Missile Defense

The Army has sent Congress an initial Selected Acquisition Report for the AN/TPQ-53 radar -- the most advanced sensor in the service's inventory to counter incoming mortar, artillery and rockets -- just as government plans for the truck-mounted, rotating sensor are slated to wind down.

The Defense Department's No. 2 official has issued new guidance to clarify "acquisition roles and responsibilities" after recent congressional reforms led to Pentagon infighting regarding the oversight and management of DOD weapons programs.

The Pentagon's top weapons tester supported a production recommendation last fall for the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA and next month will determine the system's operational effectiveness and operational suitability, according to a Defense Department spokesman.

A Pentagon advisory board is calling for a more "defensible and resilient" National Leadership Command Capability to shore up weaknesses in the command and control systems used by the president and critical to ensuring continuity of government during a national crisis.

An influential Pentagon advisory panel is launching a new study to investigate potential new dimensions of conflict that China and Russia might employ to impose their will on other states beyond conventional military force, and seeks recommendations for a modernization blueprint that, in turn, puts the U.S. military at the vanguard of innovating new forms of conflict.

The Space and Missile Systems Center is looking to boost funding for a fiscal year 2020 new-start program that would consolidate and focus investment in innovative prototyping efforts across the space enterprise.

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, CA -- The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center is developing a strategy to cut in half the time it takes to field a new satellite through commonality, digital engineering and model-based systems engineering concepts.

Air Force Global Strike Command activated Detachment 7 on Wednesday to ensure a fast developmental and operational testing schedule for the service’s four new MH-139As -- the Huey replacement helicopters that will provide security and transportation for the service's intercontinental ballistic missile mission.

LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, CA -- The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center is developing a strategy to cut in half the time it takes to field a new satellite through commonality, digital engineering and model-based systems engineering concepts.