Project Announcement: F/A-18 E/F Rhino Recovery Plan Integrated Business Planning (IBP) Initiative

Organizations that maintain large vehicle fleets or inventories of equipment are continually confronted with the monetary and manpower costs of maintaining assets that remain unused for long periods of time. Currently, there is no comprehensive, streamlined system for such organizations to adopt to anticipate repair needs and update aging systems, which would lead to significant cost reductions, increase asset lifespan, and reduce the necessity of replacement. Because of the scale of its aircraft fleet, especially its fleet of F-18s, the U.S. Navy would be an ideal test bed for the development and testing of a such a system, which would help Commander Naval Air Force (CNAF) address a shortfall in strike fighter aircraft availability. Its benefits could be generalized to a wide array of industries and local entities, including municipal emergency response services, mass transit operators, rental car companies, commercial airlines, and delivery services.

Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Weapon Systems Support (WSS) seeks analytics capabilities to help balance supply and demand plans, prioritize efforts to address critical material shortages, and apportion scarce resources to meet maintenance needs, all while controlling expenditures, Navy Working Capital Fund (NWCF) obligations, and flying hour program (FHP) costs.  NAVSUP WSS is responsible for coordinating sustainment operations to return up to six Long Term Down (LTD) aircraft per month to a Ready Basic Aircraft (RBA) status, as has been prioritized by Commander Naval Air Force (CNAF). In addition, CNAF has established the goal of returning 100 Long Term Down (LTD) F/A-18 E/F aircraft to service over the next two-years. To achieve these goals, the Type Commander and Type Wing, as well as Maintenance Engineering, Logistics, and Supply must be integrated and their efforts organized around a single performance metric.

Those interested in participating in this initiative should contact Debra Lilu by October 25, 2017. We encourage participation of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), including Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) and Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs).