WASHINGTON - The Air Force Research Laboratory has decided that the future of military logistics is, apparently, up in the air - quite literally. On July 31, the lab added $11.7 million to a Blue Origin contract, inflating the total to about $13 million, all in the name of exploring whether commercial rockets can haul military supplies around the globe. Because who needs reliable, cost-effective shipping when you can have rockets?

The modification builds on a roughly $1.3 million contract from last year, with work expected to wrap up by October 2027. Under this agreement, Blue Origin will define the technical and mission requirements for adapting its systems to support “point-to-point” cargo transport. The concept: launch supplies on a rocket from one spot, deliver them to another, and cut travel times from hours or days to under an hour. Because nothing says 'military readiness' like your supplies arriving before your troops have finished their coffee.

Of course, this contract is still in the 'studies and systems analysis' phase - not an actual launch or full demonstration. So, we're a long way from seeing a pallet of MREs hurtling through space. But hey, baby steps.

Blue Origin is one of several companies getting a slice of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics (REGAL) program, the lab's main vehicle for evaluating commercial rocket cargo proposals. Anduril Industries, Sierra Space, and Rocket Lab have also scored awards through REGAL, because why let one company corner the market on expensive hypotheticals?

The Air Force has been eyeballing commercial launch vehicles for cargo for years, but the challenges are, as they say, non-trivial. Safely handling military cargo, protecting payloads during the violent launch and re-entry, finding suitable landing sites, and making the whole thing cheaper than existing aircraft and sealift options - all minor hurdles, really.

Meanwhile, Blue Origin's reusable heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn, has completed three orbital flights since its January 2025 debut. But it's currently grounded after a May 28, 2026, hot-fire test anomaly damaged launch-pad equipment in Florida. Blue Origin says it plans to return New Glenn to flight by the end of the year, which is reassuring, because nothing says 'reliable cargo delivery' like a rocket that's been benched for damaging its own launch pad.