In today’s austere funding environment, the Air Force is trying to get savings out of a lot of corners. Air Force Materiel Command officials say the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center team at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., reclaimed in Fiscal 2004 and 2005 an estimated 42,000 aircraft parts—saving the federal government approximately $1.257 billion in the process.
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.