The Air Force’s launch schedule is filling up fast as new capabilities come online. In an effort to maintain efficiencies and prevent unnecessary delays, Air Force Space Command is reworking the way it schedules launches, said Gen. Robert Kehler, the command’s boss, in his Friday address at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles. Instead of scheduling just one launch, command officials are looking to “keep multiple contenders” in line to ensure that they don’t lose a coveted launch spot if a program experiences delays, he said. “The days of playing schedule roulette are over,” asserted Kehler.
The Air Force has finished resurrecting a B-1B Lancer, completing a yearslong process to transform a bomber that had been stored for parts in the Arizona desert into the new flagship of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.