Isakson, congressmen tour Robins Air Force Base

WARNER ROBINS -- Members of Georgia’s congressional delegation toured Robins Air Force Base on Thursday and said they liked what they saw.

The delegation included U.S. Reps. Austin Scott, R-Ga., Stanford Bishop, D-Ga., and Tom Graves, R-Ga., and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.

Scott, who has staunchly opposed a new Base Realignment and Closure Commission, said he thinks the base is much better positioned for one today. BRAC, he said, would be a better alternative to automatic spending cuts referred to as sequestration.

“Four years ago I would have been extremely concerned for Robins in the event of a BRAC,” Scott said in a news conference the group held at the Museum of Aviation after the tour. “Now because of the productivity here and the way things are turning in the right direction, I feel very good that if we went into a BRAC, we are going to come out just fine.”

Isakson said the biggest issue at Robins is getting new planes for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System. Although the Air Force is looking to get 16 off-the-shelf business jets to replace the fleet, the first planes aren’t projected to reach operational capacity until 2023. The new planes would replace the unit’s decades-old, modified Boeing 707 passenger jets.

“I think we all want it to move faster than that,” Isakson said. “If you look at the aging of the fleet, the 707s are about gone in terms of air worthiness. By 2022, if we don’t have the new J-STARS, we are going to be in trouble.”

He also said he foresees J-STARS staying at Robins regardless of what transpires in the move to replace the planes.

The delegation also expressed support for keeping the A-10 attack plane active for the time being. The Pentagon has sought to retire it.

Bishop, whose district includes Fort Benning Army base, said soldiers tell him they want the A-10 to stay.

“No other plane that can replace it,” Bishop said. “It’s the best that we have.”

The A-10 is economically important to Middle Georgia because the Boeing plant in Macon manufactures replacement wings for it.

To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 256-9725.

This story was originally published September 3, 2015 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Isakson, congressmen tour Robins Air Force Base ."