Washington — The Air Force Research Laboratory added $11.7 million to a Blue Origin contract to study the use of commercial rockets for transporting military supplies, increasing the total value to about $13 million. Launched last year with a $1.3 million award, the modification announced July 31 will fund technical and mission requirement analysis for adapting Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket to enable point‑to‑point cargo delivery, aiming to reduce transport times from hours or days to less than an hour. Blue Origin will not conduct a launch or full demonstration; the effort remains a study. The Air Force’s Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics (REGAL) program also funds Anduril Industries, Sierra Space and Rocket Lab. The Air Force has long sought to use commercial launch vehicles for cargo, but challenges such as safe handling of military payloads, protection during launch and re‑entry, suitable landing sites, and cost‑effectiveness compared with aircraft and sealift persist. New Glenn has completed three orbital flights since its January 2025 debut but is currently grounded after a May 28, 2026, hot‑fire test that damaged launch‑pad equipment; Blue Origin expects to resume flights by the end of the year. The contract is slated to run until October 2027, and the Air Force will evaluate the feasibility of commercial rocket cargo as part of its broader logistics strategy.