ATLANTA — Boeing [BA] is looking to expand an unique sustainment partnership with customers that use both CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apaches that drives cost savings by reducing the replication between having two separate contracts.
The program, known as Integrated Contractor Logistics Support (ICLS), was formed nearly three years ago with the Netherlands. Boeing Director of Attack Helicopter Sustainment John Guasto said Friday it combines sustainment for AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook into a single contract, which is cheaper than running two different programs. He said there is a lot of overlap in personnel when you have individual Apache and Chinook programs.
Guasto declined to say which nation or nations Boeing was looking to add, but he said it would be any country that operates both aircraft. International customers of both the Apache and Chinook are Greece, Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom.
The contract is worth $60 million, according to a Boeing statement. The program, which Boeing in June 2013 called the first of its kind with any of its rotorcraft customers, is based on the number of expected flight hours rather than ordering and stocking parts.
Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Carlson said the contract is a five-year deal running through June 30, 2018. The contract supports 28 D-model Apaches, 11 D-model Chinooks and six F-model Chinooks.
The Netherlands approached Boeing, Guasto said, because they were struggling with their operational readiness while under the pressure of surging flight requirements. Guasto said the Dutch, faced with limited funds, asked Boeing to help develop a more efficient way to increase aircraft availability.
Both parties bring core capabilities to the partnership to make it work. Guasto said Boeing brings production economies of scale because it is buying components for 15 customers, which helps drive down cost. The company also brings engineering expertise, he said.
Guasto said the Netherlands brings data to the table, and lots of it. Guasto said as most of Boeing’s data for the Apache and Chinook is based on the U.S. Army’s operations, the Netherlands brings data from different locations and different ways the aircraft is being used. This, he said, allows Boeing to not only model their supply requirements more accurately but also apply lessons learned to make reliability improvements that drive affordability for all customers. Guasto said the Netherlands operates its Apache and Chinook fleets in a variety of locations like Mali and the UAE.
The program covers support in both the Netherlands and at Ft. Hood, Texas, where Dutch Chinook and Apache air crews train with the U.S. Army.
“The results have been so good that we’re now looking at other customers to go replicate it,” Guasto said at the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) conference here.
