Jolly Green II Begins Aerial Refueling Tests

Aug. 11, 2020 | By Alyk Russell Kenlan

The Air Force’s new combat search and rescue helicopter completed its first aerial refueling on Aug. 5 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Air Force and Sikorsky pilots flew the HH-60W Jolly Green II at 110 knots to connect with an HC-130J tanker during the initial test, which lasted just under two hours. The 413th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin will spend two weeks testing the Jolly Green II’s aerial refueling capabilities, according to a USAF release

“[Aerial refueling] is essential for the combat search and rescue mission since it greatly extends the operating range of the aircraft and thus allows the unit to extend their rescue capabilities over a larger battle space,” said Joe Whiteaker, 413th Flight Test Squadron Combat Rescue Helicopter flight chief, in the release.

The aircraft has already gone through an array of other tests, including defensive systems capabilities and handling in different types of weather.

“It’s rare for a test pilot to have the opportunity to test a new aircraft replacing the one he or she flew operationally and to be the first one to do something like this,” said Maj. Andrew Fama, 413th FLTS, the Air Force pilot for the refueling mission. “It was an honor to be the pilot to fly this mission and work with a truly professional test team.”

The initial tests were successful, and future missions will work to find out any potential hazards in the new helicopter before it replaces the HH-60G.

“The aircraft performed flawlessly during the testing and met all of the program objectives,” said John Biscaino, Sikorsky’s test pilot.

The Air Force plans to purchase up to 108 HH-60Ws to replace the HH-60G Pave Hawk. Jolly Green II’s primary mission will be to conduct search and rescue operations in hostile environments, but it also will be available for a variety of disaster response and civil search and rescue missions.

Russian MiG-31s Allegedly Intercept Global Hawk Over Arctic Waters

Aug. 11, 2020 | By Amy Hudson

The Russian military claims three MiG-31s scrambled to intercept an RQ-4B operating in neutral waters over the Chukchi Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean bound in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, on Aug. 11.

The remotely piloted aircraft remained in international territory and the MiGs, which belong to the air defense forces of the Eastern Military District, returned to their bases when the Global Hawk changed directions without crossing into Russian airspace, according to state-run media, which also noted “the operation was performed in accordance with international law.”

The move comes just three weeks after the Department of the Air Force released its first-ever Arctic strategy, which acknowledges Russia’s efforts to militarize the region. Russia—one of eight Arctic nations—is refurbishing airfields and Arctic infrastructure, building new bases, and “developing an integrated network of air defense, coastal missile systems, and early warning radar to secure its northern approaches,” states the strategy, which also notes that, “No other country has as much permanent military presence above the 66th parallel.”

Interactions between U.S. and Russian aircraft also are increasing, raising the potential for dangerous miscalculations. North American Aerospace Defense Command aircraft have intercepted Russian aircraft at least 10 times this year just off the coast of Alaska, with six of those intercepts taking place in June.

Then-Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein, speaking during the department’s Arctic strategy rollout last month, acknowledged that both Russia and the U.S. have increased the number of intercepts of long-range aviation assets.

“And, if I were speaking to my Russian counterpart right now, … I would tell him it’s in our best interest to ensure that we adhere to common rules of behavior, just as we have for the last 50 years as we’ve intercepted each other in the Arctic, off the shores of Alaska, off the shores of Russia,” Goldfein said. “We can’t afford a miscalculation or for one of our Airman to perform below standards. And so, as we see increasing activity that is perhaps politically or economically driven, militarily, we have to be able to … have our two professional air forces continue to operate in this area.”

Goldfein said the release of the department’s Arctic strategy provides an “opportunity” to identify “areas of common interest” with Russia “where we can collaborate, knowing full well that we are going to continue to compete.”

Senate Confirms Air Force, Space Force Leaders

Aug. 11, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

The Senate on Aug. 6 confirmed a series of Air Force and Space Force leaders to new leadership roles, including new bosses at U.S. Northern Command, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and staff jobs in the new service.

The recent confirmations include:

Lt. Gen. Glen D. VanHerck to the rank of general and to be the commander of NORTHCOM and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. VanHerck currently is the director of the Joint Staff.
Lt. Gen. Richard M. Clark to be the next superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Clark is the current deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration.
Maj. Gen. Sam C. Barrett to the rank of lieutenant general and to serve as the director of logistics for the Joint Staff. Barrett is the current commander of 18th Air Force.
Maj. Gen. Nina M. Armagno to the rank of lieutenant general and to serve as the staff director for the Space Force. She is currently the space programs director in the Air Force’s acquisition branch.
Maj. Gen. William J. Liquori Jr. to lieutenant general and to be the deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, requirements, and analysis. He is the Space Force’s current director of strategic requirements, architectures, and analysis.
Maj. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman to lieutenant general and to be the deputy chief of space operations overseeing operations and cyber and nuclear forces. Saltzman is Air Forces Central Command’s deputy commander.
Maj. Gen. Stephen N. Whiting to lieutenant general and commander of Space Operations Command. He’s the deputy commander at headquarters Space Force, previously the deputy of Air Force Space Command.

Air Force Assesses Education Quality, License Portability Near USAF Installations

Aug. 10, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory

The Department of the Air Force recently released an assessment of public education quality in school districts serving USAF installations, and of how supportive states are of Airmen, space professionals, and their families when it comes to transferring professional licenses.

The department will use the findings, based on data available as of 2019, to inform future basing decisions, and hopes the results will motivate communities to lessen the challenges military families face in the areas of education and military spouse unemployment, according to a background document about the effort.

“In turn, these efforts will strengthen member retention, improve quality of life, and ease transitions for our Airmen and space professionals,” the document stated.

Only three installations took top marks in both public education quality and licensure portability—Utah’s Hill Air Force Base and Wright Air National Guard Base, and Minnesota’s Minneapolis-St. Paul Air Reserve Station. The quality of public education was calculated using 60 percent academic performance, 20 percent school climate, and 20 percent service offering, according to the documents.

The Air Force’s assessment suggests it is rare for a state to achieve both top-tier public education and licensure portability.

For example, at Greeley Air National Guard Station, Colo., licensure portability excelled, though public education quality was in the lower-third percentile. On the flipside, Air Force families at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., can access top-tier public education, but live in one of the two areas of the nation (along with Washington, D.C.) with the biggest obstacles to moving licenses.

Only five states fell into the green, or most-supportive, category for licensure portability: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Utah. Forty-four states fell into the yellow, or moderately supportive, category, the analysis showed.

Notably, a number of USAF installations that are expected to transition to the Space Force—Colorado’s Buckley Air Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Air Force Base; and Florida’s Patrick Air Force Base—placed in the lower-third percentile when it came to public education quality.

“Many of those bases that are in the red … are also quite rural areas that are going to lack a lot of the, what we’ll call local infrastructure to begin with, right? So you’re going to have potentially less funding for your local school systems, but you’re also going to have fewer employers and, you know, economic incentives for employers to hire local military spouses,” Jennifer Akin, the co-director of applied research at the nonprofit organization Blue Star Families, said during an Aug. 10 interview with Air Force Magazine. “And many rural areas [are] somewhat disadvantaged by this particular framework anyway.”

However, she noted, rural areas also often translate into cheap land that’s easy to convert into a military installation.

“And that’s historically how we’ve kind of set up a lot of bases, but also … they have a lot of space around them, which you need for some of these operations,” she said.

Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.—home of Air University and Air Command and Staff College—and the U.S. Air Force Academy both placed in the lower-third percentile for public education quality.

The Deep Dive

On the academic side, the Department of the Air Force looked at criteria in three broad categories: academic performance, school climate, and service offering, and sourced data from the Education Department and the Stanford Education Data Archive.

**Department of the Air Force report screenshot**

The resulting evaluations for each installation give its public education resources a color-coded score that essentially places it in a lower third (red), medium third (yellow), or upper third (green) percentile. And while there isn’t a numerical score given for each installation, charts under the “Public Education” header allow people to see how theirs compared with other DAF installations.

On the licensure portability side, DAF honed in on the following professional fields, and wrapped other occupations into a “Plus all other professions” category:

Accounting
Cosmetology
Emergency Medical Service
Engineering
Law
Nursing
Physical Therapy
Psychology
Teaching

For all categories save for law, it considered criteria involving compacts, military-specific rules, and other obstacles to license accommodation. For the legal profession, it only honed in on the latter two.

Unlike the education-related scores, licensure-portability color scores don’t correspond to percentiles, Air Force spokesperson Sarah Fiocco explained in an email to Air Force Magazine. Instead, the colors indicate how supportive each state’s rules regarding license transfer are, with red being the least, yellow being moderately, and green being the most supportive of such efforts, she explained.

And regardless of how well each installation fared on either side of the analysis, the report identified areas of potential improvement.

Association of Defense Communities President Joe Driskill praised the frameworks used in the assessment. ADC was one of the nonprofits the service consulted during the framework-development process.

“Creating the quality of life that supports and sustains our service members and families is at the heart of every defense community,” he said in a statement provided to Air Force Magazine. “This new framework provides an important tool for our communities to assess education opportunities for military children and the ability of military spouses to maintain their careers, especially in comparison to other communities across the country.”

Akin—whose organization USAF also consulted during the process—said that while the frameworks aren’t 100 percent comprehensive, they’re solid tools leaders can use to affect positive change.

“This framework doesn’t account for a lot of the kind of cultural community issues that may be at play, that are barriers, but it does address … specific actions that local and state leaders can take to help demonstrate to the Air Force, their willingness to work with the military to set the conditions there locally for military families to thrive,” she said in an Aug. 10 interview with Air Force Magazine.

On the portability side, Akin said those cultural issues include the daily demands of Airmen’s and space professional’s career fields, as well as the availability and affordability of childcare. And on the education side, she said, these “squishy issues,” which she said lack “a tangible way” of being quantified, include schools’ ability to consistently make new kids feel welcomed.

Next Steps

The Air Force approved the criteria for this deep dive on Feb. 24, and it shared the results with Capitol Hill lawmakers and community leaders last week, service spokesperson Ann M. Stefanek told Air Force Magazine. The department also shared individualized findings for its Active-duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve installations on its website.

If an installation commander finds their location fell short on the assessment, Akin said they’re not powerless to help chart a better course for the future.

First, she advises commanders to get an in-depth understanding of both licensure and education-quality issues, since they impact “the quality of life for their entire installation,” but can be new territory for individuals who aren’t dealing with them firsthand.

“Then, they need to work quite closely with their school liaison officer to make sure that their families are feeling supported, they’re not seeing many issues, that they understand the military interstate compact, and that they’re willing to engage in conversations with how to address specific issues and improve them,” Akin said. “I think on my wish list of things, I’d also love to see them conducting town halls locally with parents and spouses to better understand specific issues local to the community.”

If Congressional legislators find that installations they represent are experiencing obstacles to licensing, Akin said they should “encourage their state legislatures” to join forces with the Defense Department’s State Liaison Office to turn the situation around.

“I think there’s a lot of good data and a lot [of] great work around, like, what these interstate compacts can look like, and they can really hone in on, you know, what is feasible what is not? Are there occupations that require some additional credentialing? What are those? Why are they state-specific?” Akin said.

According to Akin, some license-transfer rules make sense—like barring an engineer who’s new to California from automatically moving their license over, since their previous state might not have required them to know how to create earthquake-proof buildings.

“But, a nurse in California and a nurse in North Carolina essentially do the same job, and so the nursing compact works,” she said. “A physical therapist in one state and a physical therapist in another state essentially do the same job. Let’s make their life a little easier by helping them transfer their credentials.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Aug. 10 at 8:57 p.m. EDT to clarify a quote from Jennifer Akin, and on Aug. 11 at 7:58 a.m. EDT to clarify the currency of the source data.

The Air Force Challenged Hackers to Break into a DOD Satellite

Aug. 10, 2020 | By Alyk Russell Kenlan

Hackers took control of a Department of Defense satellite on Aug. 9.

Hacking into the satellite was the final challenge of “Hack-A-Sat,” a competition run by the Air Force and DOD’s Defense Digital Service intended to spur interest in aerospace cybersecurity.

“Space is an increasingly important contributor to global economies and security,” Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics said in an Aug. 3 press release. “Letting experts hack an orbiting satellite will teach us how to build more secure systems in the future.”

Eight finalist teams completed a series of five challenges that culminated in taking control of an active satellite to take a picture of the moon.

Teams could be made up of any number of people as long as they included at least one U.S. citizen or permanent resident and did not include anyone on the Department of the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list. Teams could be independent groups of people or sponsored by an academic institution or company.

Over 2,000 teams made up of 6,000 individuals participated in a qualification event in late May. The eight highest-scoring teams moved onto the competition, which was held Aug. 7-9.

The Air Force and DOD collaborated with DEF CON Safe Mode, an annual hacking convention that meets in August each year. While usually an in-person event, the conference was virtual this year due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Defense Department has been inviting friendly hackers to penetrate its networks since the first Hack the Pentagon event in 2016. The Air Force followed suit a year later, launching its first-ever Hack the Air Force event in May 2017, but this is the first such program specifically targeting space assets. Lauren Knausenberger, U.S Air Force director of cybersecurity innovation, in March announced a blanket purchase agreement worth up to $75 million, allowing Air Force program managers to call in hackers for hire to test the service’s computer systems.

Beyond the hacking competition, the “Hack-A-Sat” contest included various talks and workshops about cybersecurity in aerospace.

“In bringing together two often perceived at-odds communities—the DOD and hackers—the department aims to tackle the unforeseen security risks in aerospace systems, attract security research talent and influence a more resident design and development process for future assets,” according to an Aug. 3 Air Force press release.

Editor’s note: This story was updated Aug. 21 to reflect the correct spelling of Lauren Knausenberger’s name.

First Space Force Doctrine Lays Foundation for Future Ops

Aug. 10, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

The Space Force on Aug. 10 rolled out its inaugural policy document that will govern how it organizes, trains, and equips service members for military space operations.

The new doctrine solidifies the interdependence of civil, military, intelligence, and commercial players as the U.S. tries to return to the moon and push farther to Mars, as well as protect its satellites and other spacecraft from attack and support a growing number of private-sector ventures past the Earth’s atmosphere.

“Preserving freedom of action in space is the essence of military space power and must be the first priority of military space forces,” said the Space Capstone Publication, the product of a year’s worth of work.

Congress created the Space Force in December 2019 to put space power on par with other means of military dominance. Its five core missions are to create a safe environment for the U.S. and its partners on orbit, enable combat operations around the world through GPS and communications, move resources around space in new ways, transfer data more easily, and keep track of debris and other happenings in space.

Doctrine now argues the Space Force needs seven kinds of experts to achieve those missions. They include:

Orbital warfare, or moving systems on orbit as well as firing weapons for offense and defense
Electromagnetic warfare
Cyber
Intelligence
Battle management
Space access and systems sustainment
Engineering and acquisition.

“Given the development and maturation of space power, and what we’re facing from a strategic environment, operational environment, it’s really starting to force us to have to look to build more depth,” Col. Casey M. Beard, commander of the Space Delta 9 operations organization at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo., told reporters Aug. 10.

The document indicates that the Space Force could begin to pull together teams of personnel who deal with high-value assets, offensive and defensive ops, intelligence and surveillance, and cybersecurity. Those force packages could be more responsive and creative than how the military currently handles daily space operations.

The Space Force has to better understand, “What are the skill sets that are needed? What are the qualification standards that are required to be able to conduct those? How do they interact with one another?” Beard said.

Space poses several unique considerations for the Pentagon. It is connected to every other domain in that attacking a satellite can have far-reaching consequences for air, land, and sea security, and attacking ground controls can disable a satellite’s ability to pass information to other parts of the force. If an adversary tries to shoot or jam a spacecraft, the U.S. could retaliate with another part of its arsenal.

“The United States Space Force must be joint-smart from its inception and it must help produce a space-smart joint force,” the doctrinal paper said.

Unlike typical combat operations down below that favor kinetic attacks like missile strikes, conditions in space are suited more for electronic warfare to interrupt signals and invade networks.

“Because of the prevalence of remote operations, the [electromagnetic spectrum] is the primary conduit through which the control and exploitation of the space domain is achieved,” the policy document said.

Cameras on orbit have unfettered access to the Earth below, unlike land, sea, and air surveillance methods that don’t have such a broad range and face more restrictions in what they can photograph. Space is harder to reach and return from, and requires immense energy to move around on orbit.

It’s harder to hide in the cosmos, too.

“There is no forward edge of the battle area behind which military spacecraft can reconstitute and recover,” according to the doctrine. “Spacecraft remain in orbit through peace and war where they are potentially at risk from adversary counterspace capabilities and the hostile space environment.”

While the paper frames space as an increasingly hostile, potentially violent place, the doctrine also calls on the military to be responsible stewards of the final frontier. That means setting an example for the safe and open use of space even as service members study military writers like Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz.

“Just like all forms of warfare, the prosecution of space warfare and the potential generation of collateral damage is judged against the principles of military necessity, distinction, and proportionality,” the publication said. “Military space forces balance our responsibilities for operational readiness with the safety and sustainability of the space environment for use by future generations.”

Space Force officials plan to publish other doctrinal documents to outline more specific operational goals and tactics. Work will begin on the operational-level publication within the next year, and the military will review and update the final products every few years.

“Agility, innovation, and boldness have always been the cornerstone traits of military space forces,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond said in a release. “We must continue to harness these traits as we build our new service and a new professional body of knowledge.”

Hypersonic ARRW Wraps Early Testing Phase

Aug. 10, 2020 | By Brian W. Everstine

The AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), the Air Force’s first hypersonic weapon, completed its last captive-carry test flight on a B-52 on Aug. 8.

A B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Aug. 8. The aircraft conducted a captive-carry flight test of the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon Instrumented Measurement Vehicle 2 hypersonic prototype at the Point Mugu Sea Range off the Southern California coast. **Photo: Matt Williams/USAF**

During the test, which was conducted off the coast of Southern California, the AGM-183A Instrumented Measurement Vehicle-2 transmitted telemetry and GPS data to ground stations at the Point Mugu Sea Range. The test verified the weapon’s integration with the B-52, and practiced a concept of operations to be used in its first Booster Test Flight, to be held later this year, according to an Air Force release.

Members of the AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon Instrumented Measurement Vehicle 2 test team make final preparations prior to a captive-carry test flight of the prototype hypersonic weapon at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Aug. 8, 2020. **Photo: Kyle Brasier/USAF**

ARRW is a rapid prototype effort, with initial operational capability expected by 2022. The Air Force in February picked the missile as its first weapon of the type over the Hypersonic Conventional Strike Weapon, or HCSW. The missile passed its critical design review in February, and Air Force Global Strike Command is planning to eventually carry it externally on the B-1 as well.

“I think we’re going to commit to the ARRW, because I think our carriage capability is good for that,” Global Strike boss Gen. Timothy M. Ray said in April.

A B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Aug. 8, 2020. **Photo: Matt Williams/USAF**

The weapon took its first captive carry flight in June 2019 at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. At the time, Air Force acquisition head Will Roper said the flight tests demonstrated that hypersonics are making it “out of the lab and into the real world where our weapons systems live.”

“It’s a step,” he said in an interview. “Not a huge step, but it’s an important step to start thinking of hypersonic weapons not as science and technology, but as a current weapon system.”

DOD Space Policy Boss to Depart Aug. 21

Aug. 10, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

Stephen L. Kitay, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, will leave his job at the end of the month, he said in an Aug. 8 letter posted to social media.

“While the department’s critical mission will never be complete, I have a very exciting opportunity in the private sector that my family and I decided to pursue,” he wrote.

Kitay’s resignation as one of the Pentagon’s top space policy officials takes effect Aug. 21. The Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who will fill the position once he leaves. He has held the job since June 2017.

His tenure includes standing up the Space Force to manage military space assets, U.S. Space Command to run daily military space operations like satellite communications and missile warning, and crafting an interdepartmental approach to space as a potential area of conflict that brings together the Pentagon, Commerce Department, National Reconnaissance Office, and others in new ways.

The former Air Force officer previously worked as a staffer on the House Armed Services Committee and as a civilian employee in the intelligence community.

“I am truly grateful for the vision and direction the president has provided to the U.S. space program,” he wrote. “This vision recognizes the fundamental importance of space not only for furthering human and scientific exploration, but also for ensuring our national and economic security.”

A handful of other defense officials overseeing space policy and research have left the Pentagon for the private sector over the past few years.

For example, Fred G. Kennedy, the Space Development Agency’s inaugural director, resigned in June 2019 and is now vice president of future missions at Astra, a small-satellite launch provider. Space Force Planning Director Maj. Gen. Clint E. Crosier recently retired to run Amazon Web Services’ new space business branch. And Michael D. Griffin, the Pentagon’s research and engineering boss who oversaw SDA and other space-focused ventures, left DOD in July for an industry job.

ULA, SpaceX Win Space Force Launch Provider Competition

Aug. 7, 2020 | By Rachel S. Cohen

United Launch Alliance and SpaceX will continue in the Space Force’s National Security Space Launch program, leaving challengers Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin to hope for a portion of the military launch business in future competitions.

ULA and SpaceX are already the Pentagon’s primary launch providers.

“We’re very excited within the Space Force to provide a launch capability to the entire department that is dependable and reliable, and we look forward to building on the perfect 81-out-of-81 mission success that the Air Force, and now Space Force, has provided,” Department of the Air Force acquisition boss Will Roper told reporters Aug. 7.

NSSL is a multi-year effort that looks to drive down the cost of putting satellites and other space assets on orbit by engaging with non-traditional contractors and pushing further into modern designs such as reusable rockets.

ULA will provide the rockets for 60 percent of Space Force launch missions through 2024, while SpaceX will handle the other 40 percent. ULA is receiving $337 million for two missions in fiscal 2022—USSF-51 in the second quarter and USSF-106 in the fourth quarter. SpaceX will receive $316 million to launch USSF-67 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.

Together, they will support up to 34 Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office launches over the next few years as the U.S. ditches the Russian-made RD-180 rocket engine commonly used for military space launches. Both will receive additional contracts as more launches approach on the manifest.

The Pentagon must stop buying rockets with the RD-180 by the end of 2022 to comply with federal law.

“Vulcan Centaur is the right choice for critical national security space missions and was purpose-built to meet all of the requirements of our nation’s space launch needs,” ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno said in a release. “This award shows the continued confidence of our customer in the commitment and dedication of our people to safeguard these missions.”

SpaceX offers its Falcon family of rockets for military missions. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Officials judged the bidders on their technical merit, past performance, ability to work with small businesses, and price, Roper said. The program temporarily hit a snag when the Government Accountability Office sided with Blue Origin in a bid protest that challenged the selection criteria as ambiguous and unreasonable.

Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman, who were maturing their rocket technologies under previous contracts, will be allowed to bid on the third phase of the program later in the 2020s.

“We will work with those two companies to determine the right point to tie off their work,” Roper said. “The goal is not to carry them indefinitely. The point … was to create a more competitive environment, leading into phase two, which was full and open, and every competition hereafter will be full and open.”

The Space Force believes its launch needs can only support two contractors, but that it’s helpful for other companies to continue working on their products in the meantime, Roper said. The service says its cost-cutting measures have freed up $7 billion in procurement funds for the Department of the Air Force and NRO to use elsewhere.

“We don’t think this is the last round of innovation that we’re going to see,” Roper said. “Though we’re excited for the next five years of phase two, we’re looking ahead to phase three, five years from now, and we’re just wondering what new leap-ahead, lower-cost technologies might be on the forefront to make assured access to space not just assured, but cheaper.”