The Air Force has tapped Northrop Grumman to provide technical and engineering support personnel to expand USAF’s national air defense force. The five-year, $64 million contract will fund hiring personnel “with appropriate security clearances to provide the Air Force with intelligence collections and analysis,” states a company news releases. According to Northrop, other areas covered by the contract are “operational planning, training, exercise planning and execution, computer systems, network management, security, personnel-management services, civil engineering, logistics management, aircraft maintenance, and supply and civil-support operations expertise.” The Northrop employees will work at McChord AFB, Wash., Rome, N.Y., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Tyndall AFB, Fla.
A new White House policy calls for the Pentagon to craft plans for additional space launch facilities to support a projected increase in launch demand that could see the U.S. supporting as many as 1,000 launches by 2030, more than a fivefold increase from 2025.