Utah and Oklahoma lawmakers on a visit last week to the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins AFB, Ga., told the Macon Telegraph that stopping production of C-17s at 180 is wrong. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said, The C-17 is “overutilized today and doing things that were not anticipated. … We need to upgrade the fleet and reach the 220 target.” Joining Hatch in that belief was Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who told the Georgia paper, “I don’t support [stopping at 180]. Hatch, Inhofe, Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), and Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), members of the Depot Caucus, praised the work of the Georgia ALC, which manages the C-17 among other aircraft, and the other two Air Force ALCs. (The other two centers are Ogden ALC, Hill AFB, Utah, and Oklahoma City ALC, Tinker AFB, Okla.)
A prototype aircraft tug being tested out at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. could save MQ-9 Reaper maintainers time and money and cut down on safety risks on the flightline.