Lockheed Martin announced on Monday that it delivered the 79th and final C-5 Galaxy transport that it fitted with state-of-the-art cockpit equipment under the Air Force’s Avionics Modernization Program. The upgraded C-5A’s handover took place at Travis AFB, Calif., on April 27, according to the company. “This delivery continues the ever-growing legacy of the C-5 Galaxy and the critical role it plays in supporting the warfighter across the globe,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin’s C-5 program vice president. This C-5, aircraft 70-448, will be assigned to Air Force Reserve Command’s 433rd Airlift Wing at JB San Antonio-Lackland, Tex., stated the company. Lockheed Martin began the AMP in 1998 to install a mission computer; glass cockpit with digital avionics; autopilot capabilities; and state-of-the-art communications, navigation, and surveillance components on the C-5. The Air Force intends to retain 52 C-5s (one C-5A, 49 C-5Bs, and two C-5Cs) with the new avionics and give them new engines and reliability enhancements, converting them to the new C-5M Super Galaxy configuration. At the same time, the service is proposing retiring the remaining C-5s—27 C-5As—in its Fiscal 2013 budget proposal.
A new Navy missile could fill a long-range air-to-air need for the U.S. Air Force’s fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation fighters. The Navy’s portfolio acquisition executive for munitions posted information on the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile online on Aug. 22, the same day it unveiled the project at the service’s…