If Congress grants the Air Force’s request to retire 17 C-5A transports in Fiscal 2011, Air Force Reserve Command’s 445th Airlift Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, would be one of the units to shed its C-5s and transition to new C-17 airlifters, AFRC has announced. The command said the Air Force leadership approved this move on March 12. Under the plan, the 445th AW would retire five of its 10 C-5As in Fiscal 2011 and then the remaining five in Fiscal 2012. It would receive four C-17s in Fiscal 2011 and then another four in Fiscal 2012 to complete the changeover. The Air Force is hoping that Congress will rescind its prohibition on retiring any C-5As so that it may get rid of excess strategic airlift capacity that drains funds from other USAF priorities. One Air National Guard unit would also switch to C-17s. (AFRC release)
The Space Force has officially expanded its concept for combining operations, sustainment, cyber, and intelligence functions all under one roof, dropping the “provisional” tag from units that kicked off the idea last year and transitioning two more Deltas and missions to the structure.