Space Development Agency’s request for bids challenged for ‘risk’ imposed on contractors. (Space News) “Maxar believed that the terms of the Space Development Agency’s satellite buy “unduly burdened industry, favoring larger companies willing and able to take greater financial burden and risk,” a company spokesperson said in a statement Oct. 28 after SDA announced it was canceling the solicitation for the Transport Layer Tranche 1, a mesh network of small communications satellites in low Earth orbit projected to start launching in 2024. The protest was dismissed Oct. 28 by the Government Accountability Office after SDA took down the request for proposals. The agency on the same day reissued the RFP under a different contracting method called Other Transaction Authority (OTA).”
William Roper: Pentagon Needs to look toward repurposing technology. (USNI News) “How the Navy repurposed its Standard Missile 6 into an anti-surface weapon should be a model each service and the Pentagon follow to inject new thinking into the way they fight and bring new life into the industrial bases, the former chief of Air Force acquisition said Thursday… “I doubt if the Navy has a requirement of bringing drone delivery to ships” now, but it has potential to revolutionize logistics in distributed operations, Roper added.”
DISA director announces agency reorganization. (C4ISRNET) “The first center is focused on enterprise capabilities and security, including efforts like the Defense Enterprise Office Solution and spectrum operations. The second is aimed at hosting and computing and houses DISA’s cloud computing office. The third is focused on operations and infrastructure, including transport, field commands and field offices. The fourth center is focused on innovation.”
Alternate fighter plan: Cut F-15EX, Extend F-22, buy new stealth jets, more F-35s. (Air Force Magazine) “The Air Force’s “4+1” fighter plan for the 2020s, unveiled in recent months, will leave the service with a fleet that’s too small and improperly configured to deal with peer threats. What’s needed is a plan that emphasizes stealth aircraft; rapidly retires non-stealthy and expensive-to-maintain “legacy” airplanes; and doesn’t create gaps in USAF’s ability to control the air in a conflict, according to new analysis from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.”
NGAD, new weapons, E-3 replacement among Air Combat Command’s top priorities, Kelly says. (Air Force Magazine) “Kelly said NGAD is his No. 1 requirement. He described it as a sixth-generation air superiority system able to operate at long ranges—farther than would be encountered in the European theater… The Air Force made its first move toward a new AWACS, the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail, last week in an industry solicitation, but Kelly could not provide a timeline for acquiring it. “I want them in the inventory … two years ago,” Kelly said. “Not to be flippant, but that’s actually the answer I would give Congress and anybody else.”… Where engine issues are serious, he said, are on TF33 powerplants used on the E-3 AWACS, E-8 JSTARS, and B-52. Those engines are so old and hard to get parts for that aircraft are being cannibalized “before those engines cool down” to feed others.
US lags China on hypersonic weapons by years, Raytheon CEO says. (Bloomberg) “While the Pentagon has a number of hypersonic weapons programs in development and the U.S. understands the technology, China has “actually fielded hypersonic weapons,” Raytheon CEO Gregory Hayes… While the Pentagon has a number of hypersonic weapons programs in development and the U.S. understands the technology, China has “actually fielded hypersonic weapons,” Raytheon CEO Gregory Hayes “
DoD’s new R&D chief prioritizes moving prototypes to real-world applications. (Federal News Network) ““We’re looking across the entire DoD to look at all the different innovation activity that’s ongoing. I’d like to get my arms around just how many innovation organizations that we have,” she [Heidi Shyu] said… “We’re asking questions like, ‘What is your mission? What have you procured? What capabilities do these products have? What have you transitioned into the hands of the warfighter, and which company are you buying these products from?’ The second piece I would like to understand is what the best practices are in each organization. If we can share those across the board, that would be valuable.””
Pentagon AI chief responds to USAF software leader who quit in frustration. (Defense One) ““Cultural change is difficult. It’s hard work. There are folks that are patiently and persistently trying to push the department. You have to deal with frustration. You have to deal with people who don’t understand. There may be areas where vision is lacking; you have to continue to hammer at that. There are thousands of members of the Department of Defense who come to work every day to fight that fight. There are certainly the frustrated few who fight that fight and say, ‘I can’t take it anymore I’ve got to go.’””
Strykers to get new counter-drone tech with General Dynamics, Epirus partnership. (Breaking Defense) “The partnership will initially integrate Epirus’s Leonidas directed energy system and broader high-power microwave technology onto Stryker vehicles as part of upgrades to enhance its mobile Short Range Air Defense (SHORAD) capabilities… General Dynamics Land Systems is also developing other next generation ground platforms, including robotic combat vehicles, that could use the counter-drone technology in the future.”
Army awards laser weapon contract to Boeing, General Atomics team. (Breaking Defense) “The US Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office has awarded a General Atomics and Boeing team a contract to develop a 300 kilo-watt high energy laser weapon… High-energy laser weapons could be used by ground forces in a variety of role, including short-range air defense (SHORAD) and counter-unmanned aircraft systems missions, as well defend against other incoming artillery or even temporarily disable satellites.”
Raytheon CEO: Air Force may not be able to afford new F-35 engine. (Defense News) “In 2016, the Air Force awarded Raytheon-owned Pratt & Whitney and General Electric Aviation each a billion-dollar contract to develop a new F-35A engine under the Adaptive Engine Transition Program. This engine is intended to deliver better fuel efficiency and thrust by using a third stream of air… Because the adaptive engine could not be used in the F-35B, the Marine Corps’ vertical takeoff and landing variant or the Navy’s carrier-based F-35C, Hayes said the Air Force would bear its entire development cost… Hayes told analysts the F-35 could be re-engined around 2027 or 2028 — but called that time frame “extremely aggressive.””
T-X: The Sequel? New tactical trainer solicitation could reignite rivalries. (Breaking Defense) “… the Air Force has now floated publicly the idea of buying more than a hundred new advanced tactical trainers. And while the service’s future trainer, the Boeing’s T-7 Red Hawk, may be in the mix, the head of Air Combat Command wants to check out the market to see whether other companies can offer a more high-performance jet. The search officially kicked off on Oct. 12, when the Air Force issued a request for information for an “advanced tactical trainer,”… In 2018, the service awarded Boeing a $9.2 billion contract to produce at least 351 T-7A trainers for Air Education and Training Command, where they will replace the Northrop T-38 Talon used to train new fighter pilots.”
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