Before we all get a little bit too excited by the title, let’s explain what this means. As we approach two years since NAPMA signed the Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) contract with Boeing, physical work has finally begun to prepare Geilenkirchen Air Base to receive the new capabilities that FLEP will deliver.  

In June 2021, NAPMA and the NAEW&C Force successfully cleared a significant airworthiness milestone when a NATO Assessment Team (NAT) paid a virtual visit to the staffs of the NE-3A Operational Airworthiness Authority (OAA) and Technical Airworthiness Authority (TAA). The NAT visit marked the culmination of two years of work toward completing the NATO Recognition Process (NRP) of the airworthiness policies and procedures jointly employed by NAPMA, as the TAA, and the NAEW&C Force, as the OAA.  

Exciting changes are on the way in the form of a modern mission system software upgrade coming to the NATO E-3A fleet as part of the one-billion-dollar Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) managed by NAPMA.  

More than one year ago, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way the world does business and, naturally, NAPMA also felt its impact. Fortunately for the Agency, a combination of good timing and the tireless efforts of NAPMA’s Information Management (IM) Office enabled the Agency to minimize the effects of the pandemic on NAPMA’s mission. Most importantly, the Agency has been able to keep the Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) on schedule during a period when other businesses and governmental organizations around the globe have seen their activities suffer and project schedules slip.  

Often times we overlook how the small parts of a project can make or break that project’s success. Such is the case of the new Mission Training Center (MTC) that NAPMA delivered to the NAEW&C Force in December 2020 Ready for Training and that recently received its security accreditation. Without this important piece of the Final Lifetime Extension Programme (FLEP) puzzle in place, the entire project – specifically the schedule – could be put in jeopardy.  

Most of the folks in the Tri-Border military community know that NAPMA manages major modernisation programmes for the NATO E-3A fleet. However, there’s a second, and perhaps even more critical, role that NAPMA performs in direct support of the NATO AWACS fleet. In addition to overseeing the management of acquisition programmes, the NAPMA General Manager also serves as the NE-3A’s Technical Airworthiness Authority (TAA) as the counterpart to the NAEW&C Force Commander who, in case you didn’t already know it, serves as the Operational Airworthiness Authority (OAA).  

While the next NE-3A modernisation effort may seem a long distance away, the NAPMO FLEP Team recently passed an important programme milestone with the successful completion of Critical Design Review (CDR). The CDR event consisted of an intense technical review conducted to ensure that the technical design is mature enough for the system to proceed with development, fabrication and test. Now that all of the programme’s stakeholders have a solid grip on what we want to build, the Boeing company and its European subcontractors are cleared hot to go and build it, test it and field it.  

As NAPMA rapidly steams toward one of the most critical FLEP milestones – the programme’s Critical Design Review (CDR) – some smaller, and less glamorous, activities are often overlooked and underappreciated. Within the Agency’s current portfolio, the Mission Training Center 2 (MTC2) and Flight Simulator Training Devices (FSTD) projects fall into this category.