The other top items on the Air Force’s list of 20 priorities not funded in its 2010 budget request (see item above) are modifications to EC-130H Compass Call aircraft, funding of Operationally Responsive Space satellites, spares and support gear for the first 10 F-35 fighters, and a forward-looking infrared system for the HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopter. Also on the list: countermeasures for the A-10 attack aircraft, five more active electronically-scanned array radars for F-15C fighters, $331.1 million for two classified programs, 50 more air-to-air missiles, attrition replacements for three Pave Hawks, 11 military construction projects, two additional HC-130J refueling aircraft, modifications to the B-52 bomber, and gear to detect nuclear weapons detonations high in the atmosphere. (Air Force 2010 UPL)
The Pentagon plans to use U.S. Air Force C-17s and C-130s to deport 5,400 people currently detained by Customs and Border Protection, officials announced Jan. 22, the first act in President Donald Trump’s sweeping promise to crack down on undocumented immigrants and increase border security.