AFSOC’s CSAR-X Plan Meets a Cautious Congress: Lawmakers, apparently weary of weapons program cost and schedule overruns, took aim at Air Force Special Operations Command’s program to replace its elderly HH-60 Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopters. The 2006 defense spending bill contains a statement of concern that USAF might lose sight of the need to replace the HH-60s in “sufficient number” or in a “timely manner.” Appropriators have directed the Air Force to select an “existing aircraft” to limit time on R&D, and, what’s more, they are holding back $66 million of the $72 million slated for CSAR-X in 2006 until the service delivers a report with “detailed cost and schedule estimates.”
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.