At the AFA symposium, General Lance Lord took time to dump cold water on rumors that DOD might strip the Air Force of its current control and management of the Global Positioning System space constellation. “I don’t think that is a good idea,” Lord said, adding that, when the idea was first being pitched around in the Pentagon, there was a great deal of “misinformation” being spread about Air Force management of space programs. The space acquisition corps has pushed the envelope a little by taking some risks in constellation satellite sustainment, which makes Lord hopeful of fielding a GPS III satellite sooner than expected.
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.