APRIL 13, 2015, ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFNS) – The Precision Attack System Program Office here, in partnership with Lockheed Martin, has been awarded the 2014 Secretary of Defense Performance Based Logistics Award, at the sub-system level, for its solutions in delivering support of the Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod.
Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control is the source of repair on the Sniper pods, teaming with the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex’s 402nd Electronics Maintenance Group, which has an on-base facility to repair the electro-optical targeting system used in detecting, identifying and engaging multiple moving and fixed targets at combat, operational and training locations around the globe.
“Having this long-term relationship with the contractor in the depot has really been a cornerstone of the team’s success,” said Paul Miller, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Integrated Product Team program lead.
Used in multiple Air Force platforms, including the A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress, Sniper pods provide unparalleled situational awareness, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unmatched by enemy forces.
“This fills a core capability for the U.S. Air Force, and allows both aircrews and ground forces to identify targets faster and farther away, and ensures their safety in high-threat environments,” he said.
The teamwork between the government and Lockheed Martin on the Sniper performance based logistics (PBL) arrangement resulted in critical sustainment support to the Air Force and Air National Guard on its fleet of several hundred Sniper pods.
Among its major achievements was a $77.3 million cost avoidance for maintaining the Sniper fleet operational availability 14 percent better than the requirement; and maintaining O-level spares on-hand availability at a rate of more than 98 percent.
In 2013, the organic depot at Robins Air Force Base ensured critical spares were available to fill field requirements – 909 repairs in an average of 6.7 days each against a target of 15 days or less.
There was improved availability of depot repair parts from 84 percent to 94 percent in 2013. There were also reduced support costs by up to 10 percent from previous PBL contracts, and a reduced Sniper logistics footprint decreasing the average quantities of cannibalized pods by 364 percent from 2012 to 2013.
PBL awards such as this recognize government and industry teams that have demonstrated outstanding achievements in providing the warfighter exceptional operational capability through PBL agreements.
The partnership between Lockheed Martin and the Air Force extends back to the mid-1990s, when government and industry came together with LANTIRN, or Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night, capabilities. These pods were used on such fighter aircraft as the F-15 and F-16; the F-15 is maintained at Robins.
A formal presentation of the award will be made here in May by Paul Peters, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics and Materiel Readiness.