The Air Force “intends to retain” 89 of the 111 C-5 transports currently in the fleet, along with 223 C-17s, for strategic airlift, service officials tell the Daily Report. This means retiring five additional C-5A aircraft at some near-term point on top of the 17 C-5As that the Air Force leadership already indicated it intends to phase out in Fiscal 2011 should Congress lift the standing ban on reducing the C-5 inventory. The desire to trim the C-5 fleet by 22 tails is based on the findings of MCRS-16, the Pentagon’s newest mobility study, and on analysis done when the C-5 RERP initiative was restructured back in 2008, said these officials. Both works support the view that “sufficient capability exists” with 223 C-17s and 89 C-5s, they said. Already, USAF has trimmed the number of C-5As slated to get new avionics (see below).
President Donald Trump wants his signature Golden Dome missile defense program to be up and running before the end of his term and has tapped Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael A. Guetlein to lead the project.