USAF awards $210M contract to advance Afghan Air Force C-130H airlift operational capability

By Sara Sirota / July 5, 2019 at 1:05 PM

The U.S. Air Force has awarded AAR Supply Chain a $210 million contract for C-130H contractor logistics support to the Afghan Air Force, according to a July 3 contract announcement.

A performance-based work statement posted on Federal Business Opportunities in April states the purpose is to sustain and provide maintenance training for the AAF's fleet of four (which could grow to six) C-130H aircraft. The contract supports a mission by NATO's Train, Advise, Assist Command – Air to develop C-130H airlift operational capability.

The notice calls for maintenance training to be provided to a total of 55 students over the life of the contract, stating: "The Contractor shall hire and integrate local Afghanistan nationals into the labor workforce. This may require recruiting and in-house training and managing the local hires as paid apprentices."

The contracting office at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center received one offer for the work, which will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan and is expected to be completed by January 2025.

TAAC-Air has struggled to maintain the number of qualified pilots and aircrew required for the C-130 program. An October 2018 investigation of TAAC-Air’s programs by Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko found the C-130 team had the least maintenance staff compared to its authorization. The AAF had two of the required 15 personnel, or 13%.

According to a separate report by SIGAR published in January, a fully qualified maintenance force for the platform is expected to be achieved by 2024.

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