One space expert, with no skin in the NSSL game, opined that for the most part Blue Origin’s protest is “simply whining,” and characterized SpaceX’s lawsuit as “sour grapes.”

“GPS III SV02 is the newest generation of GPS satellites designed and built to deliver positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) information with three times better accuracy, and up to eight times improved anti-jamming capability than its predecessor.”

As it races to modernize, the service may be creating new formations faster than it can train the technical specialists to staff them.

“Transparency (canopy) supply shortages continue to be the main obstacle to achieving this. We are seeking additional sources to fix unserviceable canopies,” Esper said in response to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Peter Levine, former top staffer at the Senate Armed Services Committee and now with the Institute for Defense Analyses, penned a piece for us critiquing the GAO’s annual report on major weapons systems. The GAO begs to differ with Levine’s conclusions and assertions. Below is their reply, penned by Shelby Oakley, director at GAO. Read… Keep reading →

The full GAO decision undermines one of ATEC’s arguments to overturn the award to rival GE, technical superiority, but it reinforces another: risk.

Leaked extracts from an Army review tell only part of the story, a 12-year saga of extensive research, development, and testing, the company argues.

GAO’s own data show that the supposed cost growth at the heart of the analysis does not exist at all. The patient reader will find that the real reason for this “cost growth” is increased purchase quantities. In plain terms, the Pentagon bought more weapons.

Rebuffed by the Army and GAO in its bid to re-engine aging helicopters, ATEC has gone over their heads to Congress and asked legislators for a second chance.

“F-35 aircraft performance is falling short of warfighter requirements—that is, aircraft cannot perform as many missions or fly as often as required. This lower-than-desired aircraft performance is due largely to F-35 spare parts shortages and difficulty in managing and moving parts around the world”