L3Harris nabs $12.9M contract for National Space Defense Center Sustainment

The contract modifies a previous deal for National Space Defense Center sustainment work at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado.

The deal's announcement comes on the heels of comments by the DoD's undersecretary for defense acquisition and sustainment that space-related acquisitions are not likely to slow down even as the Pentagon restructures the acquisitions bureaucracy.

"I frankly see more effort and leadership involvement in space now than ever in the past," Ellen Lord said during a breakfast meeting with reporters earlier this week.

In December President Donald Trump signed a defense spending bill establishing the U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of government.

On Wednesday Trump was scheduled to meet with Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and Air Force Gen. Jay Raymond, who was sworn in this week as first-ever chief of space operations.

The bill specifies that personnel should be drawn from existing branches of the military so as to prevent costs from rocketing upward.

But it also mandates that the Space Force should be given its own acquisitions department. Previous space-related acquisitions -- like the L3 contract issued this week -- were generally handled by the Air Force.

"The NDAA instructed the Air Force to come up with a variety of suggestions, if you will, courses of action around how to do acquisition," said Lord.