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.
Raytheon, a division of defense giant RTX, recently announced a multiyear deal with the Pentagon to increase annual production of the Air Force’s primary dogfighting missile by more than 50 percent from two years ago.
