Le Bourget, France —The Air Force expects to move out shortly on its Common Vertical Lift Support Platform helicopter replacement effort, David Van Buren, USAF acquisition executive, said here Tuesday at the Paris Air Show. He noted that there are many potential competitors for the program, and told the international audience that they should be heartened by the fact that the Air Force is willing to look at foreign offerings, as it did on the KC-X tanker program and with the C-27J transport. Likewise, a request for proposal for a new rescue helicopter will go out in 2012, and Van Buren expects the contract award for that platform in 2013.
AURORA, Colo.—Air & Space Forces Magazine caught up with Heather Penney, former F-16 pilot and now a senior fellow with the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, at the AFA Warfare Symposium to break down the biggest developments from Air Force...