The
2007 war supplemental bill agreed to by House and Senate conferees includes the five C-130J tactical airlifters the Air Force wanted—and DOD dropped at one point—to offset C-130s lost through war usage. The $124.2 billion supplemental doesn’t have the firm timetable for a US pullout from Iraq favored by the House, but it does include a redeployment goal, beginning no later than Oct. 1 and ending six months later. It still faces a threatened veto by President Bush. The measure, which now needs full House and Senate approval before it goes to the President, also includes funding for one CV-22 Osprey, additional Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, A-10 upgrades, defensive systems for C-5A airlifters, and other Air Force requests.
Lockheed Martin plans to enter the Advanced Tactical Trainer fray to supply the Air Force with a new jet to bridge between undergraduate flight instruction and fighter training units, but declined to say whether it will offer a T-50A derivative, a different non-developmental airplane, or a clean-sheet design. It's comments…