Perhaps the biggest change to the Air Force’s internal organizational structure since the review of USAF’s headquarters-level space functions has been the consolidation of space acquisitions under the same office that handles the service’s non-space acquisition programs, Undersecretary of the Air Force Erin Conaton told attendees at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles Thursday. Another change that she highlighted was the creation of the Air Force Space Board to coordinate USAF’s position regarding multi-organizational, service, and interagency space issues. Conaton co-chairs that board, which met for the first time this week, she said. “[The Board] is clearly going to be a great asset as the Air Force considers a wide variety of decisions, from international partnerships as part of the space policy, to operations, to our acquisition space programs,” she said. (See Conaton Becomes Lead for USAF Space Matters)
Control of the skies in Operation Epic Fury is enabling the Pentagon to rely more on satellite- and laser-guided bombs, throttle back on expensive long-range standoff munitions, and move to a new phase of air war, defense officials said on March 4. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.…