Airlift is the great arm of America to deliver troops and/or supplies rapidly around the world.

The continuously high operational use of the past years has confirmed two things most mobility experts already knew: there is an ever-increasing demand for air mobility assets, and combatant commanders prefer to use the C-17 whenever possible because it’s reliable and agile.

Planning enough airlift is a sound strategy. It provides resources future U.S. Presidents can utilize in reacting to humanitarian and military crises in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America for decades to come.

Consider the Hungarian Airlift of 1956-57, the famous Berlin Airlift of 1948-49 and the Kosovo refuge operation in 1999. Presidents Truman, Eisenhower and Clinton had the “airlift option” to address the crisis each faced.

The workhorse of the U.S. Air Force airlift fleet since Vietnam had been the venerable C-141 Starlifter. Starting in the 1950’s, some 270 of the highly reliable cargo aircraft were built and flown until their retirement in 2005. But despite assertions by four-star Gen. John Handy (ret.), who was the commander of both Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command at the time, that America needed at a least 222 C-17s, only 190 C-17s have been authorized and funded by Congress to replace the C-141 fleet and address our growing airlift needs.

Meanwhile, the Air Force’s other main cargo aircraft - the C-5 Galaxy - continues to show a consistent decrease in its reliability and mission capability rates. Since the C-5 is already less capable than the C-17 for current operations due to its size and runway length requirements, the unreliability of the C-5 fleet has caused the C-17 to be used for more than 80 percent of all U.S. airlift missions.

By now you’re likely wondering - “So, why aren’t we purchasing more C-17s while the production line is still open and the contractorsupply chain is still intact?”

Good question. Unfortunately, the answer is not a good one. Not good enough for me at least.

In addition to budgetary constraints within the Air Force, the FY04 National Defense Authorization Act prohibited retirement of any C-5 aircraft, and thereby forced the Air Force to consider modernizing the entire C-5 fleet. Original C-5 modernization plans were based on upgrading and re-engining only the newest part of the fleet- the C-5B models. That was suddenly altered to include the older C-5A models, which struggle to maintain even a 50 percent reliability rate.

Critics of the C-5 modernization plan have often cited that it is going to be too costly for the return on investment. Instead, they maintain that the best option for the nation is to stick to the original plan of only modernizing the C-5Bs and procuring more of the newer, more capable C-17s. As we are now learning that the C-5 modernization program is going to suffer a Nunn-McCurdy breach due to additional cost growth- likely 50 percent more than planned-  it looks as though these long-time critics were correct.

The answer to this conundrum is simple, and the time to act is now.

During the upcoming Defense Authorization and Defense Appropriations conference negotiations, members need to follow the House Armed Services Committee’s lead on two important airlift provisions. The first is to provide funding for at least 10 additional C-17s in FY08. The second restores the Secretary of the Air Force’s authority to manage his fleet by lifting the retirement restriction on older C-5 aircraft. Together, these two actions will provide the Air Force the flexibility it needs to properly determine the best course of action for meeting our airlift needs and based upon the best judge of value - reliable performance.

From my viewpoint, whether it’s earthquake or tsunami relief, hurricane assistance, or fast military deployments of cargo and personnel, airlift is the quickest, modern option for the United States. Today, retiring three-decade old C-5As and ordering additional C-17s will provide tomorrow’s best options.
 
Saxon is a member of the House Armed Services Committee and ranking member of the Air and Land Subcommittee that oversees the Air Force and the Army. His district includes McGuire AFB, a tanker and cargo plane base, and Fort Dix, the leading mobilizer of Guard and Reserve forces in the nation.

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