The Air Force added the CV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft to its list of 2007 unfunded priorities to try to answer a US Special Operations Command request that “this critical capability be fielded as soon as possible,” Maj. Gen. Stanley Gorenc told lawmakers yesterday at a Capitol Hill hearing. The upfront funds the Air Force is seeking would accelerate full operational capability by three years. Gorenc, USAF’s operational capabilities requirements chief, said the CV-22 Osprey would “greatly enhance SOF capabilities.” The Air Force version of the Osprey will replace 31 Air Force Special Operations Command MH-53s.
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.
