Air Force Reserve Command’s 913th Airlift Group flew its final C-130H sortie before converting to the new C-130J at Little Rock AFB, Ark., late last month, officials announced. The 913th AG integrated with Little Rock’s Active Duty 50th Airlift Squadron providing conversion training on the legacy C-130, and more recently the C-130J. “We’ve been balancing both, but now, we transition to the J,” 913th Operations Support Squadron operations officer Lt. Col. Keith Jasmin said in a release. With the divestiture of its 14 C-130Hs, the Reserve unit will transition from an active associate unit to a classic association, co-manning the Active Duty C-130Js. The 913th AG will be the first classic associate C-130J unit, according to the release. Reserve aircrew and maintainers will undergo training on the Super Hercules, and complete conversion to the new aircraft by September. The final C-130H training sortie from Little Rock departed on Jan. 28.
The new defense reconciliation bill includes $7.2 billion for Air Force and Navy aviation accounts, almost half of which will buy more F-15EXs. While electronic warfare, drones, connectivity and airlift all get attention, the F-35 was conspicuously absent from the package, with no explanation given.