The ability of the Air Force’s Beechcraft MC-12 Liberty surveillance planes to provide real-time intel to troops in the war zone could prove an invaluable asset for patrols in the U.S., the chief of the Air National Guard said.
The Air Force plans to transfer all 42 of its MC-12s to the Guard, but that proposal is mired in the 2013 budget standoff with Congress that resulted in a freeze in aircraft moves. Lt. Gen. Harry “Bud” Wyatt, chief of the Air National Guard, said his component of the service welcomes the MC-12 as a new tool for providing intel on natural disasters and other events that affect the U.S.
“If we want to talk about [Superstorm] Sandy for example, it would be wonderful to be able to employ some manned ISR to take a look at infrastructure, flooding levels, and take a look at some of the situational awareness that our governors and the president need to see,” Wyatt said during the taping of the Nov. 4 “This Week in Defense News,” an Air Force Times partner.
For the complete story by Brian Everstine of the Air Force Times, click here.
