The Defense Department proposes spending “approximately $2 billion between now and 2016” for research and development of conventional prompt global strike capabilities, said James Miller, principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy. This dollar figure represents another piece in the puzzle of understanding the Pentagon’s future LRS plans, which center around a new Air Force bomber aircraft. Already Air Force and Office of the Secretary of Defense officials have said they’d like to apply $3.7 billion through Fiscal 2016 towards developing the new bomber and another $800 million toward a new nuclear-capable cruise missile. In testimony before House defense overseers earlier this month, Miller said the Pentagon envisions a CPGS system “to defeat time-urgent regional threats.” DOD is “exploring in particular the potential of conventionally armed, long-range missile systems that fly a non-ballistic trajectory such as boost-glide systems,” he said. (See also Bomber Puzzle Pieces)
Celebrating 100 Years of Liquid-Fueled Rockets
March 11, 2026
March 16, 2026, marks 100 years since Dr. Robert H. Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket. Over the past century, new and ever more capable liquid-fueled rockets have literally propelled humanity into space. Why liquid-fueled rockets?