Conduct analysis of manufacturing alternatives to current/traditional high upfront tooling and production costs for aircraft replacement parts. Research aerospace and non-aerospace manufacturing technology, companies, and processes that could provide a more cost-effective approach to developing adaptive, high-quality, and scalable production of replacement parts for the aging US Air Force fleet. Also explore additional benefits of various light weight material substitutions for part manufacturing that meet military standards, that could increase fuel savings based on weight reduction, and enhance overall mission capabilities, aircraft sustainment, etc.. The B-52 and KC-135 fleets date back to the late 1950s, the UH-1H Huey helicopter 1960s, and the C-5 was first fielded in the 1970s which are a few examples of airframes no longer in production, beyond their economic service life, but because they are still flying require replacement parts. Purchases of the new F-35, C-130J, and KC-46 airframes in recent years have only made a small dent in the average age of the Air Force’s fleet.
- Haima, Maj. Brian, "Flying Hundred-Year-Old-Aircraft: A Look at the Acquisition Process," AFGC thesis, 2025.
- This topic notes that despite the introduction of new airframes like the F-35 and KC-46, the Air Force continues to struggle with an aging fleet of legacy aircraft. Haima addresses the root cause of this issue by evaluating the effectiveness of major acquisition programs, demonstrating that initiatives like the F-22, F-35, and KC-46 consistently fail to meet their intended delivery timelines and production quantities. Because the acquisition process delivered only a fraction of the planned F-22s and severely delayed the KC-46, he explains that the Air Force has been forced to operate legacy platforms like the F-15 and KC-135 well past their intended service lives to meet global mission requirements.