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Joint Cargo Aircraft facing cuts, Air Force termination |
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By Roxana Tiron
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Posted: 09/05/08 04:45 PM [ET] |
In a surprising move, House defense appropriators plan to significantly slash funding for the Joint Cargo Aircraft, a program shared by the Army and the Air Force.
Defense appropriators are planning to stop procurement to the Air Force portion of the program, according to documents received by The Hill.
And the Army’s part is not escaping unscathed.
Out of funding for seven aircraft listed in the president’s 2009 budget request, the defense subcommittee so far has appropriated funding for only four.
The House panel’s decision is likely to face an uproar along with a flurry of lobbying from delegations and governors across the country because both the Army and Air National Guard would fly the aircraft.
The decision could also hurt Air Force flying units that were cut as part of the 2005 base realignment and closure round, unless those units receive other aircraft such as the C-130J.
If the full appropriations committee doesn’t change the markup there will likely be amendments on the House floor to reverse the decisions, according to a congressional aide.
Sources say that the program could also face some changes in the Senate.
According to the justification in the panel’s markup, the reason for the $264 million-to-$151 million cut is that the production for four aircraft funded in 2008 has fallen behind by one year. A team of L-3 Communications and Alenia North America are building the JCA.
The committee supports the Army’s requirement for the cargo plane, also known at the C-27J, but it sees no justification for the Air Force’s use.
The program has been shrouded in controversy since the Pentagon leadership decided that both the Army and the Air Force should join forces on it. Both services initially put out concepts for a cargo plane able to deliver support items to troops in unwieldy locations — where now mostly helicopters and Humvees can go, putting lives in jeopardy.
The committee believes that the Air Force “is neither able to articulate an employment plan for the Joint Cargo Aircraft nor able to explain the roles and missions of the aircraft,” said the justification to the cuts. “Accordingly, until a definitive plan can be developed, it is unwise to procure the Air Force aircraft from what has traditionally been an Army mission.”
Instead, the lawmakers added close to $16 million for the research and development of the Army’s aircraft. |
