Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance chief Lt. Gen. Bob Otto said the service is working on the RQ-180 remotely piloted aircraft to give it better access to contested airspace, where the unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk and manned U-2S platforms are vulnerable. Otto declined to provide details about the aircraft in comments to Air Force Magazine after his June 9 address in Arlington, Va., that AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies sponsored. He did say the Air Force still needs the Global Hawk for “run-of-the-mill” operations. However, there are limits to its ability to image from standoff distances, and both it and the U-2 have “problems” seeing through or operating in bad weather, said Otto. During his speech, he mentioned “new” research and development to produce sensors that can get at “difficult-to-target” objects. For budgetary reasons, the Air Force position is that it needs “only one high-altitude reconnaissance platform” and it’s the RQ-4, not the U-2, said Otto in his speech. He didn’t say where the RQ-180 fits in the mix, but did say the Air Force is “over-invested in permissive [area] assets” in ISR.
Blue Origin launched its New Glenn rocket and SpaceX launched its Starship rocket on Jan. 16, as Space Force leaders watched with interest at two vehicles that may redefine how the service accesses orbit in the future.