According to a report by Flight Global, the Air Force not only plans to take on lead C-17 maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) work but also MRO for the F-22. USAF announced earlier this year that it would establish a new integrated program office at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia to oversee C-17 fleet sustainment with support from Boeing, meaning Boeing would no longer lead the MRO effort. Boeing has sustained the C-17 fleet for more than 10 years under performance-based logistics contracts that provide for a specified level of readiness rather than payment for individual parts or services. Gus Urzua, VP for Boeing Globemaster Sustainment Partnership, called the change “definitely a paradigm shift,” per Flight Global. He said that instead of Boeing overseeing the entire C-17 MRO and “guaranteeing aircraft availability,” the company will now simply provide a “robust and responsive” supply system.
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held meetings with defense leaders from the Philippines, Japan, and South Korea during a trip to the Indo-Pacific this week.