For the past five years, the Lockheed Martin C-5A's survival as an operational fleet has depended mainly on political intervention from two US senators -- Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy.
Biden, now the Democrats' nominee for vice president, hosts the 436th Military Airlift Wing, which includes a composite C-5A/B squadron, in his home state of Delaware. Kennedy's home state of Massachusetts is clinging to the C-5As of the 439th Airlift Wing to save Westover Air Reserve Base from topping the next list of base closures.
In 2004, the Biden-Kennedy Senate duo rescued the C-5A by literally making it illegal for the US Air Force to park the 1960s-era airlifter in the boneyard. Such legislation is usually inserted anonymously, but, fortunately, the pair later admitted their role in this 2007 press release.
When the next Congress is sworn in next year, however, it's not yet clear what role either champion of the C-5A will have in the Senate's affairs.
If the Obama/Biden ticket wins, of course, Biden's new duties will include becoming the president pro tempore of the Senate. However, his political fate will no longer be entirely linked to keeping Delaware voters happy. Moreover, even if Biden loses, Dover's long-term future is secure even without the C-5A, as the base will receive the first re-engined C-5M in 2009 and already operates Boeing C-17s.
For very different reasons, Kennedy's ability to enforce the C-5A retirement ban next year is much more unclear. Kennedy is unfortunately facing serious health issues. He has recently made a full recovery from brain surgery to remove cancer, and he plans to return to the Senate in January.
Meanwhile, the US Air Force is poised to make a frontal assault on the Senate's C-5A retirement ban.
Last spring, then Transportation Command chief General Norton Schwartz linked future purchases of the C-17 to corresponding retirements of the oldest C-5As. Schwartz is now the USAF's chief of staff, and has already expressed his support for extending C-17 production until a next generation airlifter or tanker is able to enter active production. According to Schwartz's own statements, the C-17 line is dead unless the C-5A retirement ban is removed.
The history of the C-5A fleet is a story of survival in the face of huge odds, starting with its scandalous development phase in the late-1960s. It now faces perhaps its biggest existential threat since those early days. Given the airlifter's legendary political resiliency, I won't be the first to bet against it.
Biden, now the Democrats' nominee for vice president, hosts the 436th Military Airlift Wing, which includes a composite C-5A/B squadron, in his home state of Delaware. Kennedy's home state of Massachusetts is clinging to the C-5As of the 439th Airlift Wing to save Westover Air Reserve Base from topping the next list of base closures.In 2004, the Biden-Kennedy Senate duo rescued the C-5A by literally making it illegal for the US Air Force to park the 1960s-era airlifter in the boneyard. Such legislation is usually inserted anonymously, but, fortunately, the pair later admitted their role in this 2007 press release.
When the next Congress is sworn in next year, however, it's not yet clear what role either champion of the C-5A will have in the Senate's affairs.
If the Obama/Biden ticket wins, of course, Biden's new duties will include becoming the president pro tempore of the Senate. However, his political fate will no longer be entirely linked to keeping Delaware voters happy. Moreover, even if Biden loses, Dover's long-term future is secure even without the C-5A, as the base will receive the first re-engined C-5M in 2009 and already operates Boeing C-17s.
For very different reasons, Kennedy's ability to enforce the C-5A retirement ban next year is much more unclear. Kennedy is unfortunately facing serious health issues. He has recently made a full recovery from brain surgery to remove cancer, and he plans to return to the Senate in January. Meanwhile, the US Air Force is poised to make a frontal assault on the Senate's C-5A retirement ban.
Last spring, then Transportation Command chief General Norton Schwartz linked future purchases of the C-17 to corresponding retirements of the oldest C-5As. Schwartz is now the USAF's chief of staff, and has already expressed his support for extending C-17 production until a next generation airlifter or tanker is able to enter active production. According to Schwartz's own statements, the C-17 line is dead unless the C-5A retirement ban is removed.
The history of the C-5A fleet is a story of survival in the face of huge odds, starting with its scandalous development phase in the late-1960s. It now faces perhaps its biggest existential threat since those early days. Given the airlifter's legendary political resiliency, I won't be the first to bet against it.
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