The Air Force plans to implement what it calls the Installation Control Center at every base to replace the old amalgam of crisis response entities—command post, battle staff, survival recovery center, and wing operations center—that varied from base to base. The new ICC, says USAF officials, will “be familiar” to airmen at home or abroad. The full concept is still being developed, but officials do expect the ICC to be somewhat tailorable to fit the variety of installations throughout the service, but it does provide a “standardized alignment of functions.” Some units already have adopted the ICC, but officials note that the concept is still being refined, with a final test set for Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment 2008. After that, it goes to the field.
The F-35 Joint Program Office has officially announced plans to issue multiple sole-source contracts to Pratt & Whitney to upgrade the fighter’s F135 engine—a widely expected move after Pentagon officials indicated they would do so earlier this year instead of developing an entirely new engine.