Pope Air Force Base is down to six fully capable C-130 Hercules cargo airplanes because of maintenance problems.
The rest of the 43rd Airlift Wing's 31 airplanes are grounded, restricted or unavailable because of deployment or depot maintenance. said 1st Lt. Mark W. Hanson, a Pope spokesman.
The limits at Pope are similar to those of older C-130 airplanes throughout the Air Force.
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C-130 FLEET
NEW
J-30 Model (pictured)
- Length: 112 feet, 9 inches
- Cargo compartment length: 55 feet
- Speed: 410 mph at 22,000 feet
- Maximum takeoff weight: 164,000 pounds
- Crew: Three (two pilots and loadmaster)
- Cost: $49.5 million in 1998 dollars
OLD
E Model
- Length: 97 feet, 9 inches
- Cargo compartment length: 40 feet
- Speed: 345 mph at 20,000 feet
- Maximum takeoff weight: 155,000 pounds
- Crew: Five (two pilots, navigator, flight engineer and loadmaster)
- Cost: $11.9 million
''It's worse than we first thought,'' Lt. Gen. Donald J. Wetekam told Congress on April 6. Wetekam is the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for installations and logistics.
For years, the Air Force has planned to replace the E model with the high-tech J model, which has a distinctive six-bladed propeller. Construction is under way at Pope Air Force Base to accommodate the longer J model. The C-130 is used to transport and airdrop troops and cargo from neighboring Fort Bragg, whose leaders say the C-130 shortage makes training harder for them.
But the funding for the long-awaited replacement airplane remains up in the air.
Supporters of the J model, such as U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes, a Concord Republican, say Congress needs to buy C-130Js and quit spending money to fix the E model aircraft, which were built during the Vietnam War. Hayes said the C-130 is much more efficient for hauling smaller loads short distances than the larger C-17 cargo jet and can be used to keep soldiers off the roads in Iraq, where they can be killed or maimed by homemade bombs.
Critics of the C-130J program, such as Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, point to the J model's rapidly rising costs, its poor performance during testing and questionable contracting procedures. McCain said during a hearing on Capitol Hill that the cost per airplane rose from $33 million in 1995 to $50 million in 1998 to $67 million in 2004. Peter Sepp, vice president of the National Taxpayers Union, said the C-130J ''has proven better at lifting tax dollars than military cargo and personnel.''
On Wednesday, Hayes wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking him to put the C-130J back into the president's 2006 budget proposal. President Bush left the airplane out entirely, but Rumsfeld agreed to take another look at the matter.
''Perceived savings generated by the proposed cuts in the C-130J will be consumed by over $800 million in termination liability and associated costs as well as billions of dollars in increased costs to support aging and less capable aircraft,'' Hayes wrote. ''Consequently, this proposal to end the C-130J program could end up costing more than the cost of completing the multiyear contract for all 62 aircraft and leave our military with far less capable tactical aircraft.''
Mobility requirementsThe Air Force is conducting a study of its mobility requirements to determine what its needs are for cargo airplanes. The study was expected to be out in March, then April and now May.
The manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, disputes criticism of the C-130J.
''The airplane is currently in two combat theaters, Afghanistan and Iraq,'' said Tom Jurkowsky, a spokesman at the corporate headquarters at Bethesda, Md. ''It is performing extraordinarily well. It has gotten rave reviews.''
Lockheed Martin says the newer version will vastly improve capabilities.
''Compared to the earlier production C-130E, maximum speed is up 21 percent, and climb time is down 50 percent,'' the statement said. ''Cruising altitude is 40 percent higher, range 40 percent longer. With new engines and new propellers, the 'J' can reach 28,000 feet in 14 minutes.''
Congressional critics raise questions about whether the J model is capable of meeting airdrop and other requirements. Lockheed Martin officials say many of the criticisms are based on outdated studies.
The improvements over the more recent H model explain the higher costs, the company spokesman said.
''When you compare the C-130H to the C-130J, we are talking about two dramatically different airplanes,'' Jurkowsky said.
McCain said in a hearing that ''we don't have unlimited dollars'' and at $67 million per airplane the C-130J is becoming ''one heck of an expensive airplane.''
''We've got plenty of money,'' Hayes said in a telephone interview. ''It's a question of how you spend it.''
before we... Oh, wait. You didn't mean that Pope? Sorry. Never mind.