The Air Force’s top special operator, Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley, told attendees at a Capitol Hill seminar Tuesday that, given his choice, the first asset he wants to recapitalize is Air Force Special Operations Command’s C-130s. “If I have a choice, I want to recapitalize our C-130 fleet,” he said, noting the command is currently undertaking a study to see what would be the likely follow-on aircraft for the C-130 fleet, including AFSOC’s MC-130 refuelers and transports and AC-130 gunships. He said the command has just received the first two C-130s recently modified as AC-130H Spectres; another two are nearing completion. In a perfect world, Wooley added that he would also want to accelerate the delivery of the command’s CV-22s, since they are “dribbling along” towards an initial operational capability targeted for 2009.
The computer code that runs the MQ-9 Reaper drone will be overhauled in the next two years to test revolutionary new tools that would make its software “much, much harder to hack,” the Air Force says.