By Marina Malenic
The Air Force plans to purchase and modify nearly 40 Beech C-12 Huron manned aircraft over the next year and could purchase even more of the lightweight twin turboprop planes in the following five years to provide more intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to documents detailing the service’s upcoming six-year spending plan.
Last month, Air Force and Air National Guard officials establishd a temporary mission qualification training detachment for the RC-12s at Key Field in Meridian, Miss. The Mississippi Air National Guard is expected to take on the mission to “increase U.S. intelligence gathering capability in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom,” according to an Air Force statement.
“This mission, designated Project Liberty, will train approximately 1,000 students during the next two years at the 186th Air Refueling Wing, located at Key Field,” the statement reads. “The 186th ARW will continue performing its current air refueling mission through 2011, operating the KC-135R Stratotanker, while conducting Project Liberty training.”
Senior Pentagon officials, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen, have pressed the services–and in particular the Air Force–to provide more ISR capability to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan (Defense Daily, June 4). Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved a $2.2 billion package of ISR initiatives this summer (Defense Daily, Aug. 14). Gates has repeatedly criticized the services for focusing too much on high-end weapon buys geared toward conventional wars instead of on the more basic equipping needs of the current, low-intensity conflicts (Defense Daily, Oct 1).
Thus far, the Air Force has responded primarily by increasing its unmanned aerial system (UAS) purchases and activity. For example, the service accelerated MQ-1 Predator combat air patrols (CAP) four times over the past 12 months, and the first MQ-9 Reaper deployment occurred in July–one full year ahead of schedule (Defense Daily, July 25).
The RC-12 aircraft is the Air Force’s newest ISR platform. Nearly $100 million has been obligated to bring up to seven RC-12 aircraft in service by January, according to budget documents obtained by Defense Daily.
“The Project Liberty RC-12 fleet will complement/augment but not replace the planned MQ-1/9 50 CAPs in support of irregular warfare taskings,” the documents read. “The long term plan for Project Liberty is to incorporate the aircraft into the Air Force inventory with a primary mission of continued support to irregular warfare (IW). The basing concept under consideration (planning assumption only) is one CONUS and two forward operating locations, providing direct support to tactical level conventional and special operations ground forces.”
The Defense Department reprogrammed FY ’08 funds for initial procurement and modification of seven RC-12 aircraft, according to the documents, and “funding for FY ’09 will procure and modify an additional 30 aircraft, as well as provide sustainment.”
The documents indicate that funding requirements for FY ’10-’15 “are still being identified with anticipated [program budget review] action.” The Air Force is “focused on initial procurement, fielding and operational employment” and Air Combat Command “has begun staffing the long-range requirements process,” the documents state.
Further, the Air Force will procure its final Predators in FY ’09, with expected delivery in FY ’10, according to the documents: “As new MQ-9 [Reaper] CAPs come online, the [Air Force] will begin drawing down MQ-1 [Predator] platforms starting in FY ’12, with the MQ-9 projected to reach 50 CAPs by FY ’16.”