The Air Force hasn’t specifically identified all 22 of the “least capable” C-5A transports that it would retire from the fleet if Congress grants the service’s request, says Maj. Gen. Susan Desjardins, Air Mobility Command’s strategic plans director. “Not all of them have we identified by specific tail number, but we’ve looked at the bad performers, if you will,” she said Tuesday during a Senate hearing on strategic airlift. Should the Congress lift the standing prohibition on C-5 retirements, the Air Force has said it would phase out 22 C-5As over the next two fiscal years in order to shed excess strategic airlift capacity. Whether they could realistically be returned to service at some later point “would depend on the kind of storage or retirement status we would put them in,” explained Desjardins, when asked. (Desjardins prepared remarks) (More hearing coverage: USAF Official Makes Case for C-5A Retirements and Read Our Lips, No More C-17s.)
The Senate passed Republicans’ sweeping tax-and-spending package July 1 in a 51-50 vote, the culmination of a 27-hour marathon legislative session. The package—often called the reconciliation bill—includes a $150 billion package of defense funds that accounts for a significant portion of the money the Air Force and Space Force want…
