An “end-to-end review is underway” to find the right balance in requirements, cost of depot maintenance, and supply chain, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Monday. “Effectiveness and efficiency must go hand in hand,” in program longevity, he said. Both requirements and costs have been rising in weapon system sustainment and materiel readiness, and “we must tend” to that reality by figuring out less costly means of sustainment, he said.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.