Speakers discuss aging aircraft at summit

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TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) --  Air Force and civilian industry leaders spoke about convergence between industry and aerospace at the seventh annual Aerospace Summit and Expo June 23 in Oklahoma City.

Maj. Gen. Loren M. Reno, the commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center here, did not mince words when talking about the current state of aircraft flown by the Air Force, or the increasing costs to keep those aircraft flying.

"Your United States Air Force fleet of aircraft is old," the general told those in attendance, noting that the average age of many aircraft is 23 years.

And in a current economic climate with shrinking budgets for defense, General Reno said recapitalization of some aircraft and convergence with private aerospace companies is crucial to supporting the military, its operations, and its warfighters.

Hal Chrisman, the principal at Michigan-based Aero Strategy Management Consulting, said military and commercial aviation have benefited from working together in the past, and must continue that relationship for both to thrive. The commercial sector has benefited from military technology just as the military also uses aircraft and technology originally created for private aviation.

"Many of the engines that are powering commercial aircraft today are derived from military engines," Mr. Chrisman said.

By merging distinct technologies, and the private sector handling government contracts, he said convergence can be achieved between the military and private industry to break down barriers.

When discussing unity or unison in relation to the military's dealings with private contractors, General Reno said he favors unity.

"From my perspective it is certainly movement and it is toward unity because we depend so much on our suppliers who give us and provide for us a product or services," the general said. "I would probably stop short of the union part of that definition because the government will always be the one to set the requirements."

While the military sets the rules and issues the requests for proposal, General Reno said he wants the two to work together to ultimately support warfighters.

"I'm all for breaking down the barriers," he said.

But General Reno faces a shrinking budget along with the need to maintain aircraft -- such as the KC-135 Stratotanker -- that are decades old.

General Reno used the example that if an individual had a car that old they would likely keep it in a garage and drive it sparingly.

"We're driving '57 tankers into combat today," he said. "Our aircraft are old and we need to replace them."

In a constant effort to keep planes like the KC-135 serviced and flying, along with carrying out other missions at the air logistics center, General Reno said the military is constantly moving forward. General Reno said when the commercial sector crosses that path and provides a needed service is when convergence happens.

And while the military can only contract 50 percent of its core workload, many services that had been outsourced are now being brought back and repatriated.

Mr. Chrisman said one of the companies that has successfully served the military and commercial market is Tulsa-based aerospace company The Nordam Group, Inc.

Steve McLarty, vice president of sales for North and Latin America for Nordam, said his company has done a robust business in private aviation. Nevertheless, in light of record fuel prices, and a possible slowdown in private aviation, that convergence with the military is the key to growing the business.

"What was missing was our military side," he said. "Our leadership led us to the direction to go after the military side as the third leg of the stool."

But General Reno warned that anyone doing business with the government must be aware of declining budgets and recapitalization when seeking government contracts.

Mr. Chrisman said that to foster ongoing discussions for convergence, military and commercial aviation sectors must identify technologies, processes, and talents that can be shared back and forth for both to thrive and accomplish their goals.

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