We, the undersigned, ask Congress to support the Senate Appropriations Committee funding for 10 C-17 Globemasters in the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill.  It is the most cost-effective airlift modernization option available to meet current and future airlift needs. We cannot afford to sacrifice our nation’s security by shutting down the C-17 production line because of a lack of funding. Without additional funding we put at risk support for the warfighter and the future of our aerospace industrial base including over 30,000 American jobs with more than 650 suppliers across 44 states.

According to the Air Force, the C-17 is the only aircraft capable of performing every airlift mission, anywhere in the world. It is a crucial component of our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with the highest availability rate, it is at the forefront of supplying our troops throughout the world.  Time and again this aircraft proves its value, playing a vital role in providing humanitarian relief, and in evacuating our wounded from the battlefield. 

As our Army and Marine Corps significantly increase in size, our military continues to rely on 40-year old C-5A aircraft that are mission-ready less than 50 percent of the time.  It is not fiscally responsible to spend billions of taxpayer’s dollars to modernize these inefficient aircraft.  According to the Government Accountability Office, it will cost $924 million to try to modernize seven aged C-5s to get the same capability of just one new C-17 costing $276 million. We must use this money wisely.