Air Mobility Command has issued a request for information, seeking input on how to structure a proposal for contract air to haul passengers and cargo within the US Central Command area of responsibility—chiefly within Afghanistan. AMC’s ballpark figure for the total flying hours per year is 14,600. The RFI specifies two multi-engine aircraft capable of hauling up to 19 passengers and two to carry up to 12 people, with one in reserve that could transport 19. AMC plans to launch this contract operation in March 2007.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
