Things will be different in this CSAR-X go-around (see above), the Air Force’s senior acquisition official Sue Payton said Thursday. She told Pentagon reporters: “I’m very pleased that we have great support from the Army and the Navy. They will be helping us with the source selection.” This appears to be a growing trend. Payton likened the assist from other service acquisition personnel to the Army-Air Force work on the Joint Cargo Aircraft program and other work the Air Force has done on Navy acquisition efforts. “We’re doing some cross-fertilization here,” Payton said, adding that the Navy and Army have excellent domain knowledge on helicopters, so will be able to leverage that in the selection process.
The Air Force budget would grow to $234 billion while Space Force spending would shrink to $26 billion under the White House's yearly ask.