WASHINGTON: Hot on the heels of an agreement between the Air Force and the FAA to streamline regulations on space launches from military ranges, the head of one of the biggest US launch providers has called for penalizing companies that violate the safety clauses of FAA launch licenses. “The regulations that FAA applies, and the licensing…
By Theresa HitchensWhy cloud modernization is critical to multi-domain operations
JADC2 is a forcing function, driving digital transformation of network infrastructure.
In April, the Yuma, Ariz. test range will host a competition of “low collateral damage” countermeasures designed to stop mini-drones without firing a shot. But can such a restrained approach stop the drone swarms Russia and others are developing?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The “Agility Prime” event next week will kick off with speeches by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and Air Force acquisition head Will Roper.
By Theresa Hitchens
“Of all people, it’s the ‘space warmongers’ doing the most to try to sustain the (space) environment,” one DoD official said.
By Theresa Hitchens
A battle has been underway for several years now over who will become the FAA of space and how they will do the job. Some wanted the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Tranportation, which boasts the great acronym, FAST. Some wanted NOAA or NASA. Most did not want the Air Force, which has had a…
By Michael Sinclair
Several laser attacks on U.S. aircraft in Djibouti are another way the Chinese appear to be making their presence felt in Africa. One analyst calls it a warning shot to other countries in the region.
By Paul McLeary
A major overhaul is coming in software for missile warning
Space Systems Command’s FORGE program is the first, major missile-warning software modernization effort in 20 years.
Wait for it — the costs of Lockheed Martin’s Presidential Helicopter Replacement program, known as the VH-92, have come down 2.4 percent, about $123 million to $5.06 billion, and it appears on schedule. But — you knew there’d be a but.
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: Air Mobility Command, an experienced observer of gaining FAA certification for civilian aircraft rebuilt for military purposes, is using its knowledge to try to lower the costs of the replacement for Air Force One. The head of AMC, Gen. Carlton Everhart, told me this afternoon they hoped to find “efficiencies” in the process of…
By Colin Clark
WASHINGTON: You’d think Boeing and the Air Force would have learned from Lockheed Martin’s experience with the F-35 and concurrency, which Vice Adm. James Venlet identified six years ago in our pages as a fundamental “miscalculation” in the Joint Strike Fighter program. The issue came to light Friday during a conversation about the KC-46 tanker…
By Colin Clark
AFA: The four-star chief of Air Mobility Command wants his new KC-46 Pegasus tankers “yesterday,” but the tanker’s boom has a nasty tendency to scrape up planes it’s trying to refuel, as well as two other category one deficiencies, and contractor Boeing has to fix those. The paint scraping problem — formally known as “undetected…
By Colin Clark
UPDATED: ADDS Detailed Boeing Comment On “Being Much More Efficient” WASHINGTON: Boeing will probably deliver the first of the “low risk” KC-46 airborne tankers at least six months later than planned, the Air Force said this morning. “The Air Force will continue to support Boeing’s efforts to execute the program, however, the Air Force assessment…
By Colin Clark
PENTAGON: The 2016 edition of Black Dart, the Defense Department’s formerly classified counter-drone exercise, expands to Eglin Air Force Base this year, in search of more space and more capabilities, including ships. “Eglin will allow us to deliver added uncertainty in the way of providing multiple locations for launching UAS at different distances so we can explore the…
By Richard Whittle
Commercial space has many military applications, The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency relies heavily on commercial imagery supplied by DigitalGlobe satellites. The National Reconnaissance Office recently joined with NGA in something called the Commercial GEOINT Activity to buy commercial satellite imagery. A raft of companies are talking about building and operating satellites to provide imagery and other data.…
By Todd Harrison
We’ve seen the rise of continuing resolutions. Between fiscal 2010 and 2019, Congress should have enacted 120 appropriation bills by their yearly October deadline. They only finished seven – or about 6 percent.
By Eric Fanning