C-5 re-engining program costs reach $17.5 billion

Above: A C-5 at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan last Friday. The C-5 is the largest airlifter in the Air Force inventory and has the ability to carry 36 pallets of cargo over a nearly unlimited range through aerial refueling.

The costs of the C-5 re-engining program have spiked to the point that the Air Force will have to inform Congress the program is more than 15 percent over budget, the Air Force announced Thursday.

Air Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Barbara Carson put the cost of the re-engining at $146.7 million per aircraft, for a total program cost of $17.5 billion.

The Nunn-McCurdy Act requires the military services to notify Congress when costs on a major defense acquisition program increase by 15 percent or more. If the cost overruns hit 25 percent, the Pentagon must justify continuing the program based on three main criteria: its importance to U.S. national security; the lack of a viable alternative; and evidence that the problems that led to the cost growth are under control.

Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne said in a press release that he is considering courses of action and will decide how best to move forward.

Read the rest at Stars and Stripes

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