Technicians of the 537th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Ogden Air Logistics Center in Utah have earned a gold level Shingo Prize for their depot-level maintenance work on the F-16 fighter. The Odgen maintainers join their counterparts at Warner-Robins ALC in Georgia in winning this second highest award for excellence in manufacturing. Last year, one of Ogden’s F-16 product lines earned a silver Shingo. According to Maj. Gen. Kevin Sullivan, Ogden ALC commander, the “complexity of F-16 maintenance and modification work done here makes this achievement that much more impressive.”
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.