The Defense Department's fiscal year 2025 budget request allocates $17.2 billion for science and technology, a decrease from 2024 level. The reduction signifies a slowdown in the growth of the department's S&T enterprise, potentially impacting future capabilities for the 2030s and beyond.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. has secured a $387.5 million contract from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to enhance the sustainment infrastructure of the Global Hawk fleet across multiple global locations, including bases in Korea, Japan, Italy, and California. This agreement focuses on providing contractor logistics support to improve operational efficiency and readiness of the surveillance fleet.

The Department of Defense faces significant challenges in acquiring and integrating new technologies for national security due to the outdated Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution system. The congressionally established Commission on PPBE Reform has proposed 28 recommendations in its final report to overhaul this system, including delegating more decision-making authority within the DOD, updating funding thresholds for program management, and consolidating budget items to enhance flexibility and speed in modernizing and fielding new technologies.

BAE Systems Electronic Systems will supply airborne radios to the US Army under terms of a 10-year, $459.8 million contract. The Army order comprises AN/ARC-231A multi-mode aviation radio suite hardware components along with technical support and repairs.

In a March interview with CNBC, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun reiterated his November 2022 prediction that developing a new narrowbody airplane could cost $50 billion, a figure that has raised eyebrows among industry experts due to its higher cost compared to the $32 billion development cost of the Boeing 787 widebody. This estimate reflects not only the extended development cycles influenced by stricter certification requirements over the last two decades but also seems to justify Boeing's lack of new initiatives since the launch of the 737 Max nearly 13 years ago.

Boeing is a week away from the inaugural Starliner astronaut mission, marking a crucial test flight to demonstrate the commercial space capsule's capability to transport crews to the International Space Station and back. The weeklong Starliner Crew Flight Test mission will conclude with a landing in the southwestern US.

NASA is soliciting public feedback to help prioritize its investment in addressing 187 identified technology shortfalls that span 20 areas including space transportation, life support, and power management. The agency invites people to rate the importance of these technologies on a designated website as part of the Space Technology Mission Directorate's effort to enhance the approach to technology development funding.

House and Senate lawmakers have reached agreement on a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that would require airlines to seat families together for free and accept vouchers and credits for at least five years, but will not include more significant consumer protection proposals or raise the retirement age for pilots. The legislation, which must be passed by both houses, would require the FAA to set maximum hiring targets for air traffic controllers, mandate deployment of surface surveillance safety systems at medium and large hub airports and expand from two to 25 hours the minimum recording time of flight data recorders.