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النشر الإلكتروني

AIRLIFT MODERNIZATION

Mr. FORD. I have read and reread the airlift modernization portions of your statement, General Friedman. I am sure it sets out accurately and it certainly does in detail, what the program was, what was anticipated, and what may be done. I hope, however, as we go into the other parts of the Air Force budget, that we can have it laid out a bit more diagrammatically than we have here.

General FRIEDMAN. We have a very good chart that I could not read fast enough this morning that I think will clarify, make that very clear, and we can insert that in the record at this time or later if you wish. It is the entire airlift account. It shows exactly where the funds came from. I would suggest, Mr. Ford, that we place that in the record at this time.

Mr. FORD. I would so move, Mr. Chairman, that we do include it because you have devoted quite a bit of your comments to this particular problem.

Mr. SIKES. It will be done.

(The chart referred to follows:)

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PROCUREMENT OF C-146 AIRCRAFT

Mr. Ford, I am inquisitive about the $12 million for six C-140 aircraft. What are they!

General FRIEDMAN. The six C-140 aircraft are intended for assignment to the special air mission fleet at Washington Airport.

Mr. FORD. Let's be completely frank and honest. Is this to replace the six that the White House has available!

General FRIEDMAN. No. This is to replace the C-131's. We have got some aircraft over there that, in my opinion, border on getting rather dangerous to fly around and extremely expensive to maintain. Mr. For. We have reason to believe that the Air Force wants to get rid of their short-range special air mission aircraft and perhaps for good reason. Are they going to get rid of them and to substitute the for that purpose?

General FRIEDMAN. These are really short-range aircraft. Mr. Ford. What we would like to do is to procure additional 707 DC-8 types for the long-range oversea type mission. Now, that type of aircraft is uneconomical for use for the short-haul type of operation. Therefore, the C-140 is what we would hope to put into the fleet as being more economical. Also, as I indicated, some of the aircraft we have in the SAM fleet, particularly considering the usage given them, are a very old vintage, and should be replaced.

Mr. FLOOD. Who would use them?

Give me the names of 25 people who would use them.

General FRIEDMAN. I would start right at the highest and go to the lowest of our national leaders. That is what the special air mission fleet is for.

Mr. FORD. How much different is a C-140 from what we now have, the short-range 707?

General FRIEDMAN. It is a shorter range jet aircraft. That would be the principal difference.

Mr. FORD. And speed?

General FRIEDMAN. And speed.

Mr. FORD. Is it faster than the 707's we have there?

General FRIEDMAN. The 707 is a long-range higher speed aircraft. Mr. FORD. But the 707's we have now, which we bought 3 years

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Mr. FORD. Are relatively short-range compared to the 707's that are flying the international routes today?

General FRIEDMAN. Relatively speaking; that is correct.

Mr. FORD. I know the Air Force wants to get some new long-range jets for the same purpose so they do not have to stop halfway across The Atlantic or halfway across the Pacific. What are these how do the C110's compare with those aircraft?

General FRIEDMAN. I do not have that handy.

Mr. PRITCHETT. I can give you a general description. The C-140 is a comparatively short-range jet aircraft which will replace in the SAM fleet the C-131, which is the propeller-driven aircraft. By comparison with the 707's or the VC-137's, we call them, the C-140 probably has a range of less than half of the VC-137. It is designed really to take the bulk of the short-hop lift in SAM which averages, I believe, something around 1,500 miles.

Mr. FORD. Are we buying these off the shelf?

Mr. PRITCHETT. They are coming off the line from Lockheed, Marietta; yes, sir. It is an aircraft that was developed by Lockheed at the invitation of the Air Force some years ago.

Mr. FORD. Is this the Jetstar?

General FRIEDMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. FORD. Was this procurement justified in the 1961 budget at the time we considered it last year?

General FRIEDMAN. No, sir; it was not.

Mr. FORD. This is in addition to the five that the Air Force came up and got permission to procure last year in a special hearing held by this subcommittee?

General FRIEDMAN. Yes, five T-40's for assignment to the Airways and Air Communication Service for aerial navigation aid checks. Mr. FORD. I can understand the problem of reprograming on these other airlift planes and the urgency for action, but I certainly do not understand any urgency on reprograming for this part of the change. Have these contracts been signed?

General FRIEDMAN. Sir, we did notify the committee through the reprograming process.

Mr. FORD. When? On this part?

General FRIEDMAN. Yes, sir; on the C-140's.

Mr. FORD. Mr. Chairman, I think this is a gross example of absolute disregard of committee procedure. I can understand what happened in the airlift procurements, but I see no comparability between that and this instance here. We went through a number of hearings, we had lots of problems in reference to the procurement of, I think five Jetstars last year, and here they go, without any justification, and decide they are going to buy six more. They were never presented in the budget in fiscal year 1961. Here they have programed $12 million, six aircraft. The committee never knew anything about it until right now.

Mr. MAHON. General, let me ask you a few questions about this. Is this a reprograming action?

General FRIEDMAN. Yes, it is.

Mr. MAHON. When was it taken?

General FRIEDMAN. I signed the request to the Office, Secretary of Defense on December 8, 1960.

Mr. MAHON. Who initiated this idea of procuring the additional aircraft?

General FRIEDMAN. This was an Air Force request.

Mr. MAHON. Who in the Air Force?

General FRIEDMAN. I would say any aircraft procurement is approved in concert by the Chief and the Secretary.

Mr. MAHON. Had this been under consideration quite a long time? General FRIEDMAN. As I recall, we did have it under consideration for some time. It was in our budget submission to the Office, Secretary of Defense.

Mr. MAHON. It was what?

General FRIEDMAN. It was in our request to the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Mr. MAHON. For fiscal year 1961?

General FRIEDMAN. For 1962, and we requested that aircraft be procured in 1961 to lead to a 1962 procurement. We are requesting in the 1962 budget the procurement of 10 T-40's over and above the aircraft we are discussing now.

Mr. MAHON. So the original procurement that we approved was five?

General FRIEDMAN. That is correct, sir.

Mr. MAHON. Now, this procurement is

General FRIEDMAN. Six.

Mr. MAHON. Then in the 1962 budget

General FRIEDMAN. We are requesting 10 more.

Mr. MAHON. That is in the budget?

General FRIEDMAN. That is in the budget. It was approved; yes, sir.

REPROGRAMING PROCEDURE

Mr. MAHON. I do not see how this can be justified very well in view of the very highly controversial nature of this plane in the first place. It seems to me that we should have been alerted very sharply to this because of the fact that the committee had been very concerned about this matter and had conducted a hearing and had gone along with some degree of reluctance on the purchase of the five which we talked about last year. How can you explain this? Is this bad faith on the part of the Air Force?

General FRIEDMAN. No, I do not think it is.
Mr. FLOOD. Off the record.
(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. MAHON. On the record.

I just do not quite understand this.

General FRIEDMAN. Sir, as I indicated, we had requested the procurement of aircraft in 1962 and in order to make that procurement possible, we requested, in order to maintain production continuity, the procurement of these six aircraft. Now recognizing that that was a change from the budget, a special reprograming report was submitted by me, signed on December 8 to the Secretary of Defense, and in turn signed as approved by Mr. Lincoln, December 9, 1960. Mr. MAHON. When did we get a notice of the reprograming? General FRIEDMAN. Sir, I do not know, but normally I would expect that this type of action should have been forwarded to the committee within 2 or 3 days. I do not know what date you actually received it.

Mr. MAHON. We will get the document and we will put in the record a chronology of events including the date when the letter came

to us.

(The information is as follows:)

1. Request for authority to buy six C-140 aircraft by reprograming $12 million from funds previously programed for other purposes-from Air Force budget officer, to Department of Defense Comptroller, dated December 8, 1960.

2. Air Force request approved by Comptroller, Department of Defense, dated December 9, 1960.

3. Letter addressed to chairman, Department of Defense Subcommittee, from Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) transmitting the reprograming request was dated January 11, 1961. Delivered to subcommittee staff January 13, 1961.

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