The Air Force has increased the number of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles it intends to procure by 60 to 151, according to the Pentagon’s latest selected acquisition report to Congress. The increase is primarily due to the extension of the Air Force’s launch manifest from Fiscal 2018 to Fiscal 2028 and the EELV program’s life extension from Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2030, as directed in Air Force Space Command’s strategic master plan, states the SAR, issued on May 23. Accordingly, the total projected costs of the EELV program have more than doubled, increasing by $35.7 billion to $70.7 billion, according to the report. Projected savings of $1.7 billion from initiatives like a revised contracting strategy have “partially offset” the cost increase, states the SAR. (For more SAR coverage, see F-35 Costs Decrease and More Extended-Range JASSMs.)
Advancements in commercial space technology could make President Donald Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense network far more likely to succeed than the failed “Star Wars” strategic umbrella initiative of the 1980s, U.S. Space Command’s top general said May 22....