The Marine Corps lost a chunk of aircraft in the appropriations bill last month — but not to worry, they’re coming back, the service told us last week.
Specifically, the Marine Corps will receive only one KC-130J aircraft instead of two and 21 H-1 helicopters instead of the 25 requested in fiscal 2014 after the final bill cut the programs by $65.3 million and $145.3 million, respectively.
The bill was vague about the cuts, putting only “program decrease” as the justification for the reductions. However, Vincent Morris, communications director at the Senate Appropriations Committee, said they weren’t due to sequestration.
The aircraft were simply pushed to the right, according to Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Richard Ulsh.
“Neither program of record is affected by these decisions,” he said. “The program of record for KC-130Js remains at 79 aircraft and the H-1 program of record remains at 349 aircraft. The Marine Corps will seek to make up for these losses at the next available opportunity.”