Readiness and affordability. More and more, those are the key challenges faced by military services around the world.

Tight budgets mean existing aerospace platforms and systems must remain in service much longer than originally expected. A good example: The B-52 Stratofortress. More than 50 years since its first flight, this bomber is still called on to project power around the globe.

Aging fleets and high operation tempos come with a price, however. Maintenance costs tend to rise, fleet availability decreases, and obtaining out-of- production spare parts becomes expensive and difficult. And platforms need upgrades to keep them relevant in today’s integrated battlespace.

“As the cost and sophistication of modern military platforms increases and defense budgets are continually under pressure, customers are looking for ways to get more from their investments while increasing the effectiveness of the systems they already have,” said David Spong, president of Aerospace Support for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. “They want system support and improved effectiveness at the most affordable cost. It’s our job to satisfy those needs.”

Boeing addresses those needs through an approach called Life Cycle Customer Support (LCCS). These innovative, tailored support packages are focused on reducing costs and boosting effectiveness over the entire life cycle of an aircraft or weapon system.

Take a look at that life cycle. In general, the design, development and production of a military aircraft system make up only about 30 percent of a government’s investment in total ownership cost. The overwhelming 70 percent of that total cost is in sustainment and support from program planning and data management, through training, technical manuals, spare parts and support equipment, to maintenance, modifications, upgrades and other aging aircraft initiatives.

“That 70 percent is where Aerospace Support focuses our full continuum of support competencies and resources, along with our 10,000 skilled people worldwide,” Spong said. “Bringing to bear the strengths of The Boeing Company in total, we can apply the best of commercial technologies and practices, along with unmatched military aerospace expertise, to provide preeminent quality, affordable support for an incredible range of military aircraft and other combat and aerospace systems.”

Life Cycle Customer Support represents an integrated “through-life” approach to supporting aircraft and weapon systems. It contrasts with the stand-alone, silo-based way support products and services have been procured by the military, and in turn provided by industry.

The goal of LCCS is simple: Reduce customer total ownership costs while maximizing readiness and mission effectiveness. Several Boeing-developed LCCS packages are currently in place that already are providing real reductions in total ownership costs for our customers. Each features a close teaming between Boeing and its military customers, as well as a performance-based structure that ensures best value for those customers.

“A key benefit of LCCS is single-point accountability,” Spong said. “One organization has the accountability and responsibility to put in the hands of the warfighter what is needed, when it is needed, at an affordable price.”

The C-17 Flexible Sustainment program for the U.S. Air Force is the template on which Boeing is building future LCCS programs. Flexible Sustainment integrates virtually all support aspects of the Air Force’s most capable airlifter and has provided above-plan readiness rates, allowed the service to avoid significant investments in new support infrastructure, and returned millions of dollars through a shared-savings clause.

Similarly, a strong Navy/Boeing team has developed the F/A-18E/F Integrated Readiness Support Teaming, which is expected to produce more than $1 billion in life cycle cost savings and cost avoidances for the Super Hornet fleet. “We see great potential in the LCCS approach for a wide variety of platforms,” Spong said. “We’re pursuing a number of promising programs around the globe, both for current and future programs, as well as ‘legacy’ post-production aircraft that are expected to be in the active inventory well into this century.”

“As part of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Aerospace Support can even better leverage the power of our sustainment capabilities beyond platform-specific applications into the world of an integrated battlespace. While platforms and systems may change, our focus on bringing innovation to maximize readiness and affordability remains constant.”