Colorado Springs, Colo. The Air Force will “stand up a three-star deputy chief of staff for space,” Gen. Jay Raymond, chief of Air Force Space Command said. When the position is finalized and filled, the Air Force will have someone at the Pentagon who will “come to work every day focused on” integrating space into multi-domain warfighting, Raymond said at the 33rd Space Symposium on Tuesday. The new deputy will have plenty of work to do, Raymond said, as space leadership in the Air Force is currently focused on “getting after rapid acquisition processes” by shifting “milestone decision authority” from the Department of Defense to the Air Force, as the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act requires. Another goal will be to “leverage ORS authority” and expand its acquisition power to other programs, he said, making reference to the Operationally Responsive Space office at Kirtland AFB, N.M.
The combination of an “unacceptable” eight-year delay, potentially billions of dollars in costs create a new logistics enterprise, and the need to prioritize a more advanced capability persuaded the Air Force to buy an additional 75 Boeing KC-46s, according to a new document.
