Air
Force Secretary Michael Wynne told the Senate Appropriations defense panel Wednesday morning that USAF is requesting funding for five C-130Js tactical airlifters in the supplemental. “Right now we’re concerned that the C-130Js remain in the supplemental,” he said; from his perspective USAF will be engaged in Iraq for the foreseeable future and the C-130J Hercules cargo aircraft will be the backbone of the Air Force in five years. Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley called the C-130J “very important to us.” Lawmakers have expressed dismay that USAF had put F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in the supplemental, but little has been said about replacement Herks.
‘Angry Kitten’ EW Pod Tested on Search-and-Rescue HC-130
April 17, 2026
The Air Force recently tested its “Angry Kitten” electronic warfare pod on an HC-130J during Exercise Bamboo Shield, showing the pod can turn the rescue platform into a command-and-control node and protect it from enemy radars.The tests follow what could be the pod’s first use in combat after it was…