PMA260 aviation support equipment.
The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) serves the Nation and the Navy by developing, acquiring, and supporting naval aeronautical and related technology systems.PMA260 is a program-management office in Air 1.0, which, led by Capt. Mike Belcher, procures and provides life-cycle support for all common support equipment used by each type-model-series aircraft throughout the Navy and Marine Corps. This inventory encompasses more than 2,500 line items of support equipment. PMA260 currently manages more than 50 designated acquisition programs including the consolidated automated support system (CASS) (Navy) and RTCASS (Marine Corps). More than 60 military, federal and contractor personnel work at NAVAIR headquarters in Patuxent River, Md., while the rest of the PMA260 team works at six other sites throughout the country.
PMA260's mission is to provide cost-effective, aviation-common support equipment for fleet operations and maintenance activities. They also fund requirements for replenishing peculiar support equipment (PSE) for out-of-production weapon systems. The scope of their mission includes 157 funded programs across the 5 year budget with 124 current contracts in place. These contracts cover modernizing CASS; procuring new hydraulic power-supply systems and a new land-based, mid-range tow tractor; and developing 45 abbreviated acquisition programs.
PMA260's additional responsibilities include:
* Providing support-equipment leadership for the naval-aviation enterprise
* Serving as DoD Executive directorate for automatic test systems
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* Serving as a member of the joint panel for aviation-support equipment (JPAVSE) committee, aviation common systems (ACS) committee, and joint aeronautical logistics commanders (JALC)
* Managing AUTOSERD and SERMIS, which includes all SE and IMRL gear
* Being designated as a USD(AT&L) reduction of total ownership cost (RTOC) special interest program
They support the fleet, providing the tools needed to fix, service, arm, and handle aircraft. In other words, PMA260 provides every type of ground support necessary to meet requirements of the daily flight schedule of fleet aircraft squadrons. Today, they provide sustainment, logistic support, and training for support equipment. Their mid-term priorities focus on replacing aged and obsolete gear that is no longer serviceable, and they have modernization road maps for where they are going. Long-term plans include a fleet-prioritization process that identifies equipment for future replacement.
All their programs go through a rigorous acquisition cycle. Everything is tested environmentally (shock, vibration, EMI) to make sure the gear will function safely in the harsh environments in which fleet Sailors and Marines operate. PMA260 is reducing the support-equipment footprint throughout the fleet by combining multiple testers, which reduces inventory, maintenance, and calibration requirements. Reduction of maintenance requirements directly affects the safety of Sailors and Marines by reducing their already busy workload.
PMA260's efforts are not only saving taxpayer dollars; they are making maintenance work environments safer, easier, and better. Their program office has made cost reductions through reliability-centered maintenance efforts (monitoring trends and adjusting their process to reduce man-power requirements and maintenance-documentation processes). One example of cost savings through reduced footprint is seen with the O-level weapons release-and-control test sets. They are replacing nine different testers with only one. Over the years, different platforms have bought their own individual testers, which led to increased maintenance, training, and manpower requirements.
Captain Belcher thinks it's important for the fleet to know what PMA260 is doing for them and to understand that the gear being fielded to them has been put through a rigorous acquisition cycle. This cycle includes design reviews, environmental testing, and a thorough test and evaluation of all the logistic elements. PMA260 makes sure that your support equipment works properly and that it's supportable.
PMA260's logo states, "There is no air support without ground support." They are committed to modernizing common support equipment, including CASS, obsolescence, making common support equipment (CSE) better for the operator, removing legacy automatic test equipment (ATE) and CSE, and reducing the amount of CSE needed in the fleet. See a video and find out more about PMA260 and how they are working to help Sailors today, in the near-term, and the long-term, by visiting our website at www.safetycenter.navy.mil. Also, look for future articles in the Air-Wing toolbox section of Mech.
LCdr. John Ruane LCdr. Ruane is the strategic planning division head and Mech magazine editor at the Naval Safety Center.
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| Title Annotation: | Air Wing TOOLBOX |
|---|---|
| Author: | Ruane, John |
| Publication: | Mech |
| Date: | Dec 22, 2008 |
| Words: | 697 |
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