Daily Report

Boeing’s decision to aggressively price its KC-46A tanker proposal—to the extent that the company expects to lose money in developing the aircraft for the Air Force—is not disconcerting to the Defense Department, said Pentagon acquisition executive Ash Carter. “It’s not...

The Air Force's second Global Positioning System Block IIF satellite is now on orbit and has transmitted its first signals from space. GPS IIF-2 "is functioning normally and ready to begin on-orbit maneuvers and operational testing," announced prime contractor Boeing hours after the satellite's launch on Saturday aboard a Delta IV rocket from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla. "I am extremely proud of the tremendous efforts that hundreds of people on the launch team have expended for today's launch," said Col. Bob Hodgkiss, the GPS IIF-2 mission director in the service's release that same day. The first Block IIF satellite went into orbit in May 2010 and has been operational since last summer. The new configuration provides greater accuracy, a more jam-resistant military signal, and a more powerful and secure civilian signal. Boeing is under contract to build 12 of them. (See also our initial coverage.)

The United States needs to have a discussion about “what deterrence looks like when we get out to 2020, 2030,” said Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, Joint Chiefs vice chairman. He told defense reporters last week in Washington, D.C., that...

Air Force strike aircraft flew 176 hours of non-stop close air support over Afghanistan’s Pech Valley region near the Pakistan border, dropping more than 100 bombs in four days of supporting ground forces during Operation Hammer Down II. Cooperating with...

The White House announced last week that Howard Schmidt, President Obama’s cybersecurity coordinator, met last month in Washington, D.C., with his Russian counterpart Nikolay Klimashin for in-depth discussions on strengthening bilateral relations in the area of cyberspace security. “[O]ur goal...

Cuts to the missile defense budget since last year threaten to undermine US ability to defend the homeland, said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). “After huge investment over decades, to prove the technology of a Ground Based Interceptor system, it would...

The Defense Department’s comprehensive review of 249 proposed renewable energy projects involving approximately 6,500 wind turbines and 30 solar projects in 35 states and Puerto Rico found that 229 would have little or no impact on military missions. Those findings...

Lockheed Martin has delivered the last of 12 new-build AN/AAQ-39 electro-optical/infrared targeting systems for Air Force AC-130U gunships, announced the company last week. Lockheed received the contract in July 2008 to supply the 12 Q-39 full production units. Delivery of...

An early model Minuteman missile recently joined rockets and ICBMs in the missile and space gallery of the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, going on display indoors for the first time since arriving at the...