The Pentagon’s new “Better Buying Power” initiative offers some clues on how the Air Force will buy the Long Range Strike Bomber, according to retired Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford. Speaking at the long-range-strike panel at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference, he said there would be incentives “tied to tangible performance;” not necessarily just passing a major milestone. The program executive will be directly answerable to the Pentagon’s acquisition executive, he said. “Should cost” will play a big role; “dollars released to program office” will not be along the lines of traditional progress payments, but only enough to track with performance, he said. The government will not simply choose “the most glittering proposal” it thinks it can afford, said Shackelford.
The Air Force’s top enlisted member told lawmakers last week that the service must demolish hundreds of unneeded buildings, a move that would pay a “10-to-1 return on investment,” particularly for improving quality of life for service members, rather than spending money on their upkeep.