At a Friday afternoon press briefing to herald the cooperation of the Air Force and the Army in developing a new Joint Cargo Aircraft, an Air Force general and Army general told reporters that the services would establish a joint program office—in Huntsville, Ala.—in October. The Army will be lead on the JCA program, which merges the Army’s Future Cargo Aircraft—which just received a go-ahead from Pentagon acquisition guru Ken Kreig—and the Air Force’s Light Cargo Aircraft.
The $4.26 billion Small Business Innovation Research contracting program widely used by the Air Force went into hibernation as the government shut down Oct. 1, but unless lawmakers strike a deal on reforms, the program could reach an abrupt end.
