White House Approves Costly, New Spy Satellites
April 8th, 2009Via: Houston Chronicle:
The Obama administration on Tuesday approved the purchase of pricey new spy satellites and will buy more commercial imagery from the private sector to plug immediate gaps in satellite coverage.
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Defense giant Lockheed Martin, of Bethesda, Md., is almost certain to win the secret multibillion-dollar contract for the two new high-altitude spy satellites. It built the spacecraft now in orbit that will be roughly duplicated in the “2-plus-2” program.
The intelligence official acknowledged the possibility that the massive contract could be awarded this year to Lockheed without a competitive bidding process.