Last fall, USAF awarded a $1 billion depot maintenance contract for KC-135 tankers to Boeing, but losing competitor Alabama Aircraft Industries (formerly Pemco Aviation Group) says the Government Accountability Office has sustained at least part of its protest. According to various news reports, the GAO found that USAF did not properly evaluate cost/price for the Boeing proposal. GAO recommends a new evaluation. The Air Force has 60 days to decide whether to act on the recommendation.
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.