April 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — The Air Force One replacement program has hit a major development milestone, and it did so without the in-person meetings that have become more risky in the age of the novel coronavirus, the U.S. Air Force's top acquisition official said on Thursday.
The Air Force recently completed the critical design review for the Presidential Aircraft Replacement program, which will replace the legacy VC-25A Air Force One planes with a new variant of the Boeing 747-8 known as the VC-25B.
Although the classified portions of the review still must be done via face-to-face meetings in secure spaces, much of it was accomplished using virtual tools and applications, said Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics.
“I was really excited that the team was able to shift their CDR [critical design review] and go virtual,” he told reporters in an April 16 teleconference, adding that more programs will shift toward using virtual meetings to conduct key reviews and milestones even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.
“I don't know if it makes any sense to do CDRs, at least at an unclassified level, outside of tools like this. And we're working really hard to provide the same capabilities at the secret level,” he said.
While Roper did not detail which communication tools were used by the program office to conduct the CDR, he described it as being very similar to widely used applications like Zoom, where the briefer can share PowerPoint slides and participants can share thoughts and questions via a written chat function.
“It allows a greater level of productivity than a meeting itself,” he said. “In meetings, you have someone speaking and you want to get a question in, but you've got to wait for them to stop, and then everyone else wants to ask a question. It's hugely inefficient. It's just such an antiquated way of sharing information that is ingrained in us.”
The Air Force One replacement drew considerable attention in 2016 after then-President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that the program was too expensive at more than $4 billion and should be canceled. After Trump held numerous meetings with Dennis Muilenburg, who led Boeing at the time, the Air Force awarded Boeing a $3.9 billion contract to modify two 747s into VC-25B jets.
However, once all costs are included — such as buying a new hangar for the aircraft and the base cost of the 747s themselves — the Air Force will pay $5.3 billion, according to Defense One. That expense includes an $84 million contract awarded to Boeing on Wednesday to modify Boeing 747 technical specifications and manuals to the VC-25B configuration.
Roper doesn't project any schedule delays to the program as a result of COVID-19, which has pummeled prime contractor Boeing's commercial business and caused a temporary pause to certain defense production lines.
In February, Boeing began modifying the two 747s slated to become VC-25Bs at its facility in San Antonio, Texas. During the first part of the process, Boeing will cut out large pieces of the aircraft's skin and structure and replace that with two specially designed “superpanels,” according to an Air Force release. The VC-25Bs will also receive upgrades including enhanced electrical power, specialized communication systems, a medical facility, a customized executive interior and autonomous ground operations capabilities.
The new Air Force Ones are expected to be operational in 2024.
July 20, 2022 | International, Aerospace
The Maritime Patrol Aircraft variant of Textron's Cessna Citation Longitude is outfitted with a variety of equipment that makes it suited for surveillance missions over land and water, as well as SAR, border patrol, and fishery monitoring missions.
June 21, 2019 | International, Aerospace
CAE USA has received a contract to provide classroom and simulator training for the US Navy's UC-12 aircraft's aircrews. As part of the training programme, the company will provide initial and refresher training courses for naval pilots and flight officers. The programme will include training on the King Air 200 Pro Line 21 and non-Pro Line King Air 200 cockpits, in addition to the King Air 350 Pro Line 21 and Fusion cockpits. CAE USA president and general manager Ray Duquette said: “CAE has an unmatched ability to leverage a global network of training centres and training programmes. “The award of this contract is a great example of CAE's Defense and Civil business units working together to deliver a comprehensive training programme for the US Navy. We are particularly pleased that navy C-12 aircrews will be joining the army and airforce in training C-12 pilots at our Dothan Training Center in Alabama.” Alongside Alabama, training will also be delivered at the firm's facilities in Dallas, Texas, and Morristown, New Jersey. The UC-12 is a military version of the Beechcraft King Air multi-mission aircraft. Variants of the Beechcraft C-12 Huron are in service with the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The navy uses the UC-12 to transport personnel and cargo, as well as for range clearance, medical evacuation, and humanitarian assistance. The department's UC-12B/F/M Huron is based on the King Air B200 aircraft, while its UC-12W Huron is as a modified version of the King Air 350. In May last year, CAE was awarded a contract to deliver instructor support services for providing ground-based training to the US Navy. https://www.naval-technology.com/news/cae-wins-us-navy-contract-to-train-uc-12-aircrews/
May 1, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By Connie Lee The COVID-19 pandemic is putting particular stress on the Army's second- and third-tier suppliers, said the service's secretary April 30. The Army is racing to ensure its manufacturing supply chain is able to stay afloat amid economic challenges posed by the virus, said Ryan McCarthy. “Some of these are small companies [that have] 15,000 people, and you get a couple people sick, you shut the whole company down,” he said during a virtual event hosted by Brookings Institution. The supply chain will "be a challenge for us months and months ahead.” The pandemic is also hurting overseas manufacturing in areas such as Mexico, Europe and East Asia, where the Army has little influence, he noted. The service is working with the State Department to figure out how to keep overseas workers employed and keep the supply chain running, he said. “We are limited in our ability to affect them and get them back to work,” McCarthy said. “It presents challenges that are far beyond our reach and ... influence, so we're going to have some real heart-to-hearts with manufacturers going forward.” Despite these issues, the Army is continuing to prioritize modernization, he said. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said the service is moving forward with weapons assessments, noting that it was recently able to conduct a successful hypersonic weapons test. As part of its plan to keep up with great power competition, the service is pursuing 31 new signature systems. “Over half of our procurement budget is going towards these new weapon systems,” McCarthy said. “We've got to put them into formation. Much of our iron is 50 years old. That probably is the prime area where we put the most energy.” Meanwhile, the Army is collaborating with other organizations in search of a vaccine. There are 10 to 15 top potential vaccine candidates worldwide that are in various stages of maturity, McCarthy said during a Pentagon briefing the same day. To speed up the timeline, the service plans on investing in the ones that seem to be moving the fastest, he noted. “We can double down and invest in the fastest horse, if you will, in this 15 candidate race, and then that compresses the timeframe that will ultimately get you to the answer and bring a vaccine to life,” he said. “You'll hear ranges on how fast it can go.” Some of these vaccines are currently in human trials, with the bulk of the work slated for summer and early fall, he noted. “It's moving faster than probably any point in history because of the extraordinary collaboration that's going on today,” he said. However, this may involve accepting some risks in the process, McConville noted at the briefing. “You can save time by taking risks,” he said. “You may get ready to produce something, and that horse may not get to the final race and that may not be the most efficient use of money, but by taking risks, you can really move things very, very quickly.” https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/4/30/covid-hurting-army-small-businesses