KC-135R Tanker’s Global Air Traffic Program Continues
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Avionics, Other Corporation, Project Successes, Specialty Aircraft
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Feb 26/09: The US Air Force is modifying a firm-fixed-price contract with Rockwell Collins, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, IA. The $73.8 million order will provide an additional 46 kits and installs to support the KC-135R Global Air Traffic Management Program. OC-ALC/827 at Tinker Air Force Base, OK manages this contract (F33657-98-C-0036, P00106).
The goal of the KC-135 Global Air Traffic Management program is to update the US aerial tanker fleet’s avionics. The last KC-135 was delivered in 1966, and civil aviation has seen considerable changes to navigation and safety avionics since then. In order to help the USA’s critical aerial tanker fleet run more smoothly, and give them the option of flying in civil airspace, updates were required. In 1999, Rockwell Collins won a contract potentially worth in excess $700 million, in order to upgrade the communications and navigation systems of more than 544 KC-135s to allow safe operation and certification in civil airspace around the globe. That effort followed and built on the $700 million 1996-2002 Pacer CRAG (compass, radar and global positioning system) program, which upgraded over 560 KC-135s between 1996-2002. The 100th GATM-modified KC-135 was delivered in October 2005, and the 200th in August 2007.
Pacer CRAG cockpit
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The KC-135 GATM program was delivered with very little cost growth, on schedule, and ahead of similar programs for other aircraft like the C-5 and C-17. It helps that the problem being addressed had a clear and well-developed civilian analogue. It also helped that the project took a strong stand in buying off-the-shelf, pre-certified systems whenever possible, and had a solid system safety engineering process that linked progress to safety acceptance by other government agencies. It also used a robust developmental and operational test program that began in the program’s early stages, instead of waiting until the end. See AT&L Magazine’s May-June 2004 article “First in Fleet: KC-135 Global Air Traffic Management (GATM)” [PDF] for more details.
