WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US Air Force has issued a combined contract worth nearly a billion dollars to carry out sustainment and maintenance operations for its aircraft, the Department of Defense said.
«[The companies] have been awarded a combined … $975 million … contract for the Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office,» the department said in a press release on Tuesday.
The contract enables the Air Force to optimize the operational readiness and life cycle sustainment costs of its fielded weapon systems by rapidly identifying testing and scaling up emerging technology applications.
These endeavors will be carried out «in advanced manufacturing, automation and robotics, advanced composites, corrosion prevention and control, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and several other high-impact technical focus areas,» the department explained.
Work on the program will be carried out at Air Force bases around the world over the next decade and is expected to be completed by July 29, 2033, the statement read.
