Program Might Shift To New Planes

A private defense analyst said Thursday  the US Air Force is considering dropping a multibillion program to upgrade the avionics of current C-130 aircraft.

Analyst Loren Thompson told Reuters the existing contract with Boeing may be cancelled in the wake of ongoing questions over contract procurement procedures at the Chicago-based aerospace manufacturer -- including revelations Darleen Druyun, a former top Air Force arms buyer, admitted that she improperly steered the C-130 upgrade program to Boeing before she took a $250,000-a-year job with the company.

Boeing has been designing upgrade kits for C-130 cockpits under the $1 billion C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (C-130 AMP)

The contract, which runs through 2010, also originally called for Boeing to install and produce the kits -- a job valued at another $3.5 billion. Instead, the Air Force decided to launch a new competition for that portion of the contract in 2009 or 2010.

Now, however, Air Force leaders reportedly say it may be easier to scrap the upgrade program outright, and shift the funds to the purchase of new C-130Js.

"The argument is quite simple. It costs less to buy new C-130Js under a multiyear procurement agreement" than doing the complicated upgrades to eight variants of the C-130, Thompson said.

Such an arrangement could greatly benefit Lockheed-Martin, manufacturers of the C-130. The Air Force may also choose to fill the requirement for new airplanes, at least in part, with the new Light Cargo Aircraft currently under consideration.

For now, however, the current C-130 AMP contract is in effect -- and is part of President Bush's proposed FY2007 budget, according to Air Force spokesman Doug Karas.

Boeing spokesman Madonna Walsh said work goes on with C-130 AMP. "We've received no word on halting of the program," she added.

Currently, the Air Force plans to retire 143 C-130s through fiscal year 2011. That number would likely increase if C-130 AMP is cancelled, as aircraft slated for upgrade are scrapped to make room for new C-130Js.

FMI: www.af.mil, www.boeing.com, www.l-m.com