ARMY AL&T
The fixed-wing C-12 King Air undergoes contractor maintenance. (Photo courtesy of Product Manager Fixed Wing.)
This article highlights some of the major milestones of three PM AS Product Offices: Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA), Fixed Wing (FW), and Aviation Ground Support Equipment (AGSE). The next two articles (see Pages 20 and 24) address achievements in the Aviation Mission Equipment and Aviation Networks and Mission Planning offices, and in the Air Traffic Control office.
Joint Cargo Aircraft Transfer Although we traditionally think of large transport aircraft in connection with the U.S. Air Force (USAF), the Army has a requirement to move Time Sensitive/ Mission Critical (TS/MC) personnel and equipment to points around the globe. The JCA program began in 2004 as the Future Cargo Aircraft (FCA), a project designed to meet the Army’s TS/MC mission. In 2005, the Defense Acquisition Executive directed that the separate FCA and the USAF Light Cargo Aircraft programs merge into one JCA program, managed by the Army. The JCA Product Office transitioned known requirements into a contract
17 OCTOBER –DECEMBER 2010
requirements package and selected the C-27J Spartan as the platform of choice for the JCA after a detailed source selection process.
In April 2009, Resource Management Decision (RMD) 802 dramatically changed the management of the JCA program by directing the USAF to take over sole management. The Army was directed to transfer both the program and the direct-support airlift mission to the USAF. In addition, RMD 802 also reduced the aircraft procurement quan- tity from 78 to 38.
The Army maintains the lead and was set to complete the transfer of the pro- gram to the USAF by Oct. 1, 2010. In spite of this drastic change in course, the program remains on cost, schedule, and performance.
Fixed-Wing Aircraft Evolution Although JCA is a fixed-wing aircraft platform, the scope of the program necessitated that it be a stand-alone PM outside the purview of the Army’s FW Product Management Office (PMO).
The bulk of the remaining fixed-wing aircraft in the Army’s arsenal are centrally managed by the FW PMO. During the 1980s, Congress directed that the centralized management and funding of some of the Army’s fixed-wing aircraft be managed under one office. Thus, the Army FW PMO was established in 1983. Although some fixed-wing aircraft still are not managed by the FW PMO, a recent HQDA directive mandated that all Army fixed-wing aircraft be managed at some level by that office.
In January 1957, BG William B. Bunker wrote a paper titled “The Problems of Supply Management in Aircraft Logistics.” Assigned to the Transportation Corps, Bunker was responsible for providing logistical sup- port to the Army’s dispersed aircraft. Comparing the aircraft and the support and management approaches discussed by Bunker to those of today reveals that, although the major mission sets remain the same (cargo, utility/VIP, and observation), the fleet sustainment and program management have morphed to best meet the needs of the warfighter.
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