The Boeing folks are “extremely pleased” that the Air Force has recertified the need for the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program after its Nunn-McCurdy breach. Air Force acquisition chief, Sue Payton, told reporters Wednesday that the program would continue but at a reduced number. A Boeing statement yesterday noted the new number of Hercules getting upgrades would be 222, about 80 fewer airframes than planned previously. The company said the “recertification announcement reaffirms that, by every measure of program health—cost, quality, technology, and execution—the Boeing C-130 AMP is a successful program.”
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…