Boeing and the U.S. Air Force Globemaster division at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Georgia, received the Best Logistics Strategy award at the annual Defense Logistics Awards ceremony in Arlington,Virginia, on November 30.

Boeing has partnered with the Air Force for C-17 sustainment since the delivery of the first aircraft in 1993, transitioning to a system-level performance-based logistics contract in 1998, now called the C-17 Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP).
 
"The strength of Boeing's partnership with its Air Force customer provides the best sustainment solution possible," said Gus Urzua, Boeing C-17 GISP Vice President and Program Manager.

"Our long-term partnership and the flexibility of performance-based logistics contracting are key to developing the innovative solutions necessary to address the complex challenges of sustaining a fleet of this magnitude," he added.

The program has evolved to adapt to the Air Force's operational needs, providing the customer with the best sustainment solution: a single-source provider that guarantees best-value support, mission-ready aircraft and 24/7 customer service.
 
Today, GISP is headquartered in a combined program office at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., supporting 237 C-17s worldwide - 212 with the U.S. Air Force, including active duty, Guard and Reserve units, and 25 with international customers, including the United Kingdom Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Qatar Emiri Air Force, United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defense, and the 12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.

The GISP "virtual fleet" arrangement ensures mission readiness by providing all C-17 customers, with varied fleet sizes, the benefit of access to an extensive support network for worldwide parts availability and economies of scale when purchasing materials.

"The C-17 Virtual Fleet has been a game-changing concept of operations for the aircraft's support," said Trevor Burke, team leader, NATO Strategic Airlift Capability. "The C-17 Virtual Fleet is all about extreme affordability - like none before."

The Air Force delegates a significant degree of control of C-17 support to Boeing in return for guaranteed performance. This support is delivered worldwide, with the Air Force administering Foreign Military Sales and Boeing providing various levels of contractor support across the globe in support of U.S. and international customers.