“We're very, very fixated on being competitive with the pacing challenge [of China],” said Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. “I think the budget that we've submitted moves us forward — not quite as fast as we would like to, but it moves us forward in the right direction while maintaining current capabilities that are essential to the nation.”
Chief Executive Officer Kathy Warden said that despite cost growth for the company’s Sentinel ICBM program, the company’s “near-term assumptions” of its sales and profitability are not “materially impacted.”
Air Force Lt. Gen. Rick Moore also spoke favorably of investing in "surge" capacity for things like munitions production, though he said the idea may not be popular outside the Air Force.
The Air Force recently confirmed the secretive plane was continuing flight testing out of Edwards Air Force Base.
The Minuteman III replacement’s costs ballooned by 37 percent and will take about two years longer than expected as officials reportedly discover hidden complications of silo construction.
The company has no doubt been looking somewhat nervously into the rear view mirror as new competitors race into the skyrocketing Pentagon market.
Kendall also expressed concern about the effects of a likely continuing resolution on key programs, including the Advanced Battle Management System and the Joint Advanced Tactical Missile.
The new Mk21A reentry vehicle will be mounted atop the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile and will carry an updated nuclear warhead known as the W87-1.
A new watchdog report warns of a year-long delay for America's next ICBM, as well as potential schedule slips for F-15EX, KC-46A and the Air Force One replacement.