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In practice, what this meant was that even with moderate usage, an average of only 6-10 stealth bombers were actually available for missions at any given time.Īs was the case with Britain’s Tornados, the effort to change the B-2 bomber’s maintenance framework is happening slowly. Introduced from 1993-2000, America’s B-2 fleet has historically had availability rates below 50% for a number of reasons. The specified readiness rate was not published, but it may represent a challenge for the contractor. All of that now becomes the contractor’s responsibility. What’s different is that under the new “contracting for availability” performance-based logistics approach, Northrop Grumman will be measured by its ability to meet specified combat readiness requirements for the B-2 fleet, rather than being given money for specific tasks, spare parts, or maintenance on a specified schedule. Under the revised terms, original aircraft manufacturer Northrop Grumman will provide maintenance and sustainment support for the nation’s fleet of 21 B-2 stealth bombers via 3 delivery orders: Contract Depot Maintenance (CDM), Consolidated Delivery Order (CDO), and Integrated Contractor Support (ICS). Air Force’s Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center and Northrop Grumman came to a 1-year, $200 million agreement that changed the B-2A’s 1999 FAST maintenance contract. That pattern appears to be the case here as well. In the UK the approach of starting at a smaller level, then expanding the scope once performance is proven and trust built, has become standard procedure.
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