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Air Force looks to cancel C-130 AMP program

The Air Force has proposed killing the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP), aiming to replace it with a less expensive alternative, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told reporters Tuesday at the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference.

Calling the decision “largely an affordability issue,” Schwartz said service brass have pitched the idea to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Under that pitch, the AMP effort would be replaced with one that would fit airlifters with “stand-alone integrations” as opposed to the planned across-the-board avionics upgrades.

Boeing had been the contractor the AMP program but was expected to compete against Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems for a new contract. Industry officials at the conference had little to say, noting the companies with a stake in the AMP program were only informed of the service’s proposed approach shortly before Schwartz talked with reporters.

“The bottom line is we couldn’t afford it,” said Schwartz, whose flying career focused on conventional and special operations C-130s.

He said OSD still must approve killing the AMP effort before the new plan is enacted: “No decision in this town is final.”

The price of an installed C-130 AMP kit is about $9 million. Boeing was aiming to get those costs down to about $7 million, the air service’s desires price target, according to media reports. Boeing developed AMP and installed the cockpit overhaul in three planes in order for the service to evaluate the changes.

The Air Force spent more than $1.5 billion over the past 10 years developing the AMP system as a way to extend the life of its aging C-130 fleet.