The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Air Force had arranged a job with a nonprofit for Charles Riechers for a two-month period while he awaited confirmation from the White House for a senior Air Force acquisition position. Reportedly Commonwealth Research Institute, a nonprofit intelligence contractor that works with various federal government entities, paid Riechers, but he actually worked for Sue Payton, USAF’s top acquisition official, on projects not related to CRI contracts. The article questions both the arrangement and CRI’s nonprofit status. It quotes Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) who said that CRI’s parent company, Pennsylvania-based Concurrent Technologies, does “quality work and research” and its “competitive price has saved taxpayers money.”
The F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That means advances in one will fuel advances in the other.