Four of the Air Force’s new C-130J tactical airlifters flew a total of 5,444 sorties over the course of a 20-month “trial” deployment to Southwest Asia, according to statistics just released by Lockheed Martin. Those four transports—from Air National Guard units in California, Maryland, and Rhode Island—hauled more than 12,000 tons of cargo and 70,000 passengers. Air Mobility Command declared initial operational capability with the J Model last fall.
The Pentagon is readying a slew of reforms to its acquisition practices designed to speed up the military’s process for buying weapons and systems and structure its program offices to prioritize competition and commercial capabilities, according to a draft memo.
