The Air Force’s decision to only upgrade some 220 C-130s as a result of cost growth in the avionics modernization program may not be the final word. Gene Rector of the Macon Telegraph reports that USAF is working up a plan to include, if possible, another 166 Hercules—including many flown by Air Force Special Operations Command. Col. Kevin Buckley, head of the 866th Aeronautical Systems Group at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, told the Georgia newspaper that discussions on the additional aircraft are underway, but funding restrictions could still rule the day. USAF expects to submit a plan to DOD within the next three months. The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia was to have a large share of the AMP work.
USAF Pushes Safer F-16 Training After Contractor’s Death
Oct. 23, 2020
The Air Force revamped its F-16 Basic Course following a 2017 incident where an inexperienced student pilot strafed the wrong target and killed a military contractor. Now, students must fly their first nighttime close air support sortie with an instructor pilot in the rear seat of a two-person F-16D. If…