AF Insourcing Could Cost A Bundle, Reduce Readiness

An interesting split is emerging in the Air Force sustainment and logistics sector, and it could have big implications for the Obama government insourcing agenda. The Air Force has been running a successful logistics partnership for its premier air superiority fighter, the F-22, with original manufacturers Lockheed, Boeing and Pratt & Whitney taking the lead on sustaining the aircraft and running its supply-chain.

This program, known as FASTER, is popular at the Ogden Air Logistics Center in Utah and at Air Force Materiel Command. But Air Force logistics leaders in the Pentagon would like to draw much of the work away from the private companies and into the government as part of a broader effort to insource military sustainment capabilities.

The problem is there is a lot of evidence that programs like this not only increase availability of the jets for the warfighter, but also save taxpayers a bundle of money, especially on small buys like the 187 F-22 aircraft. As the ground shifts quickly under so many Obama priorities, and in particular as the gigantic federal deficit emerges as a populist issue around the country, this blog will be watching closely and commenting regularly on the government outsourcing and insourcing fight at the defense department and elsewhere.