Technology Horizons Paper Released: The Air Force on Wednesday issued Technology Horizons, the vision document that charts the service’s science and technology goals and priorities out to 2030. It highlights technologically achievable breakthroughs in that timeframe to increase the effectiveness of the Air Force, and, in the process, the joint US military fighting force. Among the many future concepts that would be possible with these breakthroughs is a reusable prompt theater-range intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance/strike system for engaging high-value, time-critical targets from standoff distances. The 79-foot-long air vehicle features combined-cycle propulsion (rockets and ram/scramjet) capable of Mach 6 flight. The vehicle has a range of 5,000 nautical miles at Mach 6 while carrying a 2,000-pound payload, “permitting alternating flights between Diego Garcia and Guam with runway landings,” states the work. Werner Dahm, Air Force chief scientist, unveiled Technology Horizons to reporters last week. (Technology Horizons full document; caution, very large file.)
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
