New Public-Private Partnership for RPA Maintenance

A new partnership between the Air Force Sustainment Center and General Atomics is expected to improve maintenance capabilities for remotely piloted aircraft, while bringing additional work to AFSC logistics centers in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Utah. The new agreement, signed Nov. 9, is the first center-wide RPA partnership agreement implemented since AFSC stood up in June 2012, according to a Nov. 26 release. “Public-private partnerships allow government organizations and private industry to work as a team, bringing unique capabilities to the mission and warfighters, whether that’s technology infusion, new innovation to equipment and processes, or advanced skills and knowledge gain to the workforce,” said Earl Williams, an AFSC logistics directorate program analyst. So far, Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex at Robins AFB, Ga., is the only one of the three centers to implement the agreement. However, AFSC officials expect future agreements with Ogden Air Logistics Complex at Hill AFB, Utah, which will handle work on RPA landing gear and the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker AFB, Okla., for work on RPA small engines, states the release. (AFSC report by Micah Garbarino)