Boeing

The Corpus Christi Army Depot and The Boeing Company have formed a partnership arrangement that will reduce support costs and increase readiness of the U.S. Army's fleet of AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed by representatives of both organizations on Sept. 14.

"This is another good example of how we are building strong partnerships with our customers to provide innovative support packages that reduce total ownership costs," said Jim Restelli, president of Boeing Military Aerospace Support. "These partnerships enable us to take advantage of each organization's unique competencies to minimize costly duplication of resources while optimizing capabilities.

"We are very pleased to have this opportunity to partner with our Army customers to enhance the readiness of the Apache and Chinook fleets," Restelli said.

Areas identified for collaboration under the MOU include engineering services, manufacturing technology, supply chain and material management, reliability-based analyses and configuration management. Boeing will integrate these services with the day-to-day operations of the Corpus Christi Army Depot using on-site personnel, as well as serving as a "virtual provider," whereby the global competencies of the Military Aerospace Support business are leveraged where and when they are needed.

"This partnership between the Army and Boeing fully complements the AH-64 multi-year II and CH-47F low-rate initial production programs," said Col. Mitch Dockens, commander of the Corpus Christi Army Depot. "Both of these programs will be heavily involved in the Army's recapitalization program, which provides for the rebuild and remanufacture of major components to a 'zero mile/zero time' condition."

As the public depot repair point, Corpus Christi Army Depot possesses extensive engineering and maintenance processing knowledge of both the CH-47 and AH-64 helicopters.

By focusing its modernization and upgrades capabilities; maintenance and modification centers; training services; logistics personnel services; and sustainment data and supply chain management support competencies in the Military Aerospace Support business, Boeing is the only major airframe manufacturer with an integrated organization structured to provide total life-cycle customer support for military aircraft and weapons systems.

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