US Air Force, Army Release Names Of Superior Suppliers

The US Air Force and Army have released the names of the top companies under the Pentagon's Superior Supplier Incentive Program (SSIP), categorizing the top 25 largest industry partners for each service into three tiers of performance.

Among the top tier suppliers for the Air Force are the business units behind the F-35 joint strike fighter, while major firms such as Boeing military aircraft and Northrop Grumman's aerospace system were listed as Tier 2.The rankings were released Monday in US government statement.

The ratings are based on an internal Pentagon data system known as the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System.

The Pentagon Categorizes the companies by business segment in order to give a clear picture as some companies have divergent business units.

Business segments ranked in the top tier have more potential advantages over competitors, including the possibility of discussion with military acquisition officials to find ways to streamline administrative burdens, the statement said.

Heidi Shyu the head of acquisition for the Army said being named Tier 1 is "a big deal. There's a huge amount of pride when you worked your butt off."

LaPlante the head of Acquisition for Air Force added that "frankly, we owe it to the taxpayer and the companies to show where people are."

Future rankings are expected to be released annually in the late spring or early summer.

The rankings for 2015:

Air Force — Tier 1 business segments: BAE Systems Electronic Systems, Boeing Commercial Aircraft, General Dynamics Aerospace, L-3 Communications Systems, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions, Lockheed Martin Mission Systems & Training, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Northrop Grumman Information Systems, Rockwell Collins Commercial Systems, Rolls Royce, Sierra Nevada Corp, United Technologies Pratt & Whitney.

Air Force — Tier 2 business segments: Boeing Military Aircraft, Boeing Global Services & Support, Boeing Network & Space Systems, GE Aviation, Honeywell International Aerospace, L-3 Aerospace Systems, L-3 National Security Solutions, Lockheed Martin Missiles & Fire Control, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems, Textron Aviation, United Technologies UTC Aerospace Systems.

Air Force -- Tier 3 business segments: BAE Systems Intelligence & Security, Exelis C4ISR Electronics and Systems, Exelis Information & Technical Services, General Atomics Technology Corp Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Information Systems and Technology, Jacobs Engineering Tybrin, L-3 Electronic Systems, Leidos Corp (formerly SAIC), Northrop Grumman Technical Services, Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services, Raytheon Missile Systems, Rockwell Collins Government Systems, Textron Systems, ULA/ULS, United Technologies Sikorsky.