One of the under-the-radar problems that has “plagued” SBIRS—and some other DOD programs—is its reliance on the Ada programming language, said Wynne. He added that it is “not popular any longer” and like DOS, which was invented around the same time and is “no longer even talked of,” should be abandoned. “We still have Ada-based programmers trying to [use] it, noted Wynne. He’s convinced that the Air Force—considering technology advances over the past seven years—will be better able to configure the next generation of programs.
A combined Navy and Air Force program is seeking to build a smaller version of a ubiquitous air-to-air missile that could give advanced aircraft, such as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, greater magazine depth in a high-end fight.