The Missile Defense Agency has just received its second Space Tracking and Surveillance System Block 2006 sensor payload, built by Raytheon and delivered to STSS prime contractor Northrop Grumman. The agency expects to launch two STSS satellites with Block 2006 sensors, built from refurbished flight demonstration hardware, in late 2007 and to receive missile warning data as part of the nation’s growing Ballistic Missile Defense System over their two-year lifespan.
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.
