Air Force Grounds 30 Cargo Planes

The Air Force said Friday that it was grounding 30 of its oldest C-130 cargo planes and putting flight restrictions on 60 others after discovering unexpectedly severe wing cracks.

The action applies to about a dozen C-130s in Iraq, but that is not expected to have a major effect on the war effort. Gen. John P. Jumper, the Air Force chief of staff, has said the planes in Iraq will be replaced by newer ones.

In its 2006 defense spending blueprint sent to Congress on Monday, the administration proposed to end production of the C-130, which has been manufactured continuously since it entered service in 1954.

“This termination will have no impact on the Air Force’s tactical airlift capabilities since there are a large number of C-130s in the current inventory with many years of service life remaining,” the administration said in a report to Congress.

The Army, meanwhile, said Friday that its 5th Corps, based in Heidelberg, Germany, was scheduled to return to Iraq in early 2006 as the overall headquarters for the U.S. military contingent there. It will replace the 18th Airborne Corps, which is settling in for a one-year tour in Iraq.

The 5th Corps was the lead Army headquarters in Iraq when the U.S.-led invasion began in March 2003. About 5,000 soldiers will deploy with the 5th Corps.