Michael Marrow covers air warfare for Breaking Defense. He holds a BA in history from the University of Virginia and started out as a freelance reporter covering local news in Fairfax County, Virginia and policing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Michael previously reported on the Air Force and Space Force for Inside Defense, where he tracked major acquisitions, policy changes and modernization efforts.
Two international customers so far have signed on to buy Northrop’s Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite, and the company hopes more could be in the works.
“So there’s a sweet spot for where we can prime it and there’s a stretch area. … What I hope is you see the sweet spot increases and the stretch area is moving to higher” program sizes and complexities, Kratos’s Steve Fendley told Breaking Defense.
Development of the Air Force’s first two rapid prototype radar planes proved more difficult than expected, according to acquisition chief Andrew Hunter.
International partners could join in on drone development for a next round of CCA work planned for the FY25 budget, according to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
Under the “reoptimizing” effort, changes are coming across the Department of the Air Force, from new training approaches to the establishment of high-level offices.
Details of the AFRL’s Off-Board Sensing Station program remain highly classified, though the effort is expected to field an unmanned aircraft that can fly ahead of fighters and relay targeting information and other threat data back.
“Like all programs, the continuing resolution has the potential to have an impact. We have not worked through all the details if we had a sequestration scenario,” Pratt & Whitney’s Jennifer Latka said about a stalled budget on Capitol Hill. “What I know now is that our schedule is on track, that we have identified funding to continue, and that’s not to say that that situation cannot change.”
In a tour of Collins Aerospace’s facilities, executives said their new thermal management solution for the F-35 achieved a key benchmark, though the Pentagon hasn’t yet decided on a competition at all.
“Instead of seeing the Ukraine conflict and deciding ‘this is too hard,’ [China’s] intention, on the other hand, is to take note of the actions of Russia in order to effect a short, sharp, fait accompli conflict,” Adm. Samuel Paparo told lawmakers.
With programs like MTC, Millennium Space Systems is redefining what it means to be an operational prime – rapidly delivering operational small sat constellations on rapid timelines.
With programs like MTC, Millennium Space Systems is redefining what it means to be an operational prime – rapidly delivering operational small sat constellations on rapid timelines.
