An internal Pentagon study reviewing the procurement of new F-22A Raptors says the Air Force could save more than $500 million if it buys 40 more fighters than the 183 now specified by DOD. Reuters news service surfaced this finding based on comment from an unnamed source that has seen the draft of the study conducted by the Program Analysis and Evaluation Office. The conclusion—if upheld—mirrors that of an independent review conducted by the consulting firm Whitney, Bradley, & Brown. Commissioned last fall by Defense Undersecretary Gordon England, the WBB study is due next month, but word of its “surprising” finding leaked last month.
The Space Force is playing midwife to a new ecosystem of commercial satellite constellations providing alternatives to the service’s own Global Positioning Service from much closer to the Earth, making their signals more accurate and harder to jam.
