The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Tinker AFB, Okla., awarded Boeing Aerospace Operations a $52.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract for the avionics modernization program phase II for the VC-25A aircraft, commonly referred to as Air Force One. The modification contract covers the engineering services to manufacturer or procure, install, and test one prototype, according to a March 4 Pentagon announcement. Work is slated for completion by May 2018 and will be performed at Boeing’s Oklahoma City, Okla., facility. The Air Force has obligated $10.3 million of research, development, test, and evaluation funds for the program in Fiscal 2015, states the release.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.