Cockpits of C-130 aircraft were scheduled to be upgraded as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Avionics Modernization Program. However, the level of work has been reduced because of military budget cuts, officials have said. The engineering work is scheduled to be performed by Boeing workers in Eastern Oklahoma County.

The impact of future military base closings has left Tinker Air Force Base officials wondering the fate of programs and people under their command.

During a recent interview with Maj. General Bruce Litchfield, the issue of base closures was brought up, but answers were short. Litchfield, commander of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, was almost mum on President Obama’s call for more military cuts.

“It’s being discussed in Washington and we’re watching like everyone else to see what happens,” he said.

However, U.S. congressmen haven’t been as silent about potential base closings.

Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently said he didn’t think Congress would go along with the president’s expected request for more base closures. The Pentagon has announced plans to reduce troop levels retire some aircraft and ships and slow down or cancel some spending on weapons systems.

Most notably for Oklahoma, the Air Force has said it will reduce its ranks by nearly 10,000 – 3,900 on active duty; 5,100 Guard personnel and 900 Reserves.

At the same time, the Air Force has announced plans to eliminate nearly 300 aircraft, including four KC-135 refueling tankers at Tinker Air Force Base, and three more at Altus Air Force Base.

The aircraft reductions will take the number of KC-135s to eight, which was the number of planes at Tinker before the 2005 base closure commission sent four more to the base. Air Force officials have said it’s too early to determine if the aircraft retirements would affect the number of missions authorized for Tinker’s 507th Air Refueling Wing.

Still, Inhofe remains confident the president’s plan will not receive congressional endorsement. Other congressional leaders, including Rep. Vicky Harzler, R-Mo., and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said proposing domestic base closures was “dangerous.”

KC-135 awards

Ironically, Litchfield pointed to the success of the KC-135’s maintenance and repair program.

Three years ago, Tinker workers overhauled 46 KC-135 tankers at a rate of 224 days per aircraft. Last year, the same crews overhauled 64 planes at an average of 150 days per plane. This year, the Tinker crews are on track to overhaul 64 refueling tankers at an average of 128 days.

“We have increased our output by 30 percent and decreased the turnaround to produce aircraft by 50 percent,” Litchfield said.

Boeing jobs

Meanwhile, the Air Force is planning to cancel a modernization program for the C-130 that could impact about 230 Boeing jobs that were expected to move from California to Oklahoma. About 110 of those jobs already have been filled.

In 2010, Boeing announced plans relocate 550 jobs from Long Beach to Eastern Oklahoma County, with 50 percent of those jobs connected to the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program as part of a contract with the Air Force. The rest of the workforce was scheduled to work on similar upgrades to the Air Force’s B-1 aircraft.

A report released by the Air Force earlier this month stated it has “eliminated expensive programs with more affordable alternatives,” including the C-130 program.

However, Boeing spokeswoman Jennifer Hogan said the company has not been told by the Air Force that the program is being eliminated, and that work at the Eastern Oklahoma County site is ongoing.

“We still have our contract,” she said. “It’s business as usual.”

The Air Force report was entitled “Air Force Priorities for a New Strategy with Constrained Budgets.”

Hogan said Boeing was told the Air Force’s testing of the cockpit upgrades would be placed on hold later this month. At the same time, the Boeing spokeswoman declined to say if jobs are in jeopardy.

“It’s too premature,” she said. “We can’t make a decision on what to do based on that strategy document.”

Relocating the Boeing jobs from Long Beach to Eastern Oklahoma County is expected to be completed by December.

tfarley@eastwordnews.com