In an exclusive sit down with Breaking Defense, Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth defended his agency’s role in moving commercial and government satellite data to the field in a timely manner.
By Theresa HitchensGray Eagle is the low-cost, low-risk answer to Army modernization
Gray Eagle STOL and Gray Eagle 25M are the best options for Army aviation as it assesses where to move from its current inflection point.
The delay in the review, however, is not expected to impact the planned delivery schedule, an Air Force spokesperson said. That said, neither the Pentagon nor the NRO has revealed the hoped-for schedule.
By Theresa Hitchens
Meanwhile, the report says, the Space Force should be in charge of pursuing large networks of small satellites under the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) — differentiating its “tactical ISR” job from the “strategic” mission of NRO.
By Theresa Hitchens
Lt. Gen. David Miller, head of Space Operations Command, said the ongoing tussle with the Intelligence Community is like when dogs first meet in a dog park. “The dogs like spend five minutes sniffing each other’s butts. That’s the phase I think we’re in. We just need to get off that,” he said.
By Theresa Hitchens
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall explained that the “small decrease in the number for the Space Force” isn’t itself quite reflective of reality, as there are mitigating circumstances that lessen the blow.
By Theresa Hitchens
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“Mission engineering” can integrate space and ground assets to push data to the edge.
By Breaking Defense “We are clearly moving away from airborne ISR assets and moving into space. It’s the absolute right thing to do from a resiliency and sustainability perspective,” Air Force space acquisition czar Frank Calvelli said.
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Millennium Space Systems is delivering on critical missile tracking constellation
With programs like MTC, Millennium Space Systems is redefining what it means to be an operational prime – rapidly delivering operational small sat constellations on rapid timelines.
“And so I think, as you see new missions come on, you can presume that that means more Guardians to perform those missions, and we’ll have to adjust the strength going up,” said CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman.
By Theresa Hitchens
“This is a new type of capability. It’s not completely the Intelligence Community supporting the [Defense Department]. It’s not completely a DoD mission without the help of the Intelligence Community. It’s this combination of the two,” said CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman.
By Theresa Hitchens
While there is no formal agreement, NRO and the Space Force have reached an informal accord to each use commercial imagery the other has acquired, and are in discussions about a potential DoD-IC “marketplace” to ease sharing.
By Theresa Hitchens “The good news about this approach is this really fits my priority of speed, speed and speed,” Frank Calvelli, space acquisition czar at the Department of the Air Force, said of the plan to have NRO take the lead with Space Force oversight and some funding.
By Theresa Hitchens
NRO and Space Force “are working hand in hand to shape the future of ground moving target indicators, which will provide day/night, all-weather detection and tracking of ground and maritime targets for the warfighter,” NRO Director Chris Scolese said.
By Theresa Hitchens
The Space Force is “working with the Air Force and the Intelligence Community (IC) in a complementary way to design, develop, and deploy space-based GMTI systems,” the service’s FY24 budget documents explain.
By Theresa Hitchens
After an analysis of literally thousands of options, Space Force’s Gen. DT Thompson said, “in the end [there was] a consensus opinion inside the Department of Defense and the [Intelligence Community] on how we should proceed.”
By Theresa Hitchens
