From an Air Force perspective, having too many C-17 transports in the fleet “is a bad thing,” Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, military deputy to USAF’s top acquisition executive, said Tuesday. Speaking at an Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va., Shackelford said the extra C-17s that Congress is supplying the Air Force present challenges in integrating them into the force structure and paying for their operations and maintenance. Congress has appropriated funds for 223 C-17s, while the Air Force wanted to stop at 205. That bloated total, together with the 111 C-5 transports now in the fleet, places the service above the ideal strategic airlift fleet size identified in the Pentagon’s new Mobility Capabilities and Requirements Study, a number Shackelford said is “in the area of 300 large-deck cargo haulers.” (See Allow a Graceful Sunset)
The two Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototypes are expected to fly very soon, as Anduril Industries and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems conclude ground tests. The two aircraft will fly from commercial airports in the desert areas north of Los Angeles, California, not far from Edwards Air Force Base.