The US Air Combat Command has awarded a $67.1m contract modification to a previously awarded contract for Ninth Air Force (9AF) War Reserve Materiel (WRM) support services to US-based Amentum Services, bringing the total cumulative contract value to $554m.
According to a US Department of Defense (DoD) contract announcement on 2 October, work will be performed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina; Kuwait; the Sultanate of Oman; Qatar; and the UAE and is expected to be completed by 30 September.
The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is the air component of United States Central Command, a regional unified command tasked with management of the Middle East and Southwest Asia areas of operations.
The US Air Force maintains a presence in all four Gulf states mentioned through assets assigned to 9AF – which is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base – at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar (379th Air Expeditionary Wing), Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait (386th Air Expeditionary Wing), and Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE (380th Air Expeditionary Wing).
Although the USAF’s exact presence in Oman is unclear, the Royal Air Force of Oman’s base at RAFO Thumrait in the southern Dhofar Governorate had previously been used as a US WRM site, supported by US-based DynCorp.
DynCorp was acquired by Amentum in 2020, adding a sizeable network of aviation, logistics, training, intelligence and operational services in over 30 countries to its portfolio.
A number of USAF F-16 fighters and C-130J aircraft attached to 9AF were based at RAFO Thumrait in 2022 for Exercise Accurate Test, which is a biennial serial to improve agile combat employment tactics for US forces in the region.
War Reserve Materiel is a term used to describe equipment and/or tasks needed to support US combat operations in regional commands, and can including maintaining, repairing, storing, and shipping items such as aerospace ground equipment, base expeditionary sets, fuel-related equipment, generators, medical materiel, munitions, and vehicles.
