EASE-ier Said Than Done

The Air Force’s proposed new space acquisition strategy has gotten mixed reviews so far on Capitol Hill. Service officials conceived of evolutionary acquisition for space efficiency, or EASE, to help foster stability in the space industrial base by locking in a steady stream of funding over multiple years. Air Force officials say the strategy does exactly what Congress has been asking it to do for years: consider block buys for satellites and leverage more mature technologies. The House Appropriations Committee, however, had its doubts. In fact, the committee report accompanying the House’s version of the Fiscal 2012 defense spending bill states that the theory behind EASE “has merit, but the implementation details are woefully lacking.” The House flat-out refused to grant advance appropriations, something Gregory Schulte, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, told reporters Tuesday is “an integral part of EASE.” For more, continue to Looking for Stability