US Sen. Sherrod Brown met with Mattis on YARS plane upgrade

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, met this week with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis to outline Ohio military priorities, including the need to upgrade the C-130H planes flown at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna.

Last December, Brown and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, announced the inclusion of their amendment to prioritize the C-130 upgrades needed at YARS in the National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama.

The law will encourage the Air Force to act on these upgrades by requiring it to report on how it will prioritize upgrades from C-130H aircraft to new C-130J units, which YARS needs for its special mission.