LONG BEACH, Calif. — The U.S. Air Force is looking to the space industry for significant improvements in reducing program complexity, launch costs and development time as it struggles to balance national security space acquisition plans for 2012 through 2016 against a flattening budget.
“We must adapt cultural changes, look at risk sharing and incentivize contractor teams for extra performance,” says service acquisition chief David Van Buren. “For that we’re focused on acquisition priorities and space is a big player.”
In a lineup of 17 key Air Force investment areas by program executive offices for 2012 to 2016, the planned spending on space programs ranks second at $28.5 billion. Only the planned $33.6 billion allocated for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter exceeds this. Spending on classified programs and the Air Force’s next-generation Long Range Strike bomber comes in third at $21 billion, followed by Mobility in fourth, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance fifth and the Boeing KC-46A tanker program sixth.
Immediate space acquisition priorities include continuing support of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite program, the Space-based Infrared System (Sbirs) missile warning constellation and restructuring procurement of Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles.
The budget request for 2012 includes further support of the planned improvement in space acquisition policy using block-buys, fixed-price contracts and multiyear procurement to lower costs and stabilize the contractor base for the AEHF 5/6 satellites in fiscal 2012 and Sbirs 5/6 in fiscal 2013. Research, test and evaluation includes requested funds for continued development of two Defense Weather Satellite System spacecraft, on-orbit checkout of Sbirs GEO-1, launch of GEO-2 and the launch and checkout of AEHF-2.
Speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics meeting here, Van Buren says “no doubt there will be pressure to reduce that budget as we go forward in the February time frame.”
He adds “there are opportunities for improvement across the space portfolio. Programs are too complex, take too long to develop and launch [and] cost too much.”
Against a background of increasing pressure on budgets, all these areas need to be tackled, Van Buren says. “The sustaining base cost is frankly too high, and cycle times are too long. When we have satellites that take longer to test than to build, then we really must look at that,” he adds.
Speaking about the restructuring of EELV, Van Buren says “we need to focus on the business processes and cost control so that we do not procure one launcher at one particular time. We also have to invest in a new entrant strategy to enable the competitive environment,” he adds, specifically highlighting SpaceX, Orbital Sciences and ATK, all of which are involved in NASA’s commercial crew and space station resupply contracts. “We want to clear a new path and make sure any new entrant can be a continuing supplier.” A review of the capability to be considered for Air Force work “will depend on experience level, documentation of development and the class of payload,” Van Buren says.
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