Air Force

Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan has directed Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord to begin planning for alternative supply options for Turkish-made F-35 Joint Strike Fighter parts in the event Turkey remains suspended from the program or is expelled for its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, according to a defense official.

Defense industry advocates say they are waiting for the Pentagon to implement more than 150 acquisition reform measures passed into law several years ago, and they hope new legislation being drafted by House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Mac Thornberry (R-TX) will do something to break up the bureaucratic logjam.

The head of the Air Force's National Security Space Launch enterprise says he's confident there are “multiple providers” that can meet the requirements to support its Launch Services Procurement strategy.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- Air Force acquisition chief Will Roper will meet with senior leaders next week to discuss the importance of a standalone $623 million reprogramming request for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared program -- one of the service’s top space modernization efforts.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- The head of the new Space Development Agency said this week he plans to spend the next five months refining the architecture for a new proliferated low-earth orbit constellation and will issue initial requests for information to industry as soon as this summer.

The Air Force team tasked with supporting the stand-up of a Space Force has crafted an initial work plan that lays out a five-year roadmap to transition to a new military space service.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO -- As some in Congress put pressure on the Air Force to slow down its acquisition plan for the second phase of a major launch vehicle development and procurement competition, executives from Northrop Grumman and United Launch Alliance said today they support the service's plan to release a request for proposals this month and award future launches to two competitors next spring.

The Defense Department is anticipating enhanced cybersecurity requirements for contractors working on critical technologies will be published by the National Institute for Standards and Technology in approximately 60 days, according to a DOD official.

The Missile Defense Agency has pushed back plans for a new Pacific Radar by two years -- delaying all key milestones for a new sensor needed to plug holes in the U.S. military's ability to track projected future North Korean long-range rockets during the midcourse of flight -- while also trimming planned five-year spending on the project from $1 billion to $764 million.