Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Credit: ULA

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has awarded a Raytheon-General Dynamics joint venture dubbed Range Generation Next LLC of Sterling, Virginia, an $8.5 million contract modification for launch and test range support, the Defense Department announced Oct. 5.

Range Generation Next last November won a contract potentially worth $2 billion to support the service’s two main launch ranges. The so-called Launch and Test Range System Integrated Support Contract, or LISC, consolidated three contracts that previously provided operations, logistics and maintenance support to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

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The new work, which includes the day-to-day operations, maintenance and sustainment of the ranges, is expected to be completed by Oct. 31, 2016.

Range Generation Next formalized the transition and took responsibility for support of the ranges in April as part of its LISC contract. The 10-year effort is part of a broad strategy by the Air Force to consolidate many of its ground support contracts as operating budgets shrink and the possibility of the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration lingers.

Mike Gruss covers military space issues, including the U.S. Air Force and Missile Defense Agency, for SpaceNews. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.