House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter says that his committee and the Government Accountability Office “have reservations” about the “completeness” of the Pentagon’s Mobility Capabilities Study. Speaking at a Thursday hearing to review the TRANSCOM budget request, Hunter noted that DOD considered the MCS a “full spectrum assessment,” yet the MCS calls for five supporting studies “that could change the MCS results.” And, he said, the MCS “contains more than 80 references” recommending further analysis. The GAO, added Hunter, urges “caution when using the report as a basis for making program decisions.” In case you’ve forgotten, the Pentagon used the MCS to inform the QDR on the matter of ending C-17 production at 180 aircraft. Hunter believes the QDR was purely budget driven.
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.