The Defense Department needs to assess the cost of engines and mission-assurance activities for future evolved expendable launch vehicles before it makes decisions on future EELV buys, said Government Accountability Office auditors. DOD and the National Reconnaissance Office plan to spend about $15 billion for EELV launch services from Fiscal 2013 to Fiscal 2017 to help stabilize the US launch industrial base. This plan would commit the government to a block buy of eight common booster cores—EELV’s main component—each year, for a 5-year period. However, “critical knowledge gaps remain” that could come back to bite the Pentagon, warned the auditors in a report released Monday, but dated Sept. 15. For example, “the expected block buy may commit the government to buy more booster cores than it needs,” states the document. DOD also might “lock in higher prices” for EELV engines, cautioned the auditors.
As commander of Air Forces Central, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich has been at the heart of almost all U.S. military action in the Middle East, from overseeing airstrikes against Iranian proxy groups to protecting troops as America’s air defense commander for the region. Just before handing over his command to…