The U.S. Air Force (USAF) plays a significant role in the space industry, historically serving as the Department of Defense's executive agent for space, and developing early military space programs and launch vehicles. Although the U.S. Space Force was established as an independent branch in 2019, the Air Force continues to contribute to space operations, including training personnel, research and development, and maintaining partnerships. The USAF's space-related activities encompass satellite operations, missile warning, communication support, and collaboration with allies to ensure regional stability. Key partners include the U.S. Space Force, other branches of the military, and international allies.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Viasat Inc. was awarded an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract by the United States Air Force in May 2018 worth up to $42,000,000 for supplemental units, maintenance, and support services for the AN/USQ-140(V) MIDS Low Volume Terminals.
Deborah Lee James recommended that multiple roadmaps for creating a Space Force be developed, including options that would avoid breaking up the Air Force.
A study ordered by Congress in the 2018 defense policy bill will examine options for reorganizing the Air Force with a separate space branch and was outsourced to the Center for Naval Analyses.
The National Defense Authorization Act of 1947 created the U.S. Air Force.
The new Air Force program office for commercial satcom will have to design managed services that provide satcom capacity from different vendors through a single network and enable switching between vendors based on demand or disruption.
Congress added $600,000,000 in March 2018 to the Air Force budget for the procurement of two additional WGS satellites.
The House Appropriations defense subcommittee approved $49,500,000 to create a new program of record for commercial satellite communications within the Air Force.
The $49,500,000 for the new Air Force commercial satellite communications program of record was taken from an existing account that funds pathfinder projects between the Air Force and satcom firms.
The 2017-10-01 conference did not establish a separate Space Corps and the Air Force was given an opportunity to show a greater commitment in space.
Both the House and Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 restrict the Air Force’s ability to retire JSTARS and direct the service to continue funding procurement of a more modern aircraft.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center will fund prototypes and experiments before committing to full-scale developments.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center will procure Wideband Global Satcom satellites WGS 11 and 12 from Boeing using a more commercial approach that allows Boeing to use components from its commercial satellite line.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center tested hosting space weather sensors on Iridium Next commercial satellites and has 22 of 32 hosted payloads on orbit.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center will establish more outreach offices to work with the private sector, defense and intelligence agencies, and foreign allies.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center will create a portfolio architect team of 150 to 200 people to manage integration across stovepipes.
Lockheed Martin receives about $2,000,000,000 per year in contracts from the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center for GPS, communications, and missile warning satellites.
The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center plans to rely more on Boeing to provide mission assurance for WGS 11 and 12 under a commercial procurement model.
The 2016 legislation grants the military authorities to expedite procurement of next-generation satellites that the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center is using to buy five missile-warning satellites from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
The U.S. Air Force included $50,000,000 for Blackjack on its annual unfunded requirements list to Congress.
The Senate Armed Services Committee directs the U.S. Air Force and DARPA to work with the Missile Defense Agency to study whether the LEO constellation has the potential to meet MDA’s space-based requirements.