Cole secures funding to save AWACS

Rep. Tom Cole has taken another step to protect Air Force command-and-control planes called AWACS at Tinker Air Force Base from proposed cuts by the Obama administration.

Cole, R-Moore, whose district includes Tinker, said Friday that a defense spending bill cleared a subcommittee with enough money to spare all seven planes proposed for retirement. There are 27 AWACS planes at Tinker.

Along with retiring planes, the Air Force had also proposed that a reserve unit at Tinker no longer fly AWACS and that the remaining ones be flown only by an active duty unit.

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