AF, Boeing team up with commercial carriers to meet airlift requirements

By Staff Sgt. A.J. Bosker, Air Force Print News

The Air Force and Boeing Co., along with 28 commercial companies including air cargo carriers, freight forwarders, and finance and aircraft leasing outfits, recently discussed an acquisition strategy to help fulfill the service's airlift requirements using the BC-17X, a commercial derivative of the C-17 Globemaster III.

The acquisition strategy, which received interest from the companies attending the industry day conference, envisions commercially owned and operated BC-17 aircraft supporting military airlift operations when needed.

"The program is very appealing to all parties involved — the Air Force, the manufacturer, the commercial operators, and the American taxpayer," said Darleen Druyun, Air Force principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and management. "It could ultimately save the Air Force and the taxpayer several billion dollars in life cycle costs."

Air Force could save over $6 billion
According to Druyun, if the commercial market purchases just 10 BC-17X's, the Air Force stands to save more than $6 billion by not paying for the operational and life cycle support costs of those 10 aircraft over a 30-year period. This strategy is not designed to replace the Air Force's purchase of C-17s, but is designed to augment it, she said.

Commercial companies will be purchasing BC-17X's at the same time the Air Force is acquiring the C-17. This will allow the manufacturer to keep production lines ramped up and operating at a lower cost. It will also permit the service to better meet airlift requirements since it also can rely on the BC-17X aircraft operating commercially.

Druyun sees this approach as a win-win situation. "The Air Force and the Department of Defense gets much needed additional airlift capability during a war or a contingency and access to more of the most capable cargo aircraft on the market today when they truly need them," she said. "And the successful operators gain the opportunity to exploit the rapidly developing heavy outsize/oversize markets."

The acquisition strategy also will include government funding and private financing to help get the commercial operation off the ground. Government funding of this venture assures use and lifetime availability of the commercial aircraft to DOD in time of need, Druyun said.

Only U.S.-owned firms need apply
To ensure this access to the civilian BC-17X fleet, only U.S.-owned commercial companies will be given the option to purchase the aircraft, since the aircraft will be required to be available to the civil reserve air fleet.

The CRAF is a significant part of the nation's mobility resources and supports DOD airlift requirements in emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of military aircraft. Under this approach, participating operators will contractually pledge their BC-17s to be ready for activation when needed, she said.

The Air Force plans to firm up a business strategy by March after further exchanges with interested commercial players and hopes to finalize all arrangements among all parties by the end of this year, which would make the BC-17s available to DOD in 2004.

Edited by Bob Arguero
Content Manager, GovCon