EADS North America announced Monday that the Air Force has debriefed it on the service’s KC-X tanker decision. Armed with this new knowledge, it now rests with the company to decide whether to appeal the Air Force’s tanker contract award to Boeing, or to allow the decision to stand. “The EADS North America team has met with the Air Force, received a debriefing, and is evaluating the information presented to us,” said Guy Hicks, EADS North America spokesman. He added, “Our objective has always been that the US warfighter receive the most capable tanker, following a fair and transparent competition. That remains our position today.” Last week, the Air Force selected Boeing’s 767-based NewGen Tanker over EADS’ A330-based KC-45 to replace the service’s oldest KC-135s. Explaining the decision last week, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said service evaluators judged that Boeing’s tanker would be more than 1 percent lower in price than EADS’. Further, Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn called Boeing “a clear winner.”
When the Space Force discusses the cyber threats faced by the service or the commercial satellite providers it uses, it typically frames the issue as a nation-state one. But for cyber defenders in the commercial space sector responsible for day-to-day operations, the reality is rather different: Like other providers of…