DefenseNews

Why the US Navy wants to build a fully autonomous satellite

Navy researchers are testing a fully autonomous satellite designed to detect and characterize objects in space. The system, called Autosat, is designed to task, calibrate its signals and send and receive information on its own without the need for a human operator. Steven Meier, director of space technology at the Naval Research Laboratory, said Thursday his team has demonstrated the capability in…
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DefenseNews

How Trump’s Air Force pick could elevate space priorities

Among the resumes of President-elect Donald Trump’s picks for key Pentagon posts, aspiring Air Force secretary Troy Meink’s stands out. As a Defense Department insider with deep acquisition and technology-development experience, Meink would bring to the job a government background unlike that of Trump’s other DOD nominees. And his specialization in space could upend the priorities of a…
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DefenseNews

Troy Meink: A Leader in the Air Force

President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he’s tapping Troy Meink, second in command at the National Reconnaissance Office, to be secretary of the Air Force. Meink began his career as a KC-135 tanker navigator in 1988. He went on to hold a variety of roles across the Air Force’s space enterprise, serving as a chief technical advisor to the Air Force Research Laboratory and later the deputy…
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DefenseNews

Raytheon aims to boost SM-3 missile production rates

Raytheon is investing in its Standard Missile 3 lines to accelerate the production rate of the U.S. Navy weapon, as global interest in procuring the capability expands amid successful intercepts against ballistic missile attacks in the Middle East. Raytheon produces both the…
DefenseNews

Kendall floats F-35 successor, casts 2050 vision for Air Force

The Air Force under a Trump administration could choose to pursue a more advanced successor to the F-35 successor instead of the costly Next Generation Air Dominance platform to maintain air superiority, outgoing Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said Monday. Kendall suggested alternative paths for the Air Force’s future combat fleet at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event at…
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