and Integrated Fighter Group Managers
OJ Sanchez has succeeded John Clark as the vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, and Mike Shoemaker has stepped into the shoes of Sanchez as the […]
View ArticleKendall Cautions Trump DoD Efficiency Effort, Says Air Force Has Enough C-130s
U.S. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall cautioned on Monday that, while the service may reap some programmatic savings, most cost reductions, such as those sought by the incoming Department of […]
View ArticleCongressional Appropriators Will Likely Have to Change T-7A Provisions, Given...
While the fiscal 2025 National Defense Authorization Act and both the House and Senate versions of the fiscal 2025 defense appropriations bill approved Air Force funding for seven low-rate initial […]
View ArticleBlue Origin’s New Glenn Debuts, Company to Re-test Booster in Coming Months
Blue Origin‘s New Glenn rocket had its debut launch early Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla. Named after the late John Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to […]
View ArticleNRO’s Troy Meink, Who Accelerated Agency Use of Fixed Price, is SECAF Pick
Troy Meink, the principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), is President-elect Trump’s pick to become Air Force secretary. Meink, a former U.S. Air Force KC-135 navigator and...
View ArticlePentagon Wants to Speed Parts Repair for F-35 As Part of Sustainment Cost...
As the Pentagon prepares to hand over contractor sustainment of the Lockheed Martin [LMT] F-35 to the Air Force and the Department of the Navy by the latter part of […]
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