Think Outside the Wing Box

The Air Force Chief of Staff says he and the Air Staff are looking at re-jiggering the plan for C-130 acquisition. The reason: It will cost about $20 million a piece to fix the cracked wing boxes on 170 1960s-vintage C-130Es. Meanwhile, a brand-new C-130J costs about $70 million each. “We want to know … is there a better way?” said Gen. Michael Moseley. First priority for the Hercules fleet will be the Avionics Modernization Program for the C-130H models, and USAF is looking at a “continued buy” of some number of C-130Js rather than fixing up the old ones, explained Moseley at a seminar Tuesday. He has concerns “about spending $20 million to fix the E, because at the end of the day, it’s still an E.”