Michael Marrow covers air warfare for Breaking Defense. He holds a BA in history from the University of Virginia and started out as a freelance reporter covering local news in Fairfax County, Virginia and policing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Michael previously reported on the Air Force and Space Force for Inside Defense, where he tracked major acquisitions, policy changes and modernization efforts.
“So with small numbers of aircraft and with, you know, not a full suite of more modern capabilities, it’s hard to overcome those [air defense] systems,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters.
Air Force acquisition chief Andrew Hunter said the service anticipates somewhere between 20-30 competitors to build the drones themselves, and that a similar number of contractors are already part of a vendor pool providing autonomous technologies.
With possible alternatives still undefined and likely several years away, Sikorsky and supporters are leaning on Congress to rescue the HH-60W from planned cuts. But will the argument win the day?
Following the Air Force’s decision to forego a new engine for the F-35, General Electric is taking its fight to Capitol Hill to keep the Adaptive Engine Transition Program alive.
Rejected by Congress in fiscal 2023, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said the service’s second go at retiring older F-22s stands a much better chance of surviving the upcoming round of budget negotiations.
During a military exercise in Wyoming, an MQ-9 Reaper made history by conducting its first highway landing alongside what the Air Force says is the greatest number of aircraft to pull off the tactic.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told lawmakers Thursday that the service will make a decision on buying the hypersonic weapon after its prototyping phase concludes, a position seemingly at odds with testimony previously provided by the service’s acquisition lead.
The Federal Trade Commission formally made a second request for information last month as it evaluates antitrust concerns associated with L3Harris acquiring one of only two major suppliers of solid rocket motors for the Pentagon.
Raytheon executives said they see improvement for components like electronics, though shortages continue for castings, rocket motors and other key parts.
Boeing, which bid aggressively to win the Red Hawk contract in 2018, has paid the price of its fixed-cost structure, which a company spokesperson said has amounted to approximately $1.1 billion in charges.
“I think now’s the time where we need to figure out what is tactically responsive space, and I don’t think there’s a clear consensus,” said Kurt Eberly, who directs Northrop Grumman’s space launch vehicles business unit.
The competition for Warfighter Training and Readiness Solutions will bring together training networks, combat training centers and live ranges across the DoD enterprise.
The competition for Warfighter Training and Readiness Solutions will bring together training networks, combat training centers and live ranges across the DoD enterprise.
