If defense analysts are right, the latest rejection by the Government Accountability Office of the Air Force acquisition effort to replace its combat search and rescue helicopters will force open the CSAR-X competition again. And, it will be a new ball game all around. Reuters news service reports that Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute says uniformed service officials wanted to have a broader revisit of the CSAR-X competition after GAO sustained the first round of protests, but Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne opted for a “narrowly” defined interpretation of the GAO ruling. Now GAO has sustained the second wave of protests from Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky, making it highly unlikely that USAF could proceed with the original award to Boeing.
SDA’s Next Phase of Data Transport Satellites on Hold
June 30, 2025
The long-term future of one of the Space Development Agency’s two satellite constellations is on hold as officials study the options for replacing a planned “data transport layer” with one or more commercial solutions. President Trump’s proposed 2026 defense budget...