MarketWatch, WASHINGTON: The U.S. Air Force has decided not to upgrade its oldest C-130 cargo planes with a Boeing Co. (BA) cockpit kit, according to documents obtained by Dow Jones Newswires.
The new plan reflects a growing Air Force push to buy more new C-130s from Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) in 2009, once the Pentagon's current production contract runs out. Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force's chief of staff, said Tuesday that the Air Force is considering new planes for Air Force Special Operations Command, among other options.
New bulk purchases would be a big turnaround for the C-130J, the current aircraft model. Last year, the Pentagon sought to cancel the plane, but backed down when angry lawmakers raised the prospect of more than $1 billion in cancellation fees.
Already the Air Force has begun to scale back the $4.9 billion modernization program. It officially has decided it won't put C-130 E-models through the avionics modernization program, and Air Mobility Command also wants to put its oldest H-models at the end of the upgrade list.
“This memorandum constitutes formal notification of AMC's intention to not AMP the active duty C-130E fleet,” wrote Lt. Gen. Christopher Kelly, Air Mobility Command's vice commander, in a memo dated April 5 that outlines the program changes.
Moseley said the Air Force doesn't plan to cancel the entire upgrade program, despite its travails. The program has encountered delays and technical problems, and its costs increased by $484 million in the September-December quarter.
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