This is a recent TRANSCOM airlift contract award, it is outside the scope of the normal "contractor" team airlift contracts which are awarded....


On July 11/12, US TRANSCOM awarded 3 contracts under their $2.916 billion Theater Express II program, for international air cargo pickup and delivery service within the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations. Services will include on-time Aerial Port-to-Aerial Port pick-up and delivery, Intransit Visibility (ITV), and customs processing and clearance, of palletized and roll-on/roll-off vehicle cargo. This includes “last leg” shipment to CENTCOM Forward Operating Bases and Forward Operating Locations (FOB/FOL).

Each “winning” contractor is guaranteed just $2,500, which doesn’t even begin to cover bid preparation costs. The 3 winners out of 9 submissions will compete for individual orders over the contract’s lifetime. Theater Express II’s base year runs from Aug 1/12 to July 31/13. That will be followed by 3 more 1-year option periods. If US TRANSCOM orders all possible services over all 4 years, they could reach the $2.9+ billion maximum. Winners included:

Atlas Air Inc. in Purchase, NY (HTC711-12-D-C004). Their fleet will include the new Boeing 747-8F freighter.
Kalitta Air LLC in Ypsilanti, MI (HTC711-12-D-C005). It’s an all-747 fleet.
National Air Cargo Group, Inc. in Ypsilanti, MI (HTC711-12-D-C006). Ypsilanti will be busy. Their services include a wide variety of aircraft, from arrangements for super-huge Russian AN-124s and AN-225s; to civil A-300, B747-400F, DC-8, and DC-10s; to planes like the AN-26, AN-12, L-100 (C-130), and IL-76 with strong short-field capabilities.