The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital is giving a $150 million conditional loan to Rocket Lab meant to increase the launch rate for its new reusable Neutron rocket, which is slated for its first flight next year.
News
The Department of the Air Force is launching an artificial intelligence strategy across 15 mission areas, including intelligence, human resources, and nuclear operations, using a blueprint recently announced by the department’s chief data and AI officer.
U.S. Africa Command will soon see if a small, autonomous aircraft can evacuate casualties from austere locations during a demonstration planned for December in Morocco. Merlin, an autonomous aviation firm, announced Nov. 11 it has received a $500,000 contract from AFRICOM for the demo mission.
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David R. Wolfe recently pledged “a plus-up in manpower” for the maintainer ranks, as the service prepares to launch a major overhaul of its maintenance career field next year.
The Air Force on Nov. 10 announced it has finished an updated force design plan, intended to spell out how it will use combat power in a future war against capable adversaries.
As Congress gets back to business after the midterm elections, uncertainty swirls over the state of government funding that runs out Dec. 11, especially for the Pentagon. New reports from leading defense think tank experts illustrate just how wide the range of outcomes could be.
A recent Pentagon memo barring troops from placing bets on prediction markets using classified or sensitive information is a necessary step toward clamping down on such activity in the ranks, but experts tell Air & Space Forces Magazine that enforcement will remain a major challenge.
Space Systems Command recently awarded Viasat a contract with a $450 million ceiling to design and field a mission operations center for the command’s burgeoning Space Data Network.
Two of the Air Force’s semi-autonomous drones flew air combat maneuvers coordinated by an “AI pilot,” or mission autonomy software, in a test Oct. 26, a first for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.