Whatever their aircraft is like, Boeing’s PR strategy is definitely stealthy. There’s a strategic reason for that.

The hard part is no longer the technology to fly at more than Mach 5: It’s putting together all the parts to build hypersonic missiles in bulk.

The robot satellite known as RSGS will provide four types of service: inspection of anomalies that appear in a satellite’s operations; assist with adjustments to a satellite’s orbit; correct mechanical problems; and, help install new payloads to upgrade capabilities.

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.”

Originally slated to deploy last year, the Triton drones will give US commanders in the Pacific a powerful new tool to conduct surveillance, and track Chinese moves from afar.

“We think clearly it’s time for the Air Force and other governmental entities to engage and direct the right solution. Northrop has chosen not to do that,” Frank McCall, Boeing’s director of strategic deterrence systems, said.

The absence of competition would remove cost pressure for both major contractors, which may be attractive for them but is unlikely to bode well for taxpayers.

“This is a radar they’re going to buy for, I don’t know, 30 years?  So you want to make sure you’ve got new technology that can meet the threats of the future.”

The test was a big achievement for two much-criticized programs: the Joint Strike Fighter and the Army’s IBCS network — and for the services’ struggle to work better together in a future war.

“Everybody is watching SMC right now,” says Chris Beres of LinQuest, which has secured a new contract to help the Air Force with its SMC 2.0 revamp.