Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told lawmakers last week that the service expects to award a KC-X tanker contract in January, not Feb. 29 as staffers for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told media in Mobile. Perhaps there is some confusion with the CSAR-X combat search and rescue helicopter program award, which Wynne said USAF now expects to award in mid-February. At an Oct. 24 House Armed Services Committee hearing, Wynne said on the KC-X award, “We right now are treating both competitors with extreme fairness. … We have done a very serious look at what they’ve done, and I still hope that we can by January of next year come to an agreement and award the KC-X contract, and that’s where I’m aiming.”
The Pentagon cannot afford to lose access to certain parts of the electromagnetic spectrum if it is to proceed with the “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative, a top official told lawmakers. And with the telecommunications industry and some lawmakers pushing to open military radio waves for commercial use, the Defense…