C-130 News: Delaware Republican Carney pushes to update C-130 fleet

[Guest]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4419[/ATTACH]

John Carney has a bill in search of sponsors. A lot of them. And he knows

it.

"Got a long way to go," Carney, the state's sole representative in the U.S.

House, said Monday about his quest to upgrade the aging C-130 transport

airplanes before worldwide digital navigation and air traffic control

regulations make them obsolete by 2020. "That's the challenge ahead of us."

Carney is looking at the bright side — and says the facts are on his

side.

"We have a really compelling case, in my view," Carney said following remarks

to 200 airmen gathered at the New Castle Air National Guard base. "It's simple.

Fiscally, it makes sense. And operationally, it makes sense. Basically, we give

the Air Force the flexibility they need to make the best operational and

financial decision."

Carney and members of the 166th Airlift Wing — and reservists in 17 other

states — hope there is a decision to upgrade rather than retire aging aircraft.

Without them, the units essentially will disappear.

"This could mean the end of the Delaware National Guard C-130 flying mission,

along with the associated jobs that go with it," said Carney, a Democrat who is

opposed by Republican Rose Izzo in his bid for a third term in Congress. "Put

simply, this would be a body blow to our Delaware Air National Guard."

More than 1,200 airmen serve in the 166th wing — about 300 full-timers, with

the rest traditional Guardsmen. More than 1,100 members of the unit support the

flying mission, according to Tech. Sgt. Ben Matwey, a 166th spokesman.

The airlift missions flown by the propeller-driven C-130s rely on the "Total

Force" the Air Force likes to tout. Altogether, the active and reserve Air Force

has 362 C-130s devoted to the combat delivery mission; 179 are owned by the Air

Guard. Of the total, 261 are older C-130H models. Eight of these, all 1980s-era

models, make up the Delaware Air Guard's entire fleet.

There are multiple options for keeping the 166th in business, including

replacing all of the airplanes with all-digital C-130Js. Given the squeeze on

federal spending and the possibility of mandatory sequestration cuts returning

in fiscal 2016, spending $664 million to replace them seems unlikely. Carney

even expressed doubt that the the Air Force would seriously consider a $131.2

million full digital conversion, although he noted that "influential members"

support it.

Instead, he favors the lowest-cost option: spending $2.5 million on each

aircraft, a move the Congressional Research Service has said would allow the

Delaware aircraft to fly in U.S. and international airspace come 2020.

The timing of the bill isn't ideal. It was introduced two weeks before the

August recess, with Congress again in recess until after the elections and gone

for most of the rest of the year. Carney introduced the C-130 Modernization Act

in July. So far, he's garnered six co-sponsors. A companion bill in the Senate

has nine. Carney says he's been chasing after endorsements in 17 other states as

well.

"We've made pretty good progress in the short time that we've been working on

our members," Carney said. The bill didn't make it past the Rules Committee on

the first go-round, but Carney said he'll try again despite the very short

upcoming legislative calendar.

"I'm always an optimist," he said. "You have to be where I go to work every

day."

View original article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20141009/NEWS05/310090048/Del-Rep-Carney-pushes-update-C-130-fleet