Transferring MC-12s to the Army a Mistake
By Bob Largent

The Senate Committee on Armed Services recently completed its markup of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012, which ultimately will authorize funding of DOD, along with other national security programs. If eventually signed into law as written, a provision in this bill would require “the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan for the orderly transfer of the Air Force C-12 Liberty intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft to the Army.”

This decision is not only unnecessary, it sets sets a terrible precedent by handing a core Air Force Mission over to the Army. Forcing USAF to hand over the MC-12 simply because it is supporting land forces makes no more sense than assigning the Air Force’s Reapers and AC-130 gunships to the Army just because they, too, operate in support of troops on the ground.

The Air Force’s MC-12 is a product of Project Liberty, a rapid development program that quickly fielded a manned ISR aircraft which made its combat debut in June 2009 over Iraq. The specially configured C-12 twin-engine aircraft based on the Beechcraft King Air 350 went from concept to combat in just ten months.

The Air Force plans for a fleet of 37 planes. Having already put the money, manpower and momentum behind this program, the Air Force quickly put the MC-12 to good use in Iraq (where it flew more than 2,000 missions) and Afghanistan today.

By flying over ground forces on patrol or in convoys, or by circling above buildings or battles, the MC-12 performs a critical mission: It’s crew can give the troops on the ground instant intelligence about their surroundings, threats, and what is lurking over the next hill or around the next corner. This comes from real-time full-motion video and sensors that can intercept enemy communication.

Soldiers report that they like working with the Air Force crews, which consist of two pilots, an airman who operates the sensors and a cryptologist who analyzes the intelligence obtained. The airmen overhead can communicate directly with the ground forces they are supporting, and have repeatedly earned their thanks and praise.

The Senate’s legislation would fix something that is clearly not broken. Fixed-wing ISR is a prime Air Force mission, and the service continues to rapidly increase its capacity to support combat operations from above. This sort of effort would in all likelihood lead to waste and inefficiency, as the Army’s preferred method for assigning assets such as the MC-12 is to assign them to support individual units, whereas the Air Force central manages capabilities and sends them where they are needed most.

Indeed, the Army has a plan on the books for its own version of the Liberty, called the Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System, which is to be assigned to specific ground units rather than distributed by the joint force air component commander. The Army only deploys 30 percent of its remotely piloted aircraft, which perform similar missions, so it is not of strong belief that the Army would utilize the Liberty ISR aircraft to its full capability and cost effectiveness.

The Air Force has trained, experienced airmen already skilled in supporting the MC-12 program -- and the Army. The nation would be best served by USAF continuing this mission.