Two programs, including an electronic attack pod and an unmanned aerial system project dubbed "Bloodhound," launched between June 1 and Nov. 30, 2017, Will Roper, the service's assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, wrote.
"Spectral Halo is a Deputy Secretary of Defense-directed effort to prototype airborne radio frequency technology for kinetic effects," Roper said. "This capability addresses challenges with prosecuting adversary targets from standoff."
The Air Force's fiscal year 2019 budget request shows Spectral Halo is a podded asset for which life-cycle prototyping will run from the beginning of FY-18 through the end of FY-22. That program builds on the Air Force Research Laboratory's past proof-of-concept work and "will advance a capability to be used by multi-generation aircraft and also employ multiple domains to disrupt, degrade, and collapse adversarial capabilities," budget documents state.
The service plans to award contracts in the fourth quarter of FY-18 to Herrick Technology Laboratories in Maryland, Northeast Information Discovery in New York, Advanced Geolocation Solutions in Virginia and MITRE Corp. in Massachusetts. It expects to spend $50 million on Spectral Halo prototyping in FY-18 and $26 million in FY-19, according to the budget request.
Roper also mentioned Bloodhound, an unmanned aircraft project that falls under the Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology effort. LCAAT aims to develop small, less-survivable aircraft that can be affordably manufactured in large numbers, and prototyping is expected to run through the end of FY-20.
"Endorsed by U.S. Strategic Command, this aircraft will leverage commercial technology to augment manned systems for missions such as strike while imposing cost on adversaries," Roper wrote.
STRATCOM did not answer questions on Bloodhound by press time (April 5).
Roper added two prototypes were chosen for a rapid development program run by the Office of the Secretary of Defense: high-power microwave prototypes intended to cheaply defend bases from swarms of small unmanned aircraft, and "PlatformNxt," a next-generation avionics architecture described as open, cyber-safe and significantly faster than currently fielded systems.
As Boeing and Northrop Grumman move through the technology-maturation and risk-reduction phase of the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent program, the Air Force's program executive officer for strategic systems has also started two prototype projects for the new nuclear missile system, Roper said.
"The Post-Boost Propulsion prototype provides maneuvering capability for the missile prior to reentry vehicle release," he wrote. "The Air Force is developing a computer performance model to characterize operational capability and will conduct representative hardware prototype testing."
Another guidance, navigation and control system prototyping effort will help deliver the intercontinental ballistic missile's reentry vehicles, which carry nuclear warheads, to their targets. Tests will vet sensor characterization, sensor-support electronics as well as attitude and flight control mechanization, Roper said.
Funding for each is built into the GBSD program's research and development efforts, for which the Air Force wants to spend $345 million in FY-19 and $21.7 billion overall.
In his letter, Roper pointed out budget instability on Capitol Hill forced delays to the development programs.
"During this reporting period, the Air Force was operating under multiple continuing resolutions," he said. "Being held to the previous year's budget levels created insufficient funding to execute planned milestones and caused schedule delays to develop. The Air Force plans to continue the prototyping efforts listed and begin others following the enactment of the Fiscal Year 2018 Defense Appropriations Act."
Roper's next prototyping report is due to Congress no later than September.
In March, Roper told the House Armed Services Committee he also wants to prototype new design philosophies to shape the Air Force's adoption of commercial technology.
