US Air Force Expands Cargo Contract with Blue Origin

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has expanded its partnership in space technology, increasing the value of its contract with Blue Origin nearly tenfold. According to ixbt.com, funding has been increased by another $11.7 million, bringing the total value to around $13 million. This was reported by Ixbt.com reports.

The main goal of this project is to explore the possibilities of using commercial rocket carriers to deliver military cargo to any point on Earth in less than an hour. Experts emphasize that this initiative will fundamentally change logistics processes in the future and play an important role in ensuring rapid response in emergency situations.

Point-to-point delivery concept

Under the project, Blue Origin specialists must define technical requirements and mission parameters for a point-to-point scheme involving rocket-based cargo transportation between two ground points. Instead of multi-hour or multi-day transport via traditional air or sea routes, it is planned to deliver necessary cargo to its destination in just one hour.

Currently, this research and development work is scheduled until October 2027. However, according to the contract terms, creating a finished delivery system or conducting test rocket launches is not yet foreseen. As part of a phased approach, only in-depth research, technological analysis, and conceptual developments are being carried out.

REGAL program and future plans

This project is being implemented as part of the REGAL (Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics) program managed by AFRL. Through this initiative, the military agency is assessing the prospects of introducing commercial rocket technologies for logistics purposes. Notably, companies such as Anduril Industries, Sierra Space, and Rocket Lab, alongside Blue Origin, have also secured funding under this program.

The heavy-class reusable New Glenn rocket is being considered as the primary technical platform in this direction. This rocket made its maiden orbital flight in January 2025 and subsequently successfully completed 3 more orbital missions.

Nevertheless, flights were temporarily suspended due to a malfunction that occurred during static fire tests at the Florida test site on May 28, 2026. Although launch pad equipment was damaged as a result of this incident, Blue Origin plans to resume New Glenn rocket flights by the end of this year.