Beginning Oct. 1, B-1 bombers arriving for pre-programmed depot maintenance at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center on the grounds of Tinker AFB, Okla., will undergo the prototype version of the new high-velocity maintenance construct. The goal of the HVM prototype process is to trim 32 days off of the B-1’s current PDM flow rate, which is currently 160 days. This will ensure that only four B-1s wait for maintenance in the depot at any given time versus the eight that typically wait today, according to Oklahoma City officials. B-1s arrive at Tinker for routine PDM every five years. In Fiscal 2011, 13 B-1 are slated for the depot. HVM is also being introduced for the C-130 and F-22, and may eventually be applied to additional platforms. (Tinker report by Brandice J. Armstrong) (For background, read High Velocity Maintenance from the Air Force Magazine archives.)
As it develops new weapons to attack satellites, the U.S. Space Force is focused more on ground-based efforts where the technology is more mature, the service’s top general said April 3.