May 19, 2021 | International, Aerospace
The French, German and Spanish governments have agreed the next phase of the jointly-developed Future Combat Air System.
https://www.aero-mag.com/fcas-sixth-generation-fighter-jet-18052021/
October 14, 2022 | International, Aerospace
BRUSSELS — NATO said on Friday it would launch its annual nuclear exercise “Steadfast Noon” on Monday, with up to 60 aircraft taking part in training flights…
November 22, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
NAVY United Technologies Corp., Pratt and Whitney Engines, East Hartford, Connecticut, is awarded a $762,486,023 modification (P00014) to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-fee contract (N00019-18-C-1021). This modification exercises options for the Lot 14 production and delivery of 48 F135-PW-100 propulsion systems for the Air Force and 10 F135-PW-600 propulsion systems for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in East Hartford, Connecticut (85.3%); Indianapolis, Indiana (11.8%); and Bristol, United Kingdom (2.9%), and is expected to be completed in April 2022. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Air Force and Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $762,486,023 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Air Force ($521,507,748; 68%); and the Marine Corps ($240,978,275; 32%). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, is awarded a $157,949,610 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a super flood basin and extending portal crane rails for Dry Dock #1 located at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS). Work will be performed in Kittery, Maine, and is expected to be completed by March 2022. Fiscal 2019 military construction, (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $157,949,610 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website with one proposal received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-20-C-8500). Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, was awarded a $136,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-15-C-4301 to continue performance of the repair, maintenance, upgrades and modernization efforts on the USS Columbus (SSN 762) Engineered Overhaul. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be complete by November 2020. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $136,000,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, USN, Newport News, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 20, 2019) J.F. Taylor Inc.,* Lexington Park, Maryland, is awarded an $83,563,471 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract will provide engineering, technical and project management support for developmental test and evaluation in the areas of test planning, test conduct, data analysis, test reporting, technical documentation, test project management and systems engineering through utilization of command and program test and evaluation toolsets. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (96%); Point Mugu, California (2%); and China Lake, California (2%), and is expected to be completed in January 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was a small business set-aside competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; one offer was received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-20-D-0001). New Direction Technologies Inc.,* Ridgecrest, California, is awarded a $68,712,640 cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides engineering, program, operational and maintenance support as well as technical administrative services to improve and maintain Airborne Threat Simulation Organization capabilities in a dynamic electronic warfare environment. Work will be performed in Point Mugu, California (87%); Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (10%); Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (3%), and is expected to be completed in November 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was a small business set-aside competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; four offers were received. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity (N68936-20-D-0005). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $43,783,296 firm-fixed-incentive delivery order (N00019-19-F-2412) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0001). This order provides for the manufacture, test and delivery of 48 Trailing Edge Flap retrofit redesign kits in support of the F/A-18E/F aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (72%); Lucerne, Switzerland (20%); Paramount, California (5%); and Hot Springs, Arkansas (3%), and is expected to be completed in June 2022. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $43,783,296 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $24,068,180 modification to a firm-fixed-price delivery order (N00019-20-F-0331) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0001). This order exercises the option to procure 34 Group A-1 retrofit kits, 34 Group A-2 retrofit kits, and 34 Group B retrofit kits for incorporation of the Distributed Targeting Processor-Network into the EA-18G aircraft for the Navy. Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (99%); China Lake, California (0.5%); and Whidbey Island, Washington (0.5%), and is expected to be completed in June 2022. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $24,068,180 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. IAP Worldwide Services Inc., Cape Canaveral, Florida, is awarded an $18,301,899 recurring/non-recurring services type contract for base operating services at Naval Support Activity, Annapolis. The work to be performed provides for all management, supervision, labor hours, training, equipment and supplies necessary to perform base operating services to include, but not limited to, facility investment, service calls, pest control, operation of utility plants, refuse collection, special events and snow and ice removal. Work will be performed in Annapolis, Maryland, with the contract period of Dec. 1, 2019, to May 31, 2020. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance in the amount of $12,025,901 for recurring work will be obligated on individual task orders issued during the contract period. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N40080-20-D-0500). Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded a $15,387,971 cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price task order (N00019-20-F-0429) against a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract (N00019-16-D-1000). This task order provides for security, project engineering, integrated logistics support, material support, sustainment engineering, training and program support for the VH-3D/VH-60N executive helicopter special progressive aircraft rework. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut (88%); and Quantico, Virginia (12%), and is expected to be completed in November 2020. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,846,993 will be obligated at time of award, all of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded a $14,323,100 firm-fixed-price order (N61340-20-F-7000) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-17-G-0002). This order provides for the design, fabrication, installation, test and delivery of four Navy CMV-22 flight training devices. Work will be performed in Chantilly, Virginia (64.29%); and Hurst, Texas (35.71%), and is expected to be completed in November 2021. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $14,323,100 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. L3 Harris Corp., Van Nuys, California, is awarded a $9,630,900 modification (P00008) to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N68335-16-D-0019). This modification increases the ceiling of the contract to procure additional lightening protection, Moving Target Indicator (MTI) reflectors, refurbished MTI feedhorns, and operator workstations for Precision Approach Radar systems in support of all Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps manned aircraft. Work will be performed in Van Nuys, California, and is expected to be completed in May 2024. No funds are being obligated at time of award, funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. Iridium Satellite LLC, Tempe, Arizona, is awarded a $9,378,867 cost-plus-fixed-fee option to support commercial satellite-based network services for the Department of Defense in the areas of satellite, ground node, user equipment/terminal software and hardware development, integration and testing. Work will be performed in McLean, Virginia (50%); and Tempe, Arizona (50%), and is expected to be complete in November 2021. This contract includes a base year and options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $45,807,778 and be complete in November 2021. Fiscal 2019 research, development, training and evaluation funding in the amount of $75,000 will be obligated at time of the option exercise. This funding will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was solicited on a sole source basis via a synopsis posted in FedBizOpps. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00178-17-C-0001). Raytheon Co., Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is awarded a $9,339,316 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-17-C-5145 to exercise options for DDG 1000 ship class integrated logistics support and engineering services. Work will be performed in San Diego, California (42%); Portsmouth, Rhode Island (26%); Tewksbury, Massachusetts (16%); Bath, Maine (14%); Fort Wayne, Indiana (1%); and Marlboro, Massachusetts (1%), and is expected to be complete by October 2020. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $4,560,339; and fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $755,161 will be obligated at time of award, and funds in the amount of $755,161 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. ARMY Pegasus Support Services LLC,* Woodstock, Georgia, was awarded a $176,853,950 firm-fixed-price contract for sustainment, restoration and modernization services for the full spectrum of facility types to include ranges, barracks, warehouse, administrative buildings, bridges, worship centers, gyms and airfields. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2024. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is the contracting activity (W9124M-20-D-0001). The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $128,682,150 modification (P00041) to Foreign Military Sales (Netherlands) W58RGZ-16-C-0023 for the Royal Netherlands Air Force uniqueness on 11 Apache Attack Helicopter (AH)-64E aircraft, recurring and non-recurring scope, version six integration, integrated logistics support, product assurance, longbow crew trainers and initial peculiar ground support equipment. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2025. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales funds in the combined amount of $26,265,052 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Kipper Tool Co.,* Gainesville, Georgia, was awarded a $43,030,677 firm-fixed-price contract for Hydraulic, Electric, Pneumatic, Operated Equipment kits consisting of low technology equipment, which provides the military construction engineer with the tools that it takes to perform the most common type of engineer tasks encountered during the execution of construction missions in a theater of operations or during contingency operations. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 21, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-20-D-0015). DEFENSE HEALTH AGENCY Logistics Health Inc., La Crosse, Wisconsin, was awarded a $161,999,999 modification to their current indefinite-delivery bridge contract (HT0011-19-D-0002). This award, titled "Reserve Health Readiness Program," provides health readiness support services to the military service components to meet medical and dental standards essential in maintaining a deployable force. This extension to the current bridge contract will permit time to complete evaluations and award of a competitive follow-on to this requirement. Services include immunizations, physical examinations, periodic health assessments, post-deployment health reassessments, mental health assessments, dental examinations, dental treatment, laboratory services and other services as required to satisfy military service component health readiness needs. Services are delivered at military service component designated sites during group events, through the contractor's call center and within an integrated network. The work will be performed in every U.S. state, U.S. territory, the District of Columbia and Germany, with period of performance from Dec. 1, 2019, to Nov. 30, 2020. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds will be obligated on task orders issued under this award. This contract was awarded on an other-than-full and open competition basis; pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Infoscitex Corp., Dayton, Ohio (FA8650-20-D-6207); and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Beavercreek, Ohio (FA8650-20-D-6203), have each been awarded a shared ceiling of $135,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for research and development of the Airman Decision Making and Interface Research. This program provides for basic, applied and advanced research, development and demonstration to understand and deliver persistent situation awareness and improved warfighter decision making for integrated and synchronized Air Force operations in five technical areas: (1) Battlespace Acoustics; (2) Supervisory Control and Cognition; (3) Aerospace Physiology; (4) Battlespace Visualization; and (5) Applied Neuroscience. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 23, 2026. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition, and five offers were received. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $263,500 and $200,000 will be obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory Wright Site, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity. The Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $87,000,000 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity single award contract for a multi-country C-130J aircrew and maintenance simulator training. The contractor will provide C-130J aircrew and maintenance training to support the U.S. government and Air Force Security Assistance Training international partners' mission objectives. Work will be performed at Marietta, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by December 2023. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. The minimum guarantee of $2,500 in security cooperation funds are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, 338th Specialized Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-20-D-0003). Kratos RT Logic, Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been awarded a $39,110,705 firm-fixed-price contract for Global Geolocation Support Service (GGSS). GGSS is to provide Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC) Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Managers with EMI Resolution Services. These services include bandwidth monitoring, EMI notification, geolocation, aid in resolution and space situational awareness. The contractor shall be capable of providing 24 hours/7 days per week, 365 days per year services in C (4 – 8 GHz) and Ku (12 – 18 GHz), bands for all global areas between 70 degrees north latitude and 70 degrees south latitude. The contractor will accomplish continuous bandwidth monitoring services for government leased bandwidth on commercial satellites and bandwidth on Military Satellite Communication including bandwidth identified by the CSpOC. The contractor will provide timely EMI notifications and responses to assist the government in resolving interference events. Additionally, the contractor is required to operate and maintain an approved Secret Internet Protocol Router Network voice and data system, as well as other Combined Force Space Component Command (CFSCC)-approved secure voice and data systems to achieve timely transmission of classified data. The contractor will provide a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure web portal capable of providing CFSCC timely and complete unclassified situation awareness of all assets being monitored to accommodate contractor and government real time communication and sharing of digital data products. Work will be performed at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2020. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $6,856,126 are being obligated at the time of the award. The 30th Contracting Squadron, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity (FA4610-20-C-0003). DEFENSE FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICE Ernst & Young LLP, Washington, District of Columbia, is being awarded a labor-hour contract option with a maximum value of $33,509,737 for audit services of the Department of the Air Force General Fund and Working Capital Fund Financial Statements and Examination. Work will be performed in Washington, District of Columbia, with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2020. This contract is the result of a competitive acquisition for which one quote was received. The contract had a 16-month base period plus three individual one-year option periods, with a maximum value of $135,006,112. This award brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $95,764,075. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance, Air Force funds in the amount of $33,509,737 are being obligated at the time of this option award. The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Contract Services Directorate, Columbus, Ohio, is the contracting activity (HQ0423-17-F-0148). WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES Boston Consulting Group, Bethesda, Maryland, has been awarded a $9,134,199 firm-fixed-price contract. The contract will provide cost transparency to facilitate the design of an optimized maintenance program, including design of governance processes (working within the construct) of the Reliability Control Board, the data environment (working within the existing systems), and the specific algorithms and methodologies for evaluating and assessing the maintenance program via Cost Decision framework. Work performance will take place at the Mark Center, Alexandria, Virginia. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,134,199 are being obligated on this award. The expected completion date is July 20, 2020. Washington Headquarters Services, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HQ0034-16-A-0003). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2023490/source/GovDelivery/
February 24, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Jen DiMascio The Pentagon is in the midst of a massive upgrade of its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, designed to protect the U.S. against an attack by an ICBM. The new Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI) would modernize GMD, arming it with an all-up round that can counter more sophisticated ICBMs. In pursuing the new program, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) will end the planned purchase of 20 current-generation GMD Ground-Based Interceptors (GBI), after already having canceled a key aspect of that system, the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV). While it works on NGI, the MDA also intends to supplement its defense of the U.S. against ICBMs with shorter-range interceptors that provide regional defense. The change in course will not be cheap. GMD itself has cost more than $68 billion over its lifetime. In its fiscal 2021 budget request, the MDA is asking for $664 million in fiscal 2021 for NGI and another $4.3 billion through fiscal 2025.It is an amount that will grow over time and that some worry could pull funding from other urgent priorities, as the type and number of missile threats from other countries evolves to include more sophisticated ballistic missiles and hypersonic weaponry. The MDA is poised to issue a classified request for proposals to sponsor two contractors through a preliminary design review (PDR) of a new interceptor and kill vehicle—the part of the interceptor that defeats an incoming missile while in space. MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill says the agency plans to award contracts by the end of 2020, with the intention of starting testing in the mid-2020s and putting NGIs in silos by 2027, 2028 or beyond. “Right now we're funded through PDR, and you know there's plenty of arguments out there that you [have] got to go all the way to the [critical design review (CDR)]. We'll have that conversation when the time is right,” says Hill. The release of the budget solidifies a plan that has been slowly percolating in the background. Last March, Boeing was put on notice after the RKV—a projectile launched by the GBI booster that is tasked with locating and defeating the incoming ICBM in space—did not meet the needs of its CDR. The Government Accountability Office noted problems with the program meeting its cost and schedule goals “with no signs of arresting these trends.” By August 2019, Mike Griffin, the Pentagon's top research and engineering official, stopped work on the RKV after the MDA had spent more than $1 billion to develop it, as it was not proving to be reliable. These RKVs were to ride atop the next 20 GBIs, a project overseen and integrated by Boeing, which Congress had approved in 2018 after a spate of North Korean missile tests. In concert with ending the RKV, Congress rerouted that funding to the NGI, and the MDA conducted a review of options for the interceptor. Coming out of that assessment, budget officials say they will not buy the 20 new GBIs as the military embarks on NGI development. New NGIs are so far being planned to be placed in silos that were to be inhabited by GBIs, according to Hill. “The current intention is for the Next-Generation Interceptors to be able to work with both current and future sensor systems,” says MDA spokesman Mark Wright. From a security standpoint, existing GBIs will still protect the U.S. from foreign missile threats, says Hill, but he adds that over time their reliability will begin to fall off. While the NGI program works its way through development, the MDA plans to supplement GMD with a layered network of theater-range systems—the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) and the Aegis Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block 2A—to fill any gaps in defending the U.S. from North Korean missile attacks. “What this budget really does for us is it starts to say, ‘Let's take advantage of these regional systems that have been so successful and are very flexible and deployable,'” Hill says. In 2020, the MDA will test the SM-3 Block 2A missile against an ICBM. “When we prove that we can take out an ICBM with an Aegis ship or an Aegis Ashore site with an SM-3 Block 2A, then you want to ramp up the evolution of the threat on the target side, right? We'll want to go against more complex threats,” Hill says. That will require upgrading the combat system used by Aegis ships so it can process data from new sensors and engage with a missile. Adding the ability to launch SM-3 Block 2A missiles on ships or from Aegis Ashore sites will give combatant commanders the additional flexibility they have sought, he adds. A future commander could then choose to launch a GBI, THAAD, SM-3 or, when it is ready, NGI. Such an interim solution using regional systems is still far from a reality. The Pentagon is requesting $139 million in its fiscal 2021 budget to “initiate the development and demonstration of a new interceptor prototype to support contiguous U.S. defense as part of the tiered homeland defense effort,” the MDA's budget materials state. That involves developing hardware and software and conducting demonstrations leading to a flight test in fiscal 2023. One other potential gap in the missile defense architecture is in Pacific-based radars that would have cued GBIs to protect against an attack on Hawaii. The “Pacific radar is no longer in our budget,” Hill says. Today, forward-deployed AN/TPY-2 radars and a deployable (sea-based X-band) radar work with the GMD system in that region. Plus, Aegis ships can be repositioned, he adds. “We realize we need to take another look at that architecture,” he says, which will focus on the Pacific region. Missile defense experts are not unsupportive of the effort to build a new NGI. But they do question whether the cost will leach funding for other important priorities. Frank Rose, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, points out that GBIs are built using 1990s technology and as a development prototype tasked for an operational mission. That means that requirements such as reliability, survivability and suitability were afterthoughts. Despite the sound logic involved in moving toward a new interceptor, “I see a couple of challenges,” he says. That includes that the Pentagon's budget request was flat for fiscal 2021, a trend likely to continue. In the years ahead, the military will have big bills for its nuclear modernization budget and to recapitalize its conventional forces, which will hit about the time budgets for NGI would need to swell to support procurement of the system. Meanwhile, in the near-to-midterm, the U.S. is likely to be dealing with a limited North Korean threat. Over time, the threats will grow in number and sophistication. Given challenges with the budget—not to mention technical challenges with developing a successful kill vehicle—Rose wonders if that money could be applied elsewhere. Kingston Reif, director of disarmament and threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association, is skeptical the MDA can deliver an NGI on its current timeline. “Congress must be extremely wary of allowing the Pentagon to repeat the mistakes that have plagued the GMD system in the past,” he says. “In particular, the development, procurement and fielding of the NGI should not be schedule-driven but based on the maturity of the technology and successful testing under operationally realistic conditions. Accelerating development programs risks saddling them with cost overruns, schedule delays, test failures and program cancellations—as has been the case with the GMD program and other missile defense programs to date.” The expansion of U.S. homeland missile defense may be viewed as a provocation by Russia and China “and likely prompt them to consider steps to further enhance the survivability of their nuclear arsenals in ways that will undermine the security of the United States and its allies,” Reif says. “The costs and risks of expanding the U.S. homeland defense footprint in this way greatly outweigh the benefits.” But like all proposals, it will be up to lawmakers to decide and is likely to be a point of interest in the year ahead. “This is the single biggest muscle movement in the 2021 budget proposal, and Congress will be scrutinizing carefully whether the administration has a compelling vision and realistic funding stream for the short, medium and long term,” says Tom Karako, director of the missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/missile-defense-weapons/mda-embarks-new-generation-missile-defense