Five-year UH-60 maintenance contract for Virginia Air National Guard

The Virginia Army National Guard is soliciting for a contractor to provide Phase 1 & 2 maintenance for the UH-60 Blackhawks at the Virginia Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF).

“The government intends to award a single contract to the qualified offeror,” the Army said in a contract solicitation released Wednesday.

The contractor will furnish all labor and services required to provide a wide range of maintenance and related administrative services. The base period of performance for the contract is Aug. 1 through July 31, 2024, with four, one-year option periods.

The Army Aviation Support Facility of the Virginia Army National Guard is responsible for Aviation Unit Maintenance, Aviation Intermediate Maintenance and Depot/Sustainment repair of all Army National Guard helicopters in support of federal and state operations. The facility, located in Sandston, Va., provides full-time support to aviation units including flight operations, safety, maintenance, standardization and training.

Approximately 120 full-time employees at the AASF and the annex at the Chesterfield County Airport support 18 UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters, three HH-60 medical evacuation Black Hawk helicopters, four UH-72 Lakota light utility helicopters and a C-12 twin turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft.

Ryanair orders up to 300 Boeing 737 MAX planes

Europe's leading low-cost airline, Ryanair, has selected the largest Boeing 737 MAX model to power its future growth with an order for up to 300 airplanes. The purchase agreement, announced by Boeing on Tuesday, is the biggest in Ryanair's history and includes a firm order for 150 737-10 jets and options for 150 more.

Ryanair has deployed a growing fleet of 737-8-200 airplanes to accelerate its post-pandemic recovery and meet strong travel demand. The 197-seat 737-8-200 model has helped the airline reduce fuel use and emissions by over 20% compared to the airplanes they are replacing. The new order announced on Tuesday adds the larger 737-10 variant, which offers 228 seats.

“These new, fuel-efficient, greener technology aircraft offer 21% more seats, burn 20% less fuel and are 50% quieter than our B737-NGs," said Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's Group CEO.

"We expect half of this order will replace older NGs while the remaining 150 aircraft will facilitate controlled, sustainable growth,” O’Leary said in a Boeing press release. “This order, coupled with our remaining Gamechanger deliveries, will create 10,000 new jobs for highly paid aviation professionals over the next decade," O'Leary said.

He added, "In addition to delivering significant revenue and market growth opportunities across Europe, we expect these new larger more efficient aircraft to drive further unit cost savings, which will be passed on to passengers in lower air fares. The extra seats, lower fuel burn and more competitive aircraft pricing supported by our strong balance sheet will widen the cost gap between Ryanair and competitor EU airlines for many years to come."