The 57th Wing at Nellis AFB, Nev., has started the process to compete aircraft maintenance activities at Nellis between the public and private sectors. Other Air Force bases are going this route—expecting to save personnel or dollars or both—but this is a first for Nellis, the home of Red Flag. Brig. Gen. William Rew, head of the 57th Wing, says, “We are aware of the uncertainty this competition will cause and are taking every possible step to ease our people through this transition.” Nellis has 72 government civilians and 720 airmen (11 officers and 709 enlisted) that could be out of a job if a private contractor wins the competition. However, the federal civilians would have “right of first refusal” for employment openings for which they qualify, said Rew.
Unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous aircraft may provide a solution to operating in heavily contested domains such as the Taiwan Straits, according to a panel of expert who suggested operationalizing artificial intelligence for such purposes sooner rather than later. The group gathered virtually to help launch the Mitchell Institute for…