Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne, speaking at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in D.C. on Dec. 4, said the service has found new age-related issues with the oldest of the C-5 fleet, the A models, that make modernization questionable, reports Andrea Shalal-Esa with Reuters. Wynne said, “There comes a time when age does catch up with us.” Currently the whole C-5 modernization effort is under review by DOD, following USAF’s declaration of a Nunn-McCurdy breach. A “senior defense official” told Reuters that the review might extend into the New Year, given the complexity of the issue. A Boeing official earlier this week said he believes Congress will permit the Air Force to buy additional new C-17s in the 2008 defense war on terror supplemental.
The Air Force plans to conduct more intensive training—and Congress is set to help by boosting funding for exercises and so-called “campaigning” by hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly in the Pacific.
