The U.S. Air Force's MC-12 program could soon be transferred to the Army if an amendment to the defense authorization bill becomes law.
The amendment in the Senate Armed Services Committee markup of the bill requires incoming Defense Secretary Leon Pannetta to "develop and implement a plan for the orderly transfer" of the fleet. It is unclear who introduced the amendment because the markup took place during closed sessions. The language does not appear in the House version of the bill.
The turboprop aircraft are Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350s modified with sophisticated ISR capabilities. Each aircraft costs $17 million, and the Air Force plans for a fleet of 37 planes.
This isn't the first time the Army has been poised to receive the Liberty. Two years ago, the Pentagon proposed transferring the Liberty to the Army and moving the C-27J from the Army to the Air Force. While the Air Force eventually took control of the C-27, it also retained control of Liberty.
The MC-12 is the product of Project Liberty, a $461 million program launched in 2008 in the wake of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' criticism of the Air Force, which he said was not deploying ISR assets into combat quickly enough. The plane made its combat debut in June 2009 with a sortie over Iraq.
Built to provide instant ISR data to troops, the MC-12 is a complete collection, processing, analysis and dissemination system of airmen. The plane is flown by four airmen: two pilots, one sensor operator and one signals intelligence specialist. The sensor operator controls the full-motion video camera, and the SIGINT specialist operates "Pennant Race," an advanced version of the SIGINT package found on unmanned MQ-9 Reapers.
An MC-12 Liberty prepares for takeoff March 11, 2010, at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. (Senior Airman Brittany Y. Bateman / Air Force)
The turboprop aircraft are Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350s modified with sophisticated ISR capabilities. Each aircraft costs $17 million, and the Air Force plans for a fleet of 37 planes.
This isn't the first time the Army has been poised to receive the Liberty. Two years ago, the Pentagon proposed transferring the Liberty to the Army and moving the C-27J from the Army to the Air Force. While the Air Force eventually took control of the C-27, it also retained control of Liberty.
The MC-12 is the product of Project Liberty, a $461 million program launched in 2008 in the wake of Defense Secretary Robert Gates' criticism of the Air Force, which he said was not deploying ISR assets into combat quickly enough. The plane made its combat debut in June 2009 with a sortie over Iraq.
Built to provide instant ISR data to troops, the MC-12 is a complete collection, processing, analysis and dissemination system of airmen. The plane is flown by four airmen: two pilots, one sensor operator and one signals intelligence specialist. The sensor operator controls the full-motion video camera, and the SIGINT specialist operates "Pennant Race," an advanced version of the SIGINT package found on unmanned MQ-9 Reapers.
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