A Senate delegation visited Mansfield ANGB, Ohio, last week, promoting a scaled-back legacy C-130 avionics upgrade, according to a release. “I am working on legislation to make sure the C-130 will continue to fly and we can accelerate the modernization,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) during his visit with the air guardsmen of the 179th Airlift Wing on Nov. 24. Brown earlier this year cosponsored S. 2758, legislation that aims to jump-start the Air Force’s stalled C-130 Avionics Modernization Program to retrofit legacy C-130 transports with the new-standard air traffic management and navigation systems needed to operate in US and international airspace beyond 2020. “With more than 260 aircraft currently in operation, and 16 in Ohio, it only makes sense to modernize our existing fleet to ensure it will continue flying for decades to come,” stated Brown in a release earlier this year. The legislation would “give the Air Force flexibility to modernize its C-130H fleet,” he added. There is similar legislation in the House, H.R. 5119.
The Space Force is preparing to award billions of dollars in launch contracts by the end of this year—provided Congress passes a budget. By the end of 2024, Space Systems Command wants to award a contract for the next phase of its National Security Space Launch program. It also wants…