The Air Force is expected to complete by mid-August the acquisition strategy for the Defense Department’s next-generation weather satellite, says Gil Klinger, director for space and intelligence in the Pentagon’s acquisition office. The new satellite, now called the Defense Weather Satellite System, will fill the void left by the cancellation of the NPOESS weather satellite in February. The first DWSS spacecraft is planned to be available for launch in 2018, Klinger told House lawmakers during a recent oversight hearing. The Obama Administration axed NPOESS after the joint Defense Department-Commerce Department-NASA program became untenable due to management woes, cost spikes, and major schedule slips. In its place, the Air Force will pursue DWSS, while Commerce’s NOAA develops the Joint Polar-Orbiting Satellite System for climate monitoring. The first JPSS launch is anticipated around 2014. (Klinger written testimony)
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design the Air Force said.