In March 2018, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said that Vulcan-Centaur had been "75% privately funded" up to that time. In October 2018 and following a request for proposals and technical evaluation, ULA was awarded US$967 million to develop a prototype Vulcan launch system as a part of the National Security Space Launch program. Two other providers, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, were awarded US$500 million and US$792 million in development funding, with detailed proposals and a competitive selection process to follow in 2019. The USAF's goal with the next generation of Launch Service Agreements is to get out of the business of "buying rockets" and move to acquire launch services from launch service providers, but U.S. government funding of launch vehicle development continues. The Vulcan rocket, directly and indirectly, provides about 22,000 jobs spread over 46 states.