48 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2025
Department of the Air Force Outlines Fiscal
2026 Budget Priorities to Congressional
Panel
u
e three most senior civilian and military
officials from the Department of the Air Force
told a congressional panel May 6 that "the
strategic landscape has shied dramatically"
and that the Air Force and Space Force need
the resources and creative thinking, along
with modern capabilities, to meet emerging
threats. at message, along with others, was
delivered to the House Appropriations Sub-
committee on Defense by Acting Secretary of
the Air Force Gary Ashworth, Air Force Chief
of Staff Gen. David Allvin, and Chief of Space
Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman.
Proposed NASA Budget Redirects Funding
Toward Mars, Ends Key Programs
u
e Trump administration has proposed a
$6 billion reduction to NASA's budget for FY
2026, with $1 billion redirected toward Mars-
focused programs. According to a discretion-
ary budget document published on NASA's
website, the plan shis resources toward the
initiatives of returning to the moon ahead
of China's current timeline, and initiating a
human mission to Mars. e budget docu-
ment outlines over $7 billion allocated to lunar
exploration and introduces $1 billion in new
investments related to Mars initiatives.
StratEdge LPA-Series Semiconductor Pack-
ages Take Center Stage at CS Mantech
and Space Tech Expo USA
u
StratEdge Corporation, leader in the design,
production, and assembly of high-frequency
and high-power semiconductor packages for
RF, microwave, and millimeter-wave devices,
will display its thermally efficient Leaded
Power Amplifier (LPA) packages in Booth 805
at CS Mantech, taking place May 19–21 at the
Hilton New Orleans Riverside, and in Booth
723 at Space Tech Expo USA, June 2–4 at the
Long Beach Convention Center.
L3Harris, Thales Develop Next-generation
SHORAD Capability u
L3Harris Technologies has signed a memo-
randum of understanding with ales UK to
develop an integrated short-range air defence
(SHORAD) command and control capability.
e joint solution integrates L3Harris' proven
Target Orientated Tracking System into
ales' Agile C4I at the Edge (ACE) system
to provide enhanced command and control.
"L3Harris is proud to provide advanced tech-
nology in support of the UK's defence priori-
ties," said Ed Zoiss, president, Space and Air-
borne Systems, L3Harris.
SAIC Awarded New $55 Million Mission
Integration Contract From Space Devel-
opment Agency
u
Science Applications International Corp. has
been awarded the Proliferated Warfighter
Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 3 Pro-
gram Integration (T3PI) contract from the
Space Development Agency (SDA). is new
$55 million contract spans a five-year perfor-
mance period and was set for a May 1, 2025,
program start. e PWSA is a constellation
populated with multi-vendor space vehicles for
the Transport, Tracking and Custody Layers
and an associated ground system designed to
address critical Department of Defense capa-
bility gaps associated with closing challenging
kill chains with precision and speed.
