Officials at Tinker AFB, Okla., are in the midst of a two-year pilot project to disassemble and “demanufacture” condemned jet engine parts for reuse. “This process allows us to recover and recycle parts made from specialty metals, such as titanium and rhenium, that were previously sold as scrap and return the material to the Air Force supply chain,” said Maj. Gen. Loren Reno, commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center on the base. The benefits of this strategic materials recovery/reuse program, he said, include reduced manufacturing lead times and price discounts on future component purchases. So far, the results have been good. Already the ALC has turned about 200,000 pounds of material into their original alloy materials and reconfigured them into new jet engine parts. The program could save the center more than $2 million annually in acquisition costs, Tinker officials said. The pilot program also includes the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. And efforts are underway to expand it to several Navy fleet readiness centers. (Tinker report by Brandice Armstrong)
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.