Despite Leaner Army, Demand For Airlift Should Remain High.

• Author: Willingham, Stephen

Regardless of how much weight the Army takes off its tanks and support vehicles, providing airlift services to the land forces will continue to be a "major focus for air mobility in the 21st century," said a senior Air Force officer in charge of transport aircraft programs.

Even a medium-weight brigade combat team, which is the Army's new expeditionary unit, still will require significant airlift capabilities, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Robert W. Chedister, program executive officer (PEO) for airlift and trainers.

Chedister, a former test pilot and Joint STARS (Surveillance Target Attack Radar System) program manager, recently spoke with National Defense at his office in Arlington, Va.

"It's still too early in the [Army's] transformation process to make any hard, fast judgments about what requirements may or may nor be further down the road," he cautioned. But one thing that remains constant, Chedister said, is the symbiotic relationship between the Army and the Air Force. "The Army still needs us," he said, "to take them where they need to go."

The Air Force currently is developing acquisition strategies in anticipation of the soon-to-be-released Mobility Requirements Study 2005 (MRS 05). Most likely, "the MRS will recommend more lift capacity for the U.S. Air Force, not less," Chedister said.

The job of PEO for airlift and trainers encompasses three areas, Chedister said. They are the acquisition, modification and sustainment of airlift assets. The biggest problem confronting airlift capability is aging aircraft, said Chedister. The C-5 is 30 years-old, and most of the C-130s, except the "J" variant, are pushing 40 years of age.

"Aging systems take more time and money to maintain," he explained. "This is why we are constantly upgrading."

Modernization procedures normally are taken in incremental steps, he said, due partly to budgetary restrictions and "to avoid having too much of any one system down at a time."

The Air Force expects to remain busy, conducting traditional military operations, as well as peacekeeping and humanitarian relief missions, he said. He expects that the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review will reinforce this fact.

The behemoth C-5 is the Air Force's principal system for carrying oversized cargo, such as the Abrams tank, said Chedister. The current fleet will undergo an aviation modernization program (AMP), which started in 1999, and a reengineering reliability program (RERP), beginning in early 2001.

When pressed for details, Chedister responded that because contract negotiations were still in progress, he could not discuss specifics of the programs. The Air Force estimates that the C-5 upgrade will cost approximately $43 million per aircraft. Upgrading the entire...