House appropriators are pushing the Air Force to move quickly to create a separate acquisition executive for space--direction that comes as the Air Force in recent months has slowed down those plans, opting to focus on crafting a new acquisition system before committing to an organizational structure. In the report accompanying its mark of the fiscal year 2021 defense spending bill, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee notes its chief concern around the initial standup of the Space Force is that the Air Force has yet to nominate a service acquisition executive for space. Lawmakers directed the establishment of the position in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. "The committee believes this is a fundamental problem which must be addressed for the Space Force to succeed," the report, obtained by Inside Defense, states. "The unique nature of space program management and systems engineering require dedicated civilian oversight and control for space programs. However, the Space Force does not yet have a dedicated service acquisition executive to focus exclusively on these unique acquisition challenges."
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