Dispatches
Periodic bulletins on the Air Force's favorite software theater troupe. Each one is anchored to something that actually happened, with a citation, because the real record is funnier than anything we could invent.
Archive
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Kessel Run's Falconer Contract Reached Modification 90 and a $439.9 Million Ceiling
Federal records put Kessel Run's SAIC Falconer order at 90 modifications, a $439.9 million ceiling and a performance period that lapsed 8 August.
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Kessel Run Pushed the Next-Gen AOC Award to August 2027, the Month the Current AOC Contract Ends
A 24 August SAM.gov update moved Kessel Run's Next-Gen AOC award from June 2027 to August 2027, when SAIC's AOC sustainment contract concludes.
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Kessel Run Missed Its Own August Deadline for the Next-Gen AOC Draft Solicitation
Kessel Run's SAM.gov schedule promised a Next-Gen AOC draft RFP in August 2026. Defense Daily reports it moved to September and the final RFP to January.
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Kessel Run Changed Leaders in June. The August Air Force Org Chart Still Names the Old One.
Col. Richard Lopez handed Kessel Run to Col. Brian Viola on 25 June 2026. AFLCMC's org chart, current as of 30 July, still lists Lopez.
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Kessel Run Awarded $100 Million to Replace Aircrew Scheduling Tools the Air Force Already Built
Kessel Run awarded a $100 million OTA to replace six aircrew scheduling systems, including Puckboard, an app Airmen fielded in 2020. Done by 2030.
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An Air Force Chief Scientist Says the Service Still Needs the AOC Tools Kessel Run Has Supposedly Been Building Since 2017
An Air Force chief scientist told a July 2026 advisory panel the service still needs better air operations center tools. Kessel Run was built in 2017 to deliver them.
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Kessel Run Ran a Two-Day AI Course to Teach Its Own Staff How to Build an App
Nine years into the Air Force's software factory, Kessel Run's AI milestone was a two-day class teaching 30 staff to build an app from scratch.
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Kessel Run Was Built to Replace Prime Contractors. Its Crowning Achievement Is Hiring One.
Nine years after the Air Force killed a failed $745 million prime contract and built Kessel Run to do better, Kessel Run's big move is to hire a prime contractor.