Durbin, Duckworth Lead Senators In Bipartisan Request For Additional C-130J Aircraft
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a combat Veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today led a bipartisan group of Senators in urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to support the additional procurement of at least eight C-130J Super Hercules aircraft as part of the modernization effort for the Air National Guard in the Fiscal year (FY) 2022 Defense Appropriations bill.
“The Subcommittee has wisely supported the procurement of additional C-130J models for the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, striving for parity between the active and reserve components. We strongly urge you to continue to recapitalize and upgrade Air National Guard units with at least eight additional C-130J aircraft in the FY 2022 Defense Appropriations bill. Such robust funding will help our brave service members have the best, newest equipment to provide for their safety as well as our vital airlift capability and national security needs,” the Senators wrote.
The Air National Guard currently provides over half of the Air Force’s tactical and mobility airlift, and in recent years has also supported a variety of increased domestic priorities, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The procurement of additional C-130J aircraft for the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve will provide parity between the active and reserve components, as well as support our service members as they continue to safely meet our vital airlift capability and national security needs.
In Peoria, Illinois, the 182nd Airlift Wing’s current C-130H mission performs the tactical portion of various airlift missions and has a strong history of outstanding performance, including the highest C-130H mission capability rate in the Air National Guard from 2009-2017. The 182nd has also achieved the most fully mission capable C-130 hours since June 2013 while flying the most hours since October 2012 for the deployed location. The 182nd was not among those selected for the last round of C-130J recapitalization despite being eminently qualified.
Joining Durbin and Duckworth on today’s letter include U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Full text of today’s letter is available here and below:
June 4, 2021
Dear Chairman Tester and Vice Chairman Shelby:
We write in support of additional procurement of at least eight C-130J Super Hercules aircraft as part of the modernization effort for the Air National Guard in the Fiscal year (FY) 2022 Defense Appropriations bill. Without the Subcommittee’s continued support, we remain worried that the Air National Guard, which provides over half of the Air Force’s tactical and mobility airlift, will be underequipped in future conflicts contemplated by the 2018 National Defense Strategy.
We continue to support a topline number of 300 tactical airlift aircraft, and at least 292 C-130J aircraft to ensure mission readiness, as was stated in U.S. Transportation Command’s 2018 Mobility Capabilities and Requirements study. Today, our C-130H models are in need of a number of critical upgrades to propellers, engines, and propulsion systems, not just to remain survivable against newer threats, but also to ensure safe flight during training. As such, we support strong funding for the quick modernization of all Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve C-130H aircraft that are not recapitalized with the newer C-130J models.
However, recapitalization to newer C-130Js is critical to the success of our National Defense Strategy. While the Air Force no longer flies C-130H models and instead only uses more than 100 C-130Js for their tactical and mobility airlift needs, the Air National Guard currently has only 16, and the Air Force Reserve has 10. And yet, in recent years, we have seen the heroic efforts of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve utilize their aircraft to support a variety of increased domestic priorities, including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, civil disturbance, and national disasters including winter storms, flooding, and wildfires.
The Subcommittee has wisely supported the procurement of additional C-130J models for the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, striving for parity between the active and reserve components. We strongly urge you to continue to recapitalize and upgrade Air National Guard units with at least eight additional C-130J aircraft in the FY 2022 Defense Appropriations bill. Such robust funding will help our brave service members have the best, newest equipment to provide for their safety as well as our vital airlift capability and national security needs.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
-30-