Senators want the Pentagon to continue to review the question of airlift sufficiency. In floor remarks, Talent quoted Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, who said recently that the C-17 was “worth its weight in gold.” Retired Gen. John Handy, who stepped down this fall as head of Air Mobility Command and US Transportation Command, had long contended that 222 C-17s was the minimum required to meet the existing mobility requirement. And that requirement has gone up.
The Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital is giving a $150 million conditional loan to Rocket Lab meant to increase the launch rate for its new reusable Neutron rocket, which is slated for its first flight next year.