Maj. Gen. Stephen Lorenz, a top Air Force budget official, says USAF is in the hole by about $800 million this year—all due to fuel increases. The big gas guzzler is Operation Noble Eagle, the domestic air defense activity now ending its fourth year. Noble Eagle now has a total annual price tag of $1.2 billion—or about $100 million per month.
Northrop Grumman test fired its newest solid rocket motor Dec. 4, part of an internally funded effort to rapidly design and build SRMs using advanced manufacturing techniques.
