Boeing has finished fabrication of the fifth of 12 Global Positioning System IIF satellites, announced the company June 18. “Boeing, in close partnership with the US Air Force, is focused on execution and mission assurance,” said Craig Cooning, Boeing’s general manager of space and intelligence systems, in the company’s release. Two of the five completed IIF satellites are already operational on orbit as part of the 31-satellite GPS constellation. The other three are in storage awaiting launch, states Boeing’s release. The third IIF satellite is slated for launch during the fourth quarter of 2012. A United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket will carry the satellite into space from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., states the release.
The F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That means advances in one will fuel advances in the other.