Government and industry employees converged in Dayton, Ohio, this week to discuss the ins and outs of the pending KC-X tanker competition. It was also an opportunity, says Teresa Rendon of the small business office at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, for small businesses to find out how they might engage in the tanker replacement program. Officials with the 653rd Aeronautical Systems Squadron at Wright-Patt expect the Air Force to purchase 179 replacement aircraft over a 15-year period—beginning in 2010—at a cost of around $20 billion.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.