Air Force to transfer aircraft to Coast Guard

U.S. policymakers have agreed to transfer 14 new C-27J transport aircraft from the Air Force to the Coast Guard, a key lawmaker announced Dec. 11.

The Air Force has determined it no longer needs the planes, and the Coast Guard would like to use them as medium-range surveillance aircraft.

The transfer is expected to save the budget-constrained Coast Guard about $600 million by allowing it to stop buying more HC-144A maritime patrol aircraft, said Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), who chairs the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee’s Coast Guard panel.

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