We reported the QDR-2007 budget demise of USAF’s E-10 all-in-one ISR platform (all but a test aircraft) and the Airborne Laser. It seems USAF leaders decided they also could do without the Electric B-52. Defense analyst Loren Thompson says the Air Force now thinks a B-52 jammer would not make a suitable mate for strike aircraft. (Just a few months ago, the service was poised to name an industry integrator.) USAF wants a “faster, more survivable” bird, says Thompson, adding that the new likely contender is a modified F-15E.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
