Beyond the potential consequences for the US industry, a reduction in NRO acquisition of commercial imagery also could directly impact US and allied military commanders in the field and US agencies charged with disaster relief, industry and government officials warned.
On the eve of the third annual Space Mobility Conference here, supporters of Defense Department investment in technologies to enable what SPACECOM calls "dynamic space operations" are facing a recent cooling of near-term interest from senior Space Force officials.
The jet-powered transport’s speed, survivability and multi-mission agility position it as a viable option to the C-130 for the US and NATO allies.
More than a dozen sources tell Breaking Defense that tensions between the NGA and Space Force are rising on commercial ISR, with White House officials watching closely.
"OMB’s opposition to establishing a SNG and directive to transfer current National Guard space missions to an unestablished 'Space Component' will create a 7–10 year gap in the capabilities Air National Guard Space Units provide today," the 51 Guard adjutant generals argue in a letter to President Joe Biden.
"One of the reasons it hasn't happened in the past is because Congress is reluctant to give up even this much authority," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said today. "I think it's a minimal amount of authority to give up for a very high return."
The Biden administration so far has pushed back on the idea, citing cost, but some powerful senators are on board and an NDAA fight is brewing on the Hill.
The solution starts with an outstanding portfolio of Challenger and Global aircraft, recognized as the world’s top-performing business jets.
"The business case is a naïve bet on out-year operating cost savings – that’s an act the Hill has seen before, and it never pays off," independent analyst Rebecca Grant says of the Digital Century Series concept.
In other words, the fault is not with the OCO mechanism, but in many cases, with members of Congress who are critiquing its use.
The OMB, clearly taken by surprise by the Navy plan, told the Pentagon to “submit a resource-informed plan to achieve a 355-ship combined fleet, including manned and unmanned ships, by 2030.”
UPDATED: Trump Announces Government Reopens For 3 Weeks WASHINGTON: The Pentagon won’t be able to release its fiscal year 2020 budget on Feb. 4 as previously planned because it has been caught up in the melee caused down by the 35-day government shutdown. The budget release could be delayed at least one month. The missed […]
It’s about improving existing platforms with autonomy, and applying AI, edge computing, quantum encryption, and sensor fusion.
Now that President Trump has signed the fiscal 2019 defense appropriations bill — marking the first time in nine years that defense is not bound by a Continuing Resolution — the broad trend was cuts to Operational and Maintenance (O&M) to fund Research, Development, Testing, & Engineering (RDT&E). The top line was consistent with the […]
When House Armed Services Chairman Thornberry proposed eliminating seven agencies and reducing personnel by 25 percent, he faced strong opposition. In the HASC's draft bill, he scaled the proposal back to eliminating just three agencies. But that didn't work either. During the committee's markup of the House defense policy bill, members still pushed back.
The defense community is abuzz with talk of strategy and force expansion as the Pentagon develops the Trump Administration’s National Security Strategy. Talk is nice but, as budgeteers like to say, “If it ain’t funded, it ain’t”. Building the forces the services say they need—with the readiness and modernization to support them— requires large budgets, […]
Campaign promises of a larger, more ready and fully modernized military have slammed into budget realities as the Trump administration’s fiscal 2018 budget for the Pentagon shows only modest growth above what the Obama administration had projected. Funding at those levels will support a 305-ship Navy, not the 350 ships that candidate Trump proposed back in […]