The Senate confirmed William LaPlante to be the next assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition last week, according to a Feb. 18 Air Force release. LaPlante, who currently serves as the principal deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, will fill the spot left vacant since Sue Payton left the position in April 2009. “I’ve spent over 28 years around systems technologies, acquisition programs; touching all aspects of those programs for all services,” he said during a Jan. 16 confirmation hearing. “This experience, along with my time on the Defense Science Board, offers first-hand impressions of defense acquisition.”
The Space Force is finalizing its first contracts for the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve and plans to award them early in 2025—giving the service access to commercial satellites and other space systems in times of conflict or crisis—officials said Nov. 21.