The Air Force has cut by 20 the number of C-5 transport aircraft scheduled to receive a new avionics suite, according to the Pentagon’s latest selected acquisition reports issued earlier this month. They show that the service now intends to buy 92 kits of new communications and navigation gear under the C-5 avionics modernization program and not 112 kits as formerly laid out. (Please note: The C-5 fleet stands today at 111 aircraft; in April 2006, a C-5B crashed, reducing the fleet size from 112 to 111.) This reduction is in line with the service’s plan to phase out up to 22 C-5As starting in Fiscal 2011 once Congress lifts the current retirement ban (see USAF Eyes Cutting 22 C-5As above). The Air Force is preparing several reports for Congress on the C-5 fleet as a prerequisite for receiving the authority to proceed. (SARs release)
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
