The Air Force has taken in stride the new protests over its combat search and rescue helicopter replacement program. Lockheed Martin filed a protest June 8 and Sikorsky filed one June 18, but both companies also filed their new submissions for the revised CSAR-X request for proposals on time to meet the June 19 deadline. USAF provided a 13-page response to contractor questions during the second round, rebuffing all criticism. In Washington, the Air Force’s military deputy for acquisition, Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman said in a statement: “Protests are part of the acquisition process. … The Air Force feels we have correctly adjusted the RFP to satisfy [Government Accountability Office] guidance and concerns.” The service has asked the GAO to use its “express option and expedited procedures to resolve this protest,” stated Hoffman.
New approaches to testing Space Force equipment are speeding up delivery to operators, but the service needs more testers and perhaps its own space-focused test center, officials said April 1. Those are key pieces of the fledgling force’s testing methods and future moves that will keep new technology flowing into…