WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is planning to field its first mobile medium-range missile battery no later than September 2023 with three more batteries to follow, according to FY22 budget justification documents.
Defense News was first to report that the Army was pursuing a Mid-Range Capability (MRC) to fill the gap in the service’s fires portfolio between the Precision Strike Missile’s…
More cost overruns are coming for Boeing as the KC-46 program logs another two technical deficiencies
June 18, 2021
WASHINGTON — Boeing will have to pay to fix two new technical problems afflicting the KC-46 refueling tanker, which the U.S. Air Force has designated as “category 1” deficiencies that rank among the program’s most critical issues.
The Air Force has discovered that…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is set to begin development and integration of a high-power microwave capability to destroy small drone threats beginning in fiscal 2022, according to budget justification documents released with the financial request.
The service plans to…
Another Boeing-Airbus tanker war is coming soon
June 17, 2021
WASHINGTON — Boeing and Airbus could find themselves duking it out as early as next year to provide aerial refueling aircraft to the U.S. Air Force, reigniting a bitter battle between Boeing’s KC-46 and Airbus’s A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport.
The Air Force on Tuesday released a sources sought notice for a non developmental tanker aircraft known as KC-Y that would bridge the gap between…
WASHINGTON — House and Senate lawmakers are again pushing to boost the Missile Defense Agency’s budget after Congress added $1.3 billion last fiscal year.
The MDA’s request in fiscal 2022 focuses on the development of future capabilities including a next-generation…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy’s Ship to Shore Connector program has become expensive enough to breach Nunn-McCurdy cost thresholds laid out in the decades-old acquisition law, but the service said in a June 11 statement the program has stabilized and will continue in…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is launching a new effort in fiscal 2022 to design and develop a long-range precision munition for its future aircraft and will choose industry-born designs to move forward into a roughly five-year development program in fiscal 2023, according to FY22 budget documents.
The service is requesting $29.2 million to ramp up the development effort while it fields its…
WASHINGTON — The Army wants to fund ways to extend the range of its Precision Strike Missile – which is still under development – out to 1,000 kilometers or more in fiscal 2022, according to documents accompanying the service’s budget request.
The service wants to…
Lockheed says global demand for F-35 remains strong despite uncertainty over US Air Force plans
June 15, 2021
FORT WORTH, Texas — Despite lingering questions about the U.S. Air Force’s commitment to buying 1,783 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, Lockheed Martin’s new head of the aircraft program expects growing international demand for the stealth jet, she told reporters…
White House to nominate retired commander, business leader Carlos Del Toro as Navy secretary
June 12, 2021
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Carlos Del Toro as its pick to be the next Navy secretary.
Del Toro is a retired U.S. Navy commander and a business leader, and if confirmed he would be the second-ever Hispanic Navy secretary.
A decision on who should lead the Department of the Navy has lagged behind the other services: The Senate already confirmed Christine Wormuth to be…
