Guard awaits word on promised C-27s - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Guard awaits word on promised C-27s

The Air Force is rethinking a promise to give 38 C-27 light-cargo aircraft to Air National Guard units in six states, drawing fire from members of Congress who question the service’s commitment to the program.

The fate of C-27s has been in flux for the past six months, after the Defense Department cut the Army out of the joint program and halved the number of aircraft.

Members of the House Armed Services Committee criticized the Air Force’s delay in deciding what to do with the C-27s, noting the service has not been an enthusiastic supporter of the planes.

“The [Defense Department] decided that the Air Force ought to be a partner in the procurement with the Army. The Air Force very reluctantly became a partner; they were kind of, as some might say, dragged kicking and screaming into this relationship,” said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., in a House Armed Services subcommittee on air and land forces hearing May 21.

Gen. Craig McKinley, National Guard bureau chief, has said the Guard would use the 38 aircraft to replace planes lost to 2005 BRAC downsizing.

Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, however, told members of Congress in May that plans won’t be set until the Air Force, Guard and Army meet. That meeting is expected to occur this month.