thedrifter
04-02-08, 06:40 AM
One plane, two prices
The Air Force will pay far more than the Army -- for the same cargo plane
By Trish Choate
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force will shell out an estimated $61 million each for the same cargo plane the Army plans to acquire for $36 million each.
Murky budget details and growing airlift needs concerned lawmakers grilling Pentagon officials Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
The addition of 92,000 more soldiers and Marines and a new U.S. command in Africa will likely put more demand on the Air Mobility Command, which has two C-130 Hercules squadrons at Dyess Air Force Base.
"I feel like I'm being jerked around here," U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, a House Armed Services Committee member, said during a hearing.
The mismatched price tag for the Joint Cargo Aircraft was just one of the gripes voiced by Abercrombie, a Democrat from Hawaii.
"You're operating in two different universes," said Abercrombie, chairman of the HASC Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. "When we say joint and all that, I get a vision in my mind that there's a cooperative effort."
Abercrombie convened the hearing to find out exactly what the military needs for airlift as it fights a war on two fronts and launches the U.S. Africa Command. The subcommittee is working on a 2009 budget request to submit to the full HASC.
The Army is leading the effort to acquire the new cargo plane and last year awarded a more than $2 billion contract to L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, according to a media release. The contractor will produce 78 Joint Cargo Aircraft. Both services settled on the C-27J Spartan to be the Joint Cargo Aircraft. The Army plans to acquire 54 Spartans from L-3, and the Air Force plans to buy 24.
The Spartan is a medium-sized cargo plane some call a "baby Herc."
An Air Force official said the price tags were mismatched because the Air Force is buying just 24 Joint Cargo Aircraft, driving up the cost per unit.
The Air Force is also including the tab for building a depot and plans to use its own manpower to maintain the planes, said Sue C. Payton, Air Force assistance secretary for acquisition. It makes sense because the Air Force maintains thousands of aircraft.
The Army, however, will hire contractors instead, a cost not included in its price tag.
"Why the hell should the Army be contracting?" Abercrombie said. "I don't like this idea of contracting."
He favors "unit cohesion" in which military members carry out duties, he said.
Abercrombie also wanted to know why the Air Force doesn't simply buy more C-130Js, the newest and most advanced model of the C-130.
Dyess is expected to receive one someday. The 317th Airlift Group at Dyess includes 33 C-130s.
The C-130 is a big cargo plane that can fly lots of manpower and equipment to a front quickly, said Gen. Arthur Lichte, commander of the Air Mobility Command.
But smaller cargo planes are better after a certain point because, otherwise, the large plane won't fly fully loaded, Lichte said.
Abercrombie said Army officials will appear at an April 10 hearing.
Ellie
The Air Force will pay far more than the Army -- for the same cargo plane
By Trish Choate
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Air Force will shell out an estimated $61 million each for the same cargo plane the Army plans to acquire for $36 million each.
Murky budget details and growing airlift needs concerned lawmakers grilling Pentagon officials Tuesday on Capitol Hill.
The addition of 92,000 more soldiers and Marines and a new U.S. command in Africa will likely put more demand on the Air Mobility Command, which has two C-130 Hercules squadrons at Dyess Air Force Base.
"I feel like I'm being jerked around here," U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, a House Armed Services Committee member, said during a hearing.
The mismatched price tag for the Joint Cargo Aircraft was just one of the gripes voiced by Abercrombie, a Democrat from Hawaii.
"You're operating in two different universes," said Abercrombie, chairman of the HASC Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. "When we say joint and all that, I get a vision in my mind that there's a cooperative effort."
Abercrombie convened the hearing to find out exactly what the military needs for airlift as it fights a war on two fronts and launches the U.S. Africa Command. The subcommittee is working on a 2009 budget request to submit to the full HASC.
The Army is leading the effort to acquire the new cargo plane and last year awarded a more than $2 billion contract to L-3 Communications Integrated Systems, according to a media release. The contractor will produce 78 Joint Cargo Aircraft. Both services settled on the C-27J Spartan to be the Joint Cargo Aircraft. The Army plans to acquire 54 Spartans from L-3, and the Air Force plans to buy 24.
The Spartan is a medium-sized cargo plane some call a "baby Herc."
An Air Force official said the price tags were mismatched because the Air Force is buying just 24 Joint Cargo Aircraft, driving up the cost per unit.
The Air Force is also including the tab for building a depot and plans to use its own manpower to maintain the planes, said Sue C. Payton, Air Force assistance secretary for acquisition. It makes sense because the Air Force maintains thousands of aircraft.
The Army, however, will hire contractors instead, a cost not included in its price tag.
"Why the hell should the Army be contracting?" Abercrombie said. "I don't like this idea of contracting."
He favors "unit cohesion" in which military members carry out duties, he said.
Abercrombie also wanted to know why the Air Force doesn't simply buy more C-130Js, the newest and most advanced model of the C-130.
Dyess is expected to receive one someday. The 317th Airlift Group at Dyess includes 33 C-130s.
The C-130 is a big cargo plane that can fly lots of manpower and equipment to a front quickly, said Gen. Arthur Lichte, commander of the Air Mobility Command.
But smaller cargo planes are better after a certain point because, otherwise, the large plane won't fly fully loaded, Lichte said.
Abercrombie said Army officials will appear at an April 10 hearing.
Ellie