Task Aerospace personnel continue to work to support its smaller customer fleets. With A-4 and F-5 aircraft being flown by foreign militaries Task is making good progress in the consolidation of these countries’ requirements. Visits to South America and Asia in 2018 and 2019 have proven the need for such consolidation as well as the feasibility of such actions.
Task will be in Taiwan and Thailand in April working to add additional quantities of F-5 CADPAD items in support of Task customers with low quantity orders. Orders of less than 50 units can be problematic for CADPAD suppliers to process, difficult to deliver on a timely basis, and usually see pricing well above the high-quantity pricing. The consolidation of the global F-5 community will result in significant savings and effective forecasting for all operators.
Visits in 2017 and 2018 to South American F-5 and A-4 operators have resulted in a new awareness to the foreign militaries, that alternate sources and consolidated procurements can be achieved to their benefit. “It is a significant effort and a long process, but a process that is working well, and shows great promise,” says Bob LaFrance, Task Aerospace President.
Task Aerospace, through its own expertise and with the support of US Navy and US Air Force, as well as civil aviation authorities around the world, has developed and qualified, alternate CADPAD items for the hard-to-find items that tend to have extremely long lead times, if attainable at all, and higher prices. Finding that alternate solution has proven to be a significant advantage with countries and commercial operators who fly small quantities of jets and get little attention from CADPAD sources. Further, the US Navy and US Air Force recommend Task services to countries and commercial operators flying fewer jets. It is becoming difficult for the Department of Defense to support these smaller quantities, especially for the jets that are no longer operated, such as the A-4.
To solve these issues, Task is developing replacements for difficult-to-find items, combining production of CADPAD items between operators, as well as working with the US Government and the industry to develop and qualify items such as Rocket Motors and Catapults for ejection seats, Canopy Fracturing Systems, and time delay initiators. Working with the US Government again, as well as CADPAD manufacturers and global militaries, Task is combining requirements and developing alternative products. These services are only offered by Task.
