Another Senator at the appropriations panel hearing expressed concern that the Air Force has caused an Air Guard readiness problem by leaving some ANG C-130 aircraft in Southwest Asia. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) questioned whether the Air Force “has the solution” for the Air Guard to train at home “when their aircraft is being kept in Iraq.” Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne replied that USAF has “offered them backfills of C-130Es” to replace the newer H models left in theater, but he added, “We fully understand why they would rather have their Hs back.” Wynne mentioned that USAF is trying to buy more new C-130s. Murray turned to Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley, who explained that USAF doesn’t relegate its reserve components to a “tiered readiness” status. He maintained that over the 2008 budget cycle the Air Force’s “active units are funded less than the Guard and Reserve units.” Murray asked to see the numbers in writing.
Australia’s military will help the Pentagon pursue so-called “air-breathing” hypersonic weapons and more under the U.S.-run Allied Prototyping Initiative, the U.S. Defense Department said Nov. 30. The Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) initiative “will be essential to the future of hypersonic research and development, ensuring the U.S. and…