The military is beginning to think about how best to protect space assets from increasing threats, but there is still a long way to go. Audrey Schaffer, the director of space strategy and plans for the Defense Department, said Thursday the Pentagon is “beginning [to make] changes to architecture” to ensure space capabilities could be available in the face of threats. “But that’s just beginning,” she said. Future administrations need to continue this focus to harden space assets to deter allies from not just operating in space, but threatening the US in any theater that involves space-based capabilities. This needs to be addressed in multiple ways: enhancing the resilience of current architectures, developing new defensive operations, and addressing how to replenish capabilities if they are lost.
A new Navy missile could fill a long-range air-to-air need for the U.S. Air Force’s fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation fighters. The Navy’s portfolio acquisition executive for munitions posted information on the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile online on Aug. 22, the same day it unveiled the project at the service’s…