AFA 2023 — If a continuing resolution (CR) occurs starting Oct. 1, the Department of the Air Force’s space programs would be key priorities for congressionally-sanctioned relief, the Air Force’s top acquisition official tells Breaking defense.
While other programs like a next-gen tanker effort would also be candidates, Andrew Hunter stressed that a new proposal championed by Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, which is gaining traction among some lawmakers, would likely be used to keep space programs moving forward under a CR if the proposal becomes law.
“From a Department of the Air Force perspective, it’s a lot of space priorities,” Hunter said in a Sept. 5 interview. “A lot of the space programs, critical, critical funding in [fiscal 2024] to get going on those. And my guess is if we had to pick and choose, they would be high on [Kendall’s] list,” he added. (The Department of the Air Force encompasses the Air Force and Space Force.)
Hunter did not specify what space programs — which are technically owned by his space counterpart Frank Calvelli — would be prioritized. A request to the Space Force for more details was not returned by press time.
Under a CR, the Pentagon is generally restricted from launching new programs as Congress technically hasn’t appropriated the money to fund them. Sometimes federal agencies can receive what’s known as anomalies — where lawmakers move around funds, for example — but Hunter acknowledged those are rare, particularly when it’s early in the fiscal year.
That’s why he and other service officials are hopeful that lawmakers will codify Kendall’s proposal that could enable new efforts to get started on early-stage work even if a CR is in place. The proposal, Kendall explained in an exclusive op-ed for Breaking Defense, would be narrow: programs would not be able to progress beyond preliminary design review, and work would largely be focused on more basic steps like defining requirements.
Senate authorizers have since adopted a modified version of Kendall’s original proposal in their draft of the FY24 policy bill — slashing his preference of $300 million that could fund early work to $100 million, a pool of money that would have to be shared across DoD — though the service is still enthusiastically backing it, according to Hunter.
“It is now in the Senate bill, and our hope is it’ll make it into the final conference” where both the House and Senate hammer out an agreement on the FY24 policy bill, he said.
For the Air Force’s own efforts, Hunter said one leading candidate for relief if Kendall’s proposal becomes law, and a CR is still in place, could be its next-gen refueler program known as NGAS. “That’s one that ’24 funding is critical to us making progress on our plan,” he said. “So that’s one that we’ll probably prioritize. And we’re actually kind of coming up with a list of what are the things, if we were granted this authority… that we could use it to accelerate.”
It’s not clear when Congress might pass the policy bill. What’s usually a largely bipartisan process risks being derailed by what Democrats have characterized as unacceptable provisions included by House conservatives, such as a ban on Pentagon diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The House’s draft bill, which sailed out of committee by a vote of 58-1, squeaked by on the floor of the lower chamber by a margin of 219 to 210 after the controversial amendments were included.
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Time is ticking: a prolonged CR would be harmful, and a failure to pass the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act by the end of the year could put the Pentagon in dire straits since some important authorities are only issued on a yearly basis and would be at risk of expiring, said John Ferrari, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and retired Army major general.
“Where the process falls apart is after Jan. 1,” Ferrari said.
CCA Safe From CR In Near-term, but Tuberville Hold Hampering Acquisition
A key priority for the Air Force that’s safe from a CR in the near term, however, is the service’s forthcoming drone wingmen known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs), according to Hunter.
“We also have the advantage that some of our operational imperative initiatives… where there was existing funding and existing program offices, and that is true for CCA… We think we can execute on our existing plans in the near term under a CR for CCA,” he said.
Instead of a budget fight, Hunter said the more immediate danger for CCA comes from Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s de facto hold on military promotions, which the Pentagon recently said is holding up the career advancements of over 300 officers.
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“It would help if I could have a confirmed PEO [program executive officer] to do that,” Hunter said of the Air Force’s CCA plans.
Three general officers key to Air Force acquisitions are impacted by Tuberville’s hold, Hunter explained. One of them is the service’s PEO for fighters and advanced aircraft, Brig. Gen. Dale White. White was nominated in April to become Hunter’s military deputy and in his current role is tasked with overseeing CCA acquisitions.
“It’s a substantial burden on not just them as individuals and not being able to assume their new positions,” he said. “But also organizationally, [it’s] a little bit hard to do the planning that is essential in the world of acquisition when you don’t have clarity on who exactly is going to be in the role at what point in time.”
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