Gen. Kevin Chilton, new head of Air Force Space Command, says there is only one Space Command recapitalization program that he’s dissatisfied with—the lack of a program to replace AFSPC’s old and underperforming UH-1 helicopter fleet. The command identified a need for new missile field security helicopters in the late 1990s, Chilton said Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in Washington, but the problem still has not been fixed with any firm plan. He says another analysis of alternatives is under way.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told lawmakers Apr. 30 that the service’s biggest airlifter, the C-5 Galaxy, has a 37 percent mission capable rate—one of several challenges facing the mobility fleet.