Lockheed Martin has proposed giving the Air Force a fixed price to pursue the reliability enhancement and re-engining program for a finite number of C-5 airlifters. Roxana Tiron of The Hill reports that Lockheed on May 17 offered to RERP 108 C-5s for a total of $11.6 billion, which is about $3 billion shy of the projected nearly $15 billion. Lockheed officials are trying to counter the recent House Armed Services Committee OK for the Air Force to retire the older C-5As in favor of purchasing more Boeing C-17s.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
