More Airlifters, More Defensive Systems:

The new leader of Air Mobility Command has called for more C-17s, more C-130s, and upgrades to the C-5 fleet. Gen. Duncan McNabb also believes AMC needs a joint light cargo aircraft to move the Army’s intra-theater cargo more efficiently. In his view, “One size doesn’t fit all.” McNabb, in his first major speech since taking charge of AMC, told attendees at the Airlift/Tanker Association convention in Nashville, Tenn., that the command needs to develop defensive systems for all its aircraft to be able to “put the best asset against the mission.” Right now in Southwest Asia, said McNabb, AMC sometimes has to use an aircraft inappropriate to the mission because it is the only one that can “keep people safe.”