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.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
