The Air Force has said the United Launch Alliance is an urgent need, Roger Krone, president of Boeing’s network and space systems, told reporters Monday at AFA’s Washington conference, but the program’s fate is still in the hands of the Federal Trade Commission. Boeing has stipulated conditions to the final agreement, which it has called a Buy III contract. Krone expects the agreement to be settled in mid-October and said doesn’t see any impediments to that time frame, although he admitted to being “firewalled” from Lockheed Martin’s requirements.
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…