There’s been some speculation about whether the Air Force has any role in the Army’s plan to replace or augment its C-23 Sherpa fleet of small transports. The answer is: The Air Force is “partnering with the Army” on discussion about a light cargo aircraft, says Gen. Michael Moseley, USAF Chief of Staff. He told reporters last week that the Air Force has “spent a lot of time” talking to the Army about the concept, chiefly about how such an aircraft would be able to supply units deployed in the non-linear battlefield model (built around the Future Combat Systems template). Moseley said they both want something that is better than just a C-23 Sherpa replacement. “It makes a lot of sense across the board,” Moseley said of the partnership. “To be able to operate out of smaller airfields, and to be able to do that with a higher sortie generation rate seems to be an inherent good.”
Raytheon, a division of defense giant RTX, recently announced a multiyear deal with the Pentagon to increase annual production of the Air Force’s primary dogfighting missile by more than 50 percent from two years ago.
