US cleared to complete T-6C sale to Argentina

A 30-day Congressional notification period has closed on a proposed sale of 24 Beechcraft T-6C Texan trainers to the Argentine air force, clearing the way for the US government and industry officials to complete negotiations on the estimated $300 million deal.
Coming only two months after the final delivery to the US Navy under the 20-year-old Joint Primary Aircraft Training Systems (JPATS) programme, the proposed T-6 sale to Buenos Aires offers a timely lifeline to the T-6C production line in Wichita, Kansas.
“We look forward to continuing our conversations with Argentina to offer the Beechcraft T-6C military trainer,” Beechcraft says.
By late June, Beechcraft had delivered more than 400 T-6 Texan IIs to the US Air Force and nearly 300 to the Navy, replacing an aging fleet of Cessna T-37s and Beechcraft T-34s. The company also has received a recent order from the UK Ministry of Defence to supply T-6 trainers for replacing Embraer Tucanos.
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US Congress moves to block A-10 retirement in 2015

Congress has drafted a measure that would block retirement of USAFA-10 Thunderbolt II in 2015, according to legislative aides familiar with the deal.
The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would prohibit the air force from retiring the aircraft because lawmakers said they are needed in Iraq. If approved before the congressional session concludes next week, the NDAA would provide USD350 million to "help the air force cover the cost of keeping the 100 A-10s they wanted to retire".
Further, the measure permits the USAF to move up to 36 A-10s in the active component to 'backup flying status', a type of storage during which aircraft remain in a unit and are flown periodically to keep them in working order. This would allow the air force to move maintenance personnel from the A-10 programme to other career fields.
US military leaders recently warned that Congress's opposition to A-10 retirement is undermining the air force's goal to make its new fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35operationally deployable in August 2016. The USAF said it expects a shortage of fully trained maintenance personnel because the A-10 mechanics it had planned to train quickly for F-35 work may have to remain with the legacy programme.
The USAF recently scaled back its request to retire the entire A-10 fleet in hopes that lawmakers' resistant to the full divestment would allow a partial fleet retirement. The new proposal was for retirement of 72 A-10s, or three active-duty squadrons, in FY 2015 and then a gradual phase-out over the next five years.
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U..S. Congres removes funding of the Super Tucano and Mi-17 from the Fiscal 2014 defense spending bill

The US Senate appropriations committee has passed a $594 billion defence spending bill for fiscal year 2014 that eliminates funding to buy Sierra Nevada/Embraer Super Tucanos and Mil Mi-17 transport helicopters for Afghanistan's military.
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