According to GAO’s analysis of nearly 15,000 strategic airlift missions for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, AMC underutilized C-5 and C-17 aircraft on more than 97 percent and more than 81 percent of their missions, respectively, based on DOD’s standard payload planning factor. While the data would seem to indicate a glaring misuse of airlift capability, GAO emphasized that had AMC collected data on operational factors, these payloads might “indicate efficient use of an aircraft’s capacity.”
While the Sentinel ICBM program writ large is undergoing a major restructure due to cost and schedule overages, prime contractor Northrop Grumman is touting progress on milestones with the missile itself.
