Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt, Air National Guard director, said the next C-27J candidate bases list should be out “shortly.” That list will cover potential sites for the last 14 of the current 38-aircraft program of record; the National Guard Bureau released a list for the first 24 aircraft last fall. However, at the April 22 House Armed Services air and land forces panel hearing, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) asked Wyatt how the Air Guard would meet the demand for direct combat support and homeland security considering “we originally said we needed 78, and there’s been no study that said we needed fewer.” Wyatt responded that other aircraft, such as the C-130, can perform the direct support mission, but he continued, “There continue to be discussions and analysis within the Air Force to determine the best way to meet the direct support requirements that the Army has indicated.” (See Aircraft Basing Announcements below.)
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…