Several experts said the decision shouldn't be that big of a surprise, given that Huntsville had been poised to win the first contest -- in part due to its much lower cost of living, as well as plenty of available office and housing space.
Outgoing AF acquisition head Will Roper is rumored "to be in the mix" to take DoD acquisition czar Ellen Lord's place, along with CSIS's Andrew Hunter.
As aircraft shrink, threats expand, and technology accelerates, aircraft engines must iterate along with the threats.
"We will begin designing future 'Prime' programs focused on space, autonomy, energy, gaming, supersonics and microelectronics," Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said.
"We're learning from industry as we go," said Eileene Vidrine, Air Force chief data officer.
"We see a huge opportunity here to have a fused relationship with industry that will provide great advantage," Gen. Raymond says.
"The C-130 has been the most plus-upped aircraft in history," says Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia.
To stop overwhelming warfighters and enhance the effectiveness of drones and robots, give warfighters tech tools they want to use.
"I think Space Force and its advocates hoped that they'd have a radically new approach to budgeting and acquisition," CSIS's Mark Cancian says, but Congress is unlikely to agree.
"With a flattening budget topline (at best) and many competing Air Force investment priorities, it’s not at all clear that this program will continue. We might just be left with a museum-ready prototype," Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia says.
"I'd like to say that we've got that resolved, but it's not nearly resolved," Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said of space acquisition.
"Advanced manufacturing, scaled across the entire Air Force and Space Force, will transform sustainment," Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett says.
Why edge and endpoint security can’t be an afterthought.
The Space Development Agency "could easily die away without anybody missing it," said former Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson.
"I want to go fast. I want to go fast. I want to go fast," says CSAF Gen. Charles Brown about revamping the Air Force to meet Russian and Chinese threats.
The Air Force and OSD have agreed to transfer the Space Development Agency to the Space Force "around the beginning of 2023," said Shawn Barnes.
"Historically the Arctic, like space, was characterized as a predominantly peaceful domain," the Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett said. "This is changing."