WASHINGTON, D.C. – An amendment cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to speed modernization of Ohio’s C-130 fleet was included as a provision in the House-Senate conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The provision would support jobs at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS) and Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base (ANGB) by allowing the C-130 fleet to make upgrades to meet federal and international standards.

“This provision has strong support – which underscores how important the C-130 Fleet is for our emergency preparedness and national security,” Brown said. “We must ensure that the fleet has the resources it needs to make necessary upgrades and ensure these planes keep flying.”

The C-130 fleet is the U.S. military’s primary combat delivery aircraft, and has provided humanitarian assistance, precision airdrop, and tactical airlift missions across the globe for more than four decades. Because of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and international airspace regulatory constraints, the fleet will be largely inoperable unless major updates are made by 2020.

Last month, Brown toured the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS) which, along with Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base, is home to Ohio’s Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard C-130 fleet.

Ohio is home to more than 3,000 Air reservists, and has six Air Force bases including Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Air National Guard Bases at Mansfield, Columbus, Springfield, and Toledo as well as the Youngstown Air Reserve Station. Both the Air Force Research Lab and the Air Force Materiel Command are headquartered in Dayton at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

The amendment is based on the C-130 modernization bill, which was introduced by U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and, in addition to Brown, is co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. John Walsh (D-MT), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Mark Begich (D-AK), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tom Carper (D-DE), and Mark Pryor (D-AR).

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