With questions still surrounding the future of the C-5 Galaxy transport fleet, the Department of Defense should apply "careful planning" to ensure that C-17 Globemaster III production is not ended prematurely and then restarted at a substantial cost, stated the Government Accountability Office in a Nov. 21 report on strategic airlift. The Air Force plans to upgrade the cockpits and communications and navigation gear on all 111 of its C-5s under the C-5 Avionics Modernization Program. And it is installing new engines on 52 of them under the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program. These 52 will be known as C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft. GAO stated that the Air Force's $9.1 billion budget for both C-5 modernization efforts "may be understated" due to DOD's lack of proper risk and uncertainty analysis. Moreover, the Congressional watchdog agency said the RERP is "underfunded by almost $300 million" and may be unachievable if the engine production schedule is not met.
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