It’s been four years since then-private citizen Donald Rumsfeld chaired the blue ribbon “Space Commission” that took DOD to task for not adequately developing a well-educated corps of professional military space personnel. Now, the GAO says, in a new report on the Pentagon’s progress towards developing a “space cadre,” that DOD has made little progress as a whole. GAO does credit the individual services, particularly the Air Force with 91 percent of the space force, for pursuing their own space professional strategies. However, the Congressional watchdog agency says its high-time for DOD to set a defensewide strategy. The Pentagon concurs with GAO recommendations. One is to better define Executive Agent for Space responsibilities toward the space cadre. Another is to set performance measures.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
