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casey

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  1. New Zealand's military said Friday it will buy five Super Hercules transport planes from Lockheed Martin for $1 billion. The planes will replace the military's existing fleet of Hercules, all of which are more than 50 years old and have been involved in a series of embarrassing breakdowns over recent years. Defense Minister Ron Mark said the new planes will be used for operations in New Zealand, the South Pacific and Antarctica. “Generations of New Zealanders have grown up and grown old with the Hercules, and they know these aircraft are an essential first line of response," Mark said in a statement. Three of the nation's current C-130 Hercules planes date back to 1965 and the other two to 1969. They have been upgraded over the years, but frequent breakdowns have hampered some high-profile missions. At one point last year, the entire fleet was temporarily grounded. New Zealand will take delivery of the first of the new C-130J-30 aircraft in 2024 with the full fleet operating by 2025. The price tag of 1.5 billion New Zealand dollars ($1 billion) includes a flight simulator and supporting infrastructure. View original article at thehour.com View full article
  2. New Zealand's military said Friday it will buy five Super Hercules transport planes from Lockheed Martin for $1 billion. The planes will replace the military's existing fleet of Hercules, all of which are more than 50 years old and have been involved in a series of embarrassing breakdowns over recent years. Defense Minister Ron Mark said the new planes will be used for operations in New Zealand, the South Pacific and Antarctica. “Generations of New Zealanders have grown up and grown old with the Hercules, and they know these aircraft are an essential first line of response," Mark said in a statement. Three of the nation's current C-130 Hercules planes date back to 1965 and the other two to 1969. They have been upgraded over the years, but frequent breakdowns have hampered some high-profile missions. At one point last year, the entire fleet was temporarily grounded. New Zealand will take delivery of the first of the new C-130J-30 aircraft in 2024 with the full fleet operating by 2025. The price tag of 1.5 billion New Zealand dollars ($1 billion) includes a flight simulator and supporting infrastructure. View original article at thehour.com
  3. Lockheed Martin provided the final of 86 C-130 Super Hercules aircraft that were part of a Multi-Year 2 contract announced in December 2015 when it delivered a KC-130J tanker-transport platform to a US Marine Corps (USMC) reserve squadron on 28 May. The KC-130J is assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR-452), the Marine Forces Reserve squadron at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York. KC-130s are operated in support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) commander by providing tactical in-flight refuelling for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and tiltrotor aircraft; aviation-delivered ground refuelling of aircraft or tactical vehicles; and air assault transport or air-landed or aerial delivered (parachute) personnel and equipment. The aircraft also provides pathfinder support, battlefield illumination, tactical aeromedical evacuation, and tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel support. Lockheed Martin spokesperson Stephanie Stinn said on 2 June that this Multi-Year 2 contract also delivered C-130J-30s, MC-130Js, and HC-130Js to the US Air Force (USAF), nine KC-130Js to the USMC, and HC-130Js to the US Coast Guard (USCG). Lockheed Martin, in total, delivered 86 C-130Js through the Multi-Year 2 contract. Stinn said the original contract was for 78 aircraft with an optional five to acquire. In addition to the original 78, 3-of-6 options were exercised, plus five more aircraft were added, for a total of 86 aircraft procured through Multi-Year 2. View original article at janes.com View full article
  4. Lockheed Martin provided the final of 86 C-130 Super Hercules aircraft that were part of a Multi-Year 2 contract announced in December 2015 when it delivered a KC-130J tanker-transport platform to a US Marine Corps (USMC) reserve squadron on 28 May. The KC-130J is assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR-452), the Marine Forces Reserve squadron at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York. KC-130s are operated in support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) commander by providing tactical in-flight refuelling for fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and tiltrotor aircraft; aviation-delivered ground refuelling of aircraft or tactical vehicles; and air assault transport or air-landed or aerial delivered (parachute) personnel and equipment. The aircraft also provides pathfinder support, battlefield illumination, tactical aeromedical evacuation, and tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel support. Lockheed Martin spokesperson Stephanie Stinn said on 2 June that this Multi-Year 2 contract also delivered C-130J-30s, MC-130Js, and HC-130Js to the US Air Force (USAF), nine KC-130Js to the USMC, and HC-130Js to the US Coast Guard (USCG). Lockheed Martin, in total, delivered 86 C-130Js through the Multi-Year 2 contract. Stinn said the original contract was for 78 aircraft with an optional five to acquire. In addition to the original 78, 3-of-6 options were exercised, plus five more aircraft were added, for a total of 86 aircraft procured through Multi-Year 2. View original article at janes.com
  5. Following on from the Night Vision System upgrade modification of the Flight Management System in 2017, Marshall ADG will now design and update the Electronic Flight Instrument System displays, Standby Instrument and Flight Management System across the fleet. “We’re thrilled to be awarded the contract to do this avionics modification work, which will extend the current capabilities of the aircraft,” said Duncan Eldridge, Managing Director of Marshall ADG’s Military Aerospace business. “The Austrian Air Force is an important customer and we know that their C -130 fleet is used extensively to perform supply tasks in support of their troops around the globe, as well as being on standby for other critical missions. Marshall ADG has a strong pedigree for carrying out modifications on C-130 aircraft and we are pleased that the Austrian Air Force has shown continued trust in our comprehensive engineering capabilities.“ Marshall ADG will begin the design phase of this project through the middle of this year and complete the embodiment of the modification on the fleet as the aircraft are inducted into Marshall’s Cambridge facility for scheduled maintenance. Head of Air Material Staff Austrian Air Force, Brig Gen Peter Wessely, said: “The AAF has had 18 years of good relationship with Marshall ADG. With their experience and their competence, they have carried out many modifications and maintenance to our full satisfaction. “This smart modification designed by Marshall will solve our known problem with the Heading Indication on our Primary Flight Instruments without replacing our highly integrated Inertial Navigation Units. “They also found a smart solution to solve current obsolescence problems in our navigation installation. The software upgrade to our integrated Secondary Flight Display iSFD will improve the reliability of our VSI system and subsequently the availability of the aircraft.” The Austrian Air Force purchased the three transport aircraft from the UK Ministry of Defense in 2003 when the Royal Air Force started the transition of their fleet to C-130Js. Marshall has been supporting these aircraft ever since, providing depth maintenance, engineering and logistics support. View original article at cambridgenetwork.co.uk View full article
  6. Following on from the Night Vision System upgrade modification of the Flight Management System in 2017, Marshall ADG will now design and update the Electronic Flight Instrument System displays, Standby Instrument and Flight Management System across the fleet. “We’re thrilled to be awarded the contract to do this avionics modification work, which will extend the current capabilities of the aircraft,” said Duncan Eldridge, Managing Director of Marshall ADG’s Military Aerospace business. “The Austrian Air Force is an important customer and we know that their C -130 fleet is used extensively to perform supply tasks in support of their troops around the globe, as well as being on standby for other critical missions. Marshall ADG has a strong pedigree for carrying out modifications on C-130 aircraft and we are pleased that the Austrian Air Force has shown continued trust in our comprehensive engineering capabilities.“ Marshall ADG will begin the design phase of this project through the middle of this year and complete the embodiment of the modification on the fleet as the aircraft are inducted into Marshall’s Cambridge facility for scheduled maintenance. Head of Air Material Staff Austrian Air Force, Brig Gen Peter Wessely, said: “The AAF has had 18 years of good relationship with Marshall ADG. With their experience and their competence, they have carried out many modifications and maintenance to our full satisfaction. “This smart modification designed by Marshall will solve our known problem with the Heading Indication on our Primary Flight Instruments without replacing our highly integrated Inertial Navigation Units. “They also found a smart solution to solve current obsolescence problems in our navigation installation. The software upgrade to our integrated Secondary Flight Display iSFD will improve the reliability of our VSI system and subsequently the availability of the aircraft.” The Austrian Air Force purchased the three transport aircraft from the UK Ministry of Defense in 2003 when the Royal Air Force started the transition of their fleet to C-130Js. Marshall has been supporting these aircraft ever since, providing depth maintenance, engineering and logistics support. View original article at cambridgenetwork.co.uk
  7. The Air Force is asking for proposals to conduct electronic evaluations of one of its key assets, the C-130 weapon system family. In a notice posted June 2, the service stated it is conducting a market survey to see which companies might be able to study, analyze, develop or test advanced technology, including microelectronics, software and algorithm solutions to resolve obsolescence issues. It addition, the service would want to add capabilities and improve performance, reliability, maintainability and availability of EC-130J Commando Solos, EC-130J Super Js and AC-130Js. Moreover, the post notes that this requirement’s main purpose is to perform analysis and investigate the vulnerability of these platforms. The Commando Solo is broadly an information operations platform conducting military information support operations — formerly known as psychological operations — and civil affairs broadcasts. The AC-130J conducts close-air support and armed reconnaissance. Documents associated with the post state this effort is a follow-on of the current effort performed by Raytheon. This effort has existed in one instantiation or another since 2016, and used two contract vehicles as well as two different contractors. The project will take a minimum of two years. The tasks contractors must conduct include tabletop and red team assessments on the highest impact items identified on the EC-130J; an analysis report with mitigation strategies and analysis; and investigations on modifications concerning electronic vulnerabilities on the Commando Solo and Super J. View original article at c4isrnet.com View full article
  8. The Air Force is asking for proposals to conduct electronic evaluations of one of its key assets, the C-130 weapon system family. In a notice posted June 2, the service stated it is conducting a market survey to see which companies might be able to study, analyze, develop or test advanced technology, including microelectronics, software and algorithm solutions to resolve obsolescence issues. It addition, the service would want to add capabilities and improve performance, reliability, maintainability and availability of EC-130J Commando Solos, EC-130J Super Js and AC-130Js. Moreover, the post notes that this requirement’s main purpose is to perform analysis and investigate the vulnerability of these platforms. The Commando Solo is broadly an information operations platform conducting military information support operations — formerly known as psychological operations — and civil affairs broadcasts. The AC-130J conducts close-air support and armed reconnaissance. Documents associated with the post state this effort is a follow-on of the current effort performed by Raytheon. This effort has existed in one instantiation or another since 2016, and used two contract vehicles as well as two different contractors. The project will take a minimum of two years. The tasks contractors must conduct include tabletop and red team assessments on the highest impact items identified on the EC-130J; an analysis report with mitigation strategies and analysis; and investigations on modifications concerning electronic vulnerabilities on the Commando Solo and Super J. View original article at c4isrnet.com
  9. The U.S. Air Force is looking at arming otherwise unarmed cargo planes, pressing them into service as makeshift bombers. The service believes future wars with adversaries like Russia or China will require plenty of aerial firepower and transport planes, loaded with pallets of cruise missiles, could provide an inexpensive solution. According to Defense News, the Air Force thinks aircraft such as the C-130J Super Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III could become part-time missile trucks. The unarmed aircraft typically shuttle troops and equipment, but in a pinch, would be equipped with “smart pallets” carrying long-range cruise missiles and other munitions. The pallets would be capable of feeding position, navigation, and targeting data to their onboard missiles. Once dropped from the rear of the aircraft, the pallets would quickly release their missile cargoes, sending them downrange to their targets. The larger the aircraft, the more missiles it could carry. The missile truck concept pairs aircraft with large cargo boxes, of which the U.S. military has hundreds, with advanced missiles like the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). The latest version of JASSM, JASSM-XR, will have a range of 1,000 nautical miles—far enough for slow, lumbering, non-stealthy transports like the C-17 to launch dozens of missiles at enemy targets while staying out of missile and interceptor range. Once a mission is over, the aircraft could be loaded with more smart pallets or go back to its traditional cargo carrier role. The Air Force has been converting cargo planes into armed warbirds since the Vietnam War, when it added banks of Gatling guns to C-47 and C-130 transports. These gunships proved effective in providing close air support firepower and hunting Viet Cong forces traveling along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Most armed transport conversions are permanent, with an unarmed transport aircraft transformed into a heavily armed gunship for good. In 2010, however, the U.S. Marine Corps introduced Harvest Hawk, a conversion kit for its KC-130 transport/tanker planes. Harvest Hawk allowed the Marines to launch Hellfire, Griffin, and Viper Strike air-to-surface missiles from a KC-130 against targets on the ground. A KC-130 equipped with Harvest Hawk can still perform aerial refueling and transport missions. Ideally, the perfect choice for launching swarms of cruise missiles at an enemy is the upcoming B-21 Raider stealth bomber—the coolest plane we've never seen. A B-21 could penetrate enemy defenses, attack targets, and slip out of enemy territory, ideally all without being detected. But at $621 million per aircraft, the B-21 is relatively expensive, and large numbers of the aircraft are a decade away. The Air Force has hundreds of transport planes that are paid for and ready to fly right now. he Air Force expressed hesitation in the past in arming transport planes—after all, a future conflict will find them moving and resupplying their own far-flung forces worldwide. Recent tests at Dugway Proving Ground, however, seem to have changed the service’s opinion. The tests saw a MC-130J Combat Talon special operations transport successfully airdrop three pallets, each carrying a simulated load of long range cruise missiles. The bomb truck concept, if successful, could greatly increase the number of cruise missiles available to U.S. forces at the start of a conflict. After their initial combat mission, the transports could quickly return to their traditional roles. If the concept gains traction, the bomb truck concept could give the Air Force a tremendous boost in firepower—all without buying a single new plane. View original article at PopularMechanics.com View full article
  10. The U.S. Air Force is looking at arming otherwise unarmed cargo planes, pressing them into service as makeshift bombers. The service believes future wars with adversaries like Russia or China will require plenty of aerial firepower and transport planes, loaded with pallets of cruise missiles, could provide an inexpensive solution. According to Defense News, the Air Force thinks aircraft such as the C-130J Super Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III could become part-time missile trucks. The unarmed aircraft typically shuttle troops and equipment, but in a pinch, would be equipped with “smart pallets” carrying long-range cruise missiles and other munitions. The pallets would be capable of feeding position, navigation, and targeting data to their onboard missiles. Once dropped from the rear of the aircraft, the pallets would quickly release their missile cargoes, sending them downrange to their targets. The larger the aircraft, the more missiles it could carry. The missile truck concept pairs aircraft with large cargo boxes, of which the U.S. military has hundreds, with advanced missiles like the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). The latest version of JASSM, JASSM-XR, will have a range of 1,000 nautical miles—far enough for slow, lumbering, non-stealthy transports like the C-17 to launch dozens of missiles at enemy targets while staying out of missile and interceptor range. Once a mission is over, the aircraft could be loaded with more smart pallets or go back to its traditional cargo carrier role. The Air Force has been converting cargo planes into armed warbirds since the Vietnam War, when it added banks of Gatling guns to C-47 and C-130 transports. These gunships proved effective in providing close air support firepower and hunting Viet Cong forces traveling along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Most armed transport conversions are permanent, with an unarmed transport aircraft transformed into a heavily armed gunship for good. In 2010, however, the U.S. Marine Corps introduced Harvest Hawk, a conversion kit for its KC-130 transport/tanker planes. Harvest Hawk allowed the Marines to launch Hellfire, Griffin, and Viper Strike air-to-surface missiles from a KC-130 against targets on the ground. A KC-130 equipped with Harvest Hawk can still perform aerial refueling and transport missions. Ideally, the perfect choice for launching swarms of cruise missiles at an enemy is the upcoming B-21 Raider stealth bomber—the coolest plane we've never seen. A B-21 could penetrate enemy defenses, attack targets, and slip out of enemy territory, ideally all without being detected. But at $621 million per aircraft, the B-21 is relatively expensive, and large numbers of the aircraft are a decade away. The Air Force has hundreds of transport planes that are paid for and ready to fly right now. he Air Force expressed hesitation in the past in arming transport planes—after all, a future conflict will find them moving and resupplying their own far-flung forces worldwide. Recent tests at Dugway Proving Ground, however, seem to have changed the service’s opinion. The tests saw a MC-130J Combat Talon special operations transport successfully airdrop three pallets, each carrying a simulated load of long range cruise missiles. The bomb truck concept, if successful, could greatly increase the number of cruise missiles available to U.S. forces at the start of a conflict. After their initial combat mission, the transports could quickly return to their traditional roles. If the concept gains traction, the bomb truck concept could give the Air Force a tremendous boost in firepower—all without buying a single new plane. View original article at PopularMechanics.com
  11. Forecasting the movement and strength of hurricanes and tropical storms is quite tricky but of prime importance to public safety and protection of property. Now that tropical storms are increasing hurricane hunter recon missions are also on the increase. The proven tried and true standard. The workhorse of hurricane hunter force is the C-130J. The hurricane hunter fleet is comprised of airplanes manufactured by Lockheed Martin at a cost of up $30 million per plane. Frank Amadeo is wing commander of this outfit and was kind enough to give me a personal tour of the aircraft. "Alright so this is the WC-130J. We have ten hurricane aircraft in the United States and they are all flown out of Keesler Air Force Base Mississippi, and they are flown by reservist. Air force reservist so this is a part-time job for about half of my crews and the other full-time... so the C-130 has been around for a long time. The venerable C-130 hasn't changed much since 1954. This is the C-130J which is our newest airplane built in 1997 which a quite a few years old but still new by today's standard in the air force. You'll notice the inside looks about like any C-130 you'll walk into. We have troop doors we can throw paratroopers out. We have the ramp in door where we can do air drop. We can load big pieces of equipment. We have litter stanchions we can actually move patients. We can move troops and we can move cargo. But up front here we have added some equipment for weather reconnaissance... So, up here we have added two positions. The position on the right is where our dropsonde and load master sits. On the left is where our weather officer sits. So, our weather officer is a meteorologist by training. The way things work in flight is that one of the pieces of equipment that we launch is through this drop tube here. We will drop this drop sonde and we will typically enter the hurricane at 10,000 feet and this will fall at about 2500 feet per minute so in four minutes it will hit the surface of the water. What it gives us is temperature, pressure and winds. That person's job is to take that information and compile it send it to the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service will take that data and other data we send from this airplane. They will mail that data with other computer models they have and that improves the accuracy of the storm. And so the significance of our mission is that we are providing data to update the model for the National Hurricane Center. When we fly into the hurricane the track models are updated or mare accurate by about 30 percent. Here is the significance of that. If I don't have that information 24 or 48 hours where that hurricane is gonna hit. Every mile of coastline that does not have to be evacuated in the United States saves the taxpayer $250,000 to $1,000,000 so the data we provide is actually very critical," Amadeo said. "We have a glass cockpit multi-function displays. Ordinarily flown by just two pilots and a load master. The difference between a 130J and W-130j is we've added the navigator position for added safety and we've also added the weather officer position in the back and the two palette positions" "Well there we have a toilet in the back kinda like a marine toilet because these are 13 hour missions sometimes." The Dropsonde Transmitters are "expendable devices" which means once they fall into the ocean they are not retrieved. About a dozen such dropsones or more are used per mission at a cost of around $400 each. View original article at KTBS.com View full article
  12. SA Air Force (SAAF) technical personnel are stripping usable components from C-130BZ (tail number 403) next to the runway at Goma Airport in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after it was damaged during an incident at the beginning of the year. The 28 Squadron medium lift aircraft was left languishing askance with structural and engine damage after it hit a culvert a short distance from the runway in January. initial efforts at recovering usable parts from the four-engined transporter were hampered by United Nations bureaucracy. Additionally, the departure of a SAAF technical team was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic halting air transport and travel. Those obstacles no longer exist and social media postings show technicians stripping instrumentation and other usable parts. African Defense Review (ADR) director Darren Olivier said salvaged usable parts will be brought back to the squadron at Air Force Base Waterkloof for testing. This will probably see the involvement of Denel, in one form or other, as Denel Aviation is, as far as can be ascertained, still an approved maintenance organization (AMO) for the builders of Hercules aircraft, Lockheed Martin. In a presentation to Parliament last month, Denel said it has an ongoing product supply support contract for the SAAF’s C-130s valid until November 2021 worth R350 million. Olivier points out if the runway at Goma had larger run-off areas the aircraft could have been saved. “Damage like this is uneconomical to repair, especially on the SAAF budget,” he added. While the SAAF has not officially commented on the incident it is widely known 403 was due to return to South Africa from a logistics support mission to the central African country when a mechanical malfunction saw an engine catch fire. Sixty-seven passengers, including eight crew, were aboard and no-one was seriously injured. Two weeks ago the SAAF told defenceWeb the Hercules “has not been categorized”, which indicates the 57-year-old has not been written off (Cat Five). South Africa’s large and generally well-informed military aviation enthusiasts’ community feels the SAAF, which this year marks its centenary, will never see 403 back as an airworthy asset. View original article at defenceweb.co.az
  13. SA Air Force (SAAF) technical personnel are stripping usable components from C-130BZ (tail number 403) next to the runway at Goma Airport in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after it was damaged during an incident at the beginning of the year. The 28 Squadron medium lift aircraft was left languishing askance with structural and engine damage after it hit a culvert a short distance from the runway in January. initial efforts at recovering usable parts from the four-engined transporter were hampered by United Nations bureaucracy. Additionally, the departure of a SAAF technical team was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic halting air transport and travel. Those obstacles no longer exist and social media postings show technicians stripping instrumentation and other usable parts. African Defense Review (ADR) director Darren Olivier said salvaged usable parts will be brought back to the squadron at Air Force Base Waterkloof for testing. This will probably see the involvement of Denel, in one form or other, as Denel Aviation is, as far as can be ascertained, still an approved maintenance organization (AMO) for the builders of Hercules aircraft, Lockheed Martin. In a presentation to Parliament last month, Denel said it has an ongoing product supply support contract for the SAAF’s C-130s valid until November 2021 worth R350 million. Olivier points out if the runway at Goma had larger run-off areas the aircraft could have been saved. “Damage like this is uneconomical to repair, especially on the SAAF budget,” he added. While the SAAF has not officially commented on the incident it is widely known 403 was due to return to South Africa from a logistics support mission to the central African country when a mechanical malfunction saw an engine catch fire. Sixty-seven passengers, including eight crew, were aboard and no-one was seriously injured. Two weeks ago the SAAF told defenceWeb the Hercules “has not been categorized”, which indicates the 57-year-old has not been written off (Cat Five). South Africa’s large and generally well-informed military aviation enthusiasts’ community feels the SAAF, which this year marks its centenary, will never see 403 back as an airworthy asset. View original article at defenceweb.co.az View full article
  14. A total force integration team of active-duty testers and Air National Guard Airmen were rewarded recently for their combined efforts on a money-saving C-130H propeller system. The C-130H NP2000 test team made up of 417th Flight Test Squadron and Wyoming ANG's 153rd Airlift Wing personnel earned the 2019 Gen. Mark A. Welsh III One Air Force Award. More than eight different organizations were ultimately involved with the test effort. “Congratulations to this innovative and strategic-minded team for creating positive impacts across the total force,” said Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, 96th Test Wing commander. “This successful initiative paved the way for future integrated efforts.” This joint testing began in January 2018 when aircraft and team arrived here. The ANG C-130H model was fitting with a new propeller system that added two more blades than the typical six-blade engines seen on most models. The goal of the TFI testing was to collect data and confirm increased fuel efficiency, reliability and overall performance improvements could be gained from the new propellers and upgraded engines. The benefits of the upgraded system included shorter take-off roll, improved climb, quieter operations, and lower operating and support costs, according to Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the program office for the test. The testing was proven successful decreasing aircraft fuel costs by 10%. The success led to the fast-tracking of the plan to swap the fleet’s aging propeller blades to the newly tested ones. Locally, the expertise among the testers and ANG allowed the team to reduce the required test flights by 21% saving the project $850,000 and four-months of evaluations. “The biggest reason for our success was the effort of the Wyoming ANG Airmen,” said James Jeffrey Hoy, 417th FLTS lead flight test engineer for the team. “This program required a large, sustained manpower effort and they met this while also maintaining their operational state in Cheyenne. Their constant support allowed the team to execute the program without sacrificing test schedule or data quality.” The One Air Force award is given for mission success achieved by a team made up of two or more Total Force components. It recognizes the team that best demonstrates improved effectiveness, operational readiness or mission accomplishment through integrated solutions. View original article at Edwards.af.mil
  15. The Air Education and Training Command’s mission is to recruit, train and educate exceptional Airmen. Ensuring Airmen in training make it to their next destination safely and on time is essential to maintaining the Air Force’s readiness. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, transporting students from one location to the next has brought about challenges. The 62nd Airlift Squadron here accepted the task of providing essential transportation to hundreds of students across the country in support of AETC’s training pipeline. The squadron’s airlift capabilities are an innovative way to protect and maintain AETC’s training pipeline. “These students would ordinarily fly commercially to their training locations,” said Maj. Nathan Eldredge, 62nd AS C-130J Super Hercules instructor pilot. “Each individual student usually goes through a commercial airport to get to their next destination, which could potentially expose them to the novel coronavirus. By using our planes to fly the students, they are kept in a safe environment and we can transport them and limit exposure to the virus.” Being there for every step of the student’s transition allows for members of the 62nd AS to directly supervise and mitigate the student’s exposure to COVID-19. “We have more control over the number of people that the students come in contact with,” said Lt. Col. Shane Saum, 62nd AS director of operations. “By limiting the number of people they come in contact with, wearing masks, disinfecting the aircraft before and after the students fly in them, putting them in quarantine before and after they travel, and having them checked out by doctors before they leave, we're able to control the variables better than if we were to send them through a commercial airline terminal.” AETC’s student training pipeline involves flying students from one training program to the next. Without students flowing to their next assignment, a gap in the system occurs. “The Air Force’s readiness is dependent upon AETC’s students completing training,” Saum said. “You only have a finite number of days in the year paired with a finite number of classes to push these Airmen through. If these students don't get moved from point A to point B, they can't start the next phase of their training, which can cause a major clog in the pipeline.” While training combat-minded aircrew is the main mission of the 62nd AS, members of the squadron accepted the task of transporting the students, in addition to their normal duties. “These operations are considered emergency airlift under DoD guidance,” Saum said. “We're going above and beyond what our standard mission is by not utilizing Air Mobility Command or Tanker Airlift Control Center, which are the ones who normally fly these kinds of missions. We're still training students, but we're also helping further by getting other students where they need to go.” With the new 8.1 block upgrade for the C-130J Super Hercules rolling out, the squadron saw an opportunity to use this mission as continuation training for instructor pilots — allowing the pilots to get hands on training with the upgrade before they begin teaching it to their students. “Our pilots are also gaining a regular proficiency, which is important now, more than ever,” Saum said. “COVID-19 has decreased our operations quite a bit, even though we've maintained all of our student training, we have not become more than five days late for any student graduation.” The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges and has altered many processes across the Air Force. By transporting the students, the 62nd AS helped create a new organic system which keeps operations going. “It's rewarding,” Eldredge said. “COVID-19 is not something that we can fight in the traditional sense, so us transporting the students is an innovative solution that allows our squadron members to contribute further to AETC’s mission and keep the pipeline going.” View original article at aetc.af.mil
  16. The Air Education and Training Command’s mission is to recruit, train and educate exceptional Airmen. Ensuring Airmen in training make it to their next destination safely and on time is essential to maintaining the Air Force’s readiness. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, transporting students from one location to the next has brought about challenges. The 62nd Airlift Squadron here accepted the task of providing essential transportation to hundreds of students across the country in support of AETC’s training pipeline. The squadron’s airlift capabilities are an innovative way to protect and maintain AETC’s training pipeline. “These students would ordinarily fly commercially to their training locations,” said Maj. Nathan Eldredge, 62nd AS C-130J Super Hercules instructor pilot. “Each individual student usually goes through a commercial airport to get to their next destination, which could potentially expose them to the novel coronavirus. By using our planes to fly the students, they are kept in a safe environment and we can transport them and limit exposure to the virus.” Being there for every step of the student’s transition allows for members of the 62nd AS to directly supervise and mitigate the student’s exposure to COVID-19. “We have more control over the number of people that the students come in contact with,” said Lt. Col. Shane Saum, 62nd AS director of operations. “By limiting the number of people they come in contact with, wearing masks, disinfecting the aircraft before and after the students fly in them, putting them in quarantine before and after they travel, and having them checked out by doctors before they leave, we're able to control the variables better than if we were to send them through a commercial airline terminal.” AETC’s student training pipeline involves flying students from one training program to the next. Without students flowing to their next assignment, a gap in the system occurs. “The Air Force’s readiness is dependent upon AETC’s students completing training,” Saum said. “You only have a finite number of days in the year paired with a finite number of classes to push these Airmen through. If these students don't get moved from point A to point B, they can't start the next phase of their training, which can cause a major clog in the pipeline.” While training combat-minded aircrew is the main mission of the 62nd AS, members of the squadron accepted the task of transporting the students, in addition to their normal duties. “These operations are considered emergency airlift under DoD guidance,” Saum said. “We're going above and beyond what our standard mission is by not utilizing Air Mobility Command or Tanker Airlift Control Center, which are the ones who normally fly these kinds of missions. We're still training students, but we're also helping further by getting other students where they need to go.” With the new 8.1 block upgrade for the C-130J Super Hercules rolling out, the squadron saw an opportunity to use this mission as continuation training for instructor pilots — allowing the pilots to get hands on training with the upgrade before they begin teaching it to their students. “Our pilots are also gaining a regular proficiency, which is important now, more than ever,” Saum said. “COVID-19 has decreased our operations quite a bit, even though we've maintained all of our student training, we have not become more than five days late for any student graduation.” The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many challenges and has altered many processes across the Air Force. By transporting the students, the 62nd AS helped create a new organic system which keeps operations going. “It's rewarding,” Eldredge said. “COVID-19 is not something that we can fight in the traditional sense, so us transporting the students is an innovative solution that allows our squadron members to contribute further to AETC’s mission and keep the pipeline going.” View original article at aetc.af.mil View full article
  17. A total force integration team of active-duty testers and Air National Guard Airmen were rewarded recently for their combined efforts on a money-saving C-130H propeller system. The C-130H NP2000 test team made up of 417th Flight Test Squadron and Wyoming ANG's 153rd Airlift Wing personnel earned the 2019 Gen. Mark A. Welsh III One Air Force Award. More than eight different organizations were ultimately involved with the test effort. “Congratulations to this innovative and strategic-minded team for creating positive impacts across the total force,” said Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, 96th Test Wing commander. “This successful initiative paved the way for future integrated efforts.” This joint testing began in January 2018 when aircraft and team arrived here. The ANG C-130H model was fitting with a new propeller system that added two more blades than the typical six-blade engines seen on most models. The goal of the TFI testing was to collect data and confirm increased fuel efficiency, reliability and overall performance improvements could be gained from the new propellers and upgraded engines. The benefits of the upgraded system included shorter take-off roll, improved climb, quieter operations, and lower operating and support costs, according to Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the program office for the test. The testing was proven successful decreasing aircraft fuel costs by 10%. The success led to the fast-tracking of the plan to swap the fleet’s aging propeller blades to the newly tested ones. Locally, the expertise among the testers and ANG allowed the team to reduce the required test flights by 21% saving the project $850,000 and four-months of evaluations. “The biggest reason for our success was the effort of the Wyoming ANG Airmen,” said James Jeffrey Hoy, 417th FLTS lead flight test engineer for the team. “This program required a large, sustained manpower effort and they met this while also maintaining their operational state in Cheyenne. Their constant support allowed the team to execute the program without sacrificing test schedule or data quality.” The One Air Force award is given for mission success achieved by a team made up of two or more Total Force components. It recognizes the team that best demonstrates improved effectiveness, operational readiness or mission accomplishment through integrated solutions. View original article at Edwards.af.mil View full article
  18. The Green Hornets from the 61st Airlift Squadron were recently awarded the General Joseph Smith Trophy for being recognized as the most outstanding airlift squadron in Air Mobility Command in 2019.This is the second year in a row Little Rock Air Force Base has had a squadron receive the coveted award, showcasing the sustained excellence the 19th Airlift Wing provides the mobility air forces enterprise.“I’m proud to have arguably the two best airlift squadrons in the MAF, 41st AS last year and 61st AS this year,” said Col. Shane Haughian, 19th Operations Group commander. “One of the things I’m most proud of is how the two squadrons work together, share best practices and push each other to be better.”To get there, the Green Hornets executed the first-ever C-130J radiological exercise and the first-ever Mobility Air Force Distributed Operations exercise. Their groundbreaking full spectrum readiness work redefined the limits of mobility airlift in contested, denied and degraded environments and set a new FSR standard for the Air Force.“When we set out to define what full spectrum readiness meant to us, we knew that we had to grow beyond basic C-130J combat airlift,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Miller, 61st AS commander. “We had to gain and maintain a level of proficiency in our competencies to enable us to learn new things, to stretch our capability and then share it with the enterprise.” The honor of receiving the trophy did not come without challenges as the airlift squadron supported seven combatant commanders across five areas of responsibility in 2019. In total, the squadron executed 5,500 tactical airlift sorties and transported 14 million tons of cargo and 24,400 passengers.“This win is concrete feedback and validation of all the effort the squadron has put into the combat airlift enterprise,” Miller said.Those efforts culminated in the largest combat airdrop in 10 years, resupplying isolated SOF troops in Afghanistan, in support of the Department of State’s top Afghanistan priority.“Effectiveness in the next conflict will be predicated on our ability to integrate with joint, interagency and multinational partners,” Miller said. “Even if we’re the best at combat airlift, we can’t expect to execute alone successfully – defending our nation is a joint endeavor.”The 61st AS is continuing their excellence through training and real world contingencies and will be passing on best practices to the Herk community.“The Smith Trophy win for the 61st Airlift Squadron is recognition of direct contributions to our nation’s defense,” Miller said. View original article at dividshub.net View full article
  19. The Green Hornets from the 61st Airlift Squadron were recently awarded the General Joseph Smith Trophy for being recognized as the most outstanding airlift squadron in Air Mobility Command in 2019.This is the second year in a row Little Rock Air Force Base has had a squadron receive the coveted award, showcasing the sustained excellence the 19th Airlift Wing provides the mobility air forces enterprise.“I’m proud to have arguably the two best airlift squadrons in the MAF, 41st AS last year and 61st AS this year,” said Col. Shane Haughian, 19th Operations Group commander. “One of the things I’m most proud of is how the two squadrons work together, share best practices and push each other to be better.”To get there, the Green Hornets executed the first-ever C-130J radiological exercise and the first-ever Mobility Air Force Distributed Operations exercise. Their groundbreaking full spectrum readiness work redefined the limits of mobility airlift in contested, denied and degraded environments and set a new FSR standard for the Air Force.“When we set out to define what full spectrum readiness meant to us, we knew that we had to grow beyond basic C-130J combat airlift,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Miller, 61st AS commander. “We had to gain and maintain a level of proficiency in our competencies to enable us to learn new things, to stretch our capability and then share it with the enterprise.” The honor of receiving the trophy did not come without challenges as the airlift squadron supported seven combatant commanders across five areas of responsibility in 2019. In total, the squadron executed 5,500 tactical airlift sorties and transported 14 million tons of cargo and 24,400 passengers.“This win is concrete feedback and validation of all the effort the squadron has put into the combat airlift enterprise,” Miller said.Those efforts culminated in the largest combat airdrop in 10 years, resupplying isolated SOF troops in Afghanistan, in support of the Department of State’s top Afghanistan priority.“Effectiveness in the next conflict will be predicated on our ability to integrate with joint, interagency and multinational partners,” Miller said. “Even if we’re the best at combat airlift, we can’t expect to execute alone successfully – defending our nation is a joint endeavor.”The 61st AS is continuing their excellence through training and real world contingencies and will be passing on best practices to the Herk community.“The Smith Trophy win for the 61st Airlift Squadron is recognition of direct contributions to our nation’s defense,” Miller said. View original article at dividshub.net
  20. Forecasting the movement and strength of hurricanes and tropical storms is quite tricky but of prime importance to public safety and protection of property. Now that tropical storms are increasing hurricane hunter recon missions are also on the increase. The proven tried and true standard. The workhorse of hurricane hunter force is the C-130J. The hurricane hunter fleet is comprised of airplanes manufactured by Lockheed Martin at a cost of up $30 million per plane. Frank Amadeo is wing commander of this outfit and was kind enough to give me a personal tour of the aircraft. "Alright so this is the WC-130J. We have ten hurricane aircraft in the United States and they are all flown out of Keesler Air Force Base Mississippi, and they are flown by reservist. Air force reservist so this is a part-time job for about half of my crews and the other full-time... so the C-130 has been around for a long time. The venerable C-130 hasn't changed much since 1954. This is the C-130J which is our newest airplane built in 1997 which a quite a few years old but still new by today's standard in the air force. You'll notice the inside looks about like any C-130 you'll walk into. We have troop doors we can throw paratroopers out. We have the ramp in door where we can do air drop. We can load big pieces of equipment. We have litter stanchions we can actually move patients. We can move troops and we can move cargo. But up front here we have added some equipment for weather reconnaissance... So, up here we have added two positions. The position on the right is where our dropsonde and load master sits. On the left is where our weather officer sits. So, our weather officer is a meteorologist by training. The way things work in flight is that one of the pieces of equipment that we launch is through this drop tube here. We will drop this drop sonde and we will typically enter the hurricane at 10,000 feet and this will fall at about 2500 feet per minute so in four minutes it will hit the surface of the water. What it gives us is temperature, pressure and winds. That person's job is to take that information and compile it send it to the National Weather Service. The National Weather Service will take that data and other data we send from this airplane. They will mail that data with other computer models they have and that improves the accuracy of the storm. And so the significance of our mission is that we are providing data to update the model for the National Hurricane Center. When we fly into the hurricane the track models are updated or mare accurate by about 30 percent. Here is the significance of that. If I don't have that information 24 or 48 hours where that hurricane is gonna hit. Every mile of coastline that does not have to be evacuated in the United States saves the taxpayer $250,000 to $1,000,000 so the data we provide is actually very critical," Amadeo said. "We have a glass cockpit multi-function displays. Ordinarily flown by just two pilots and a load master. The difference between a 130J and W-130j is we've added the navigator position for added safety and we've also added the weather officer position in the back and the two palette positions" "Well there we have a toilet in the back kinda like a marine toilet because these are 13 hour missions sometimes." The Dropsonde Transmitters are "expendable devices" which means once they fall into the ocean they are not retrieved. About a dozen such dropsones or more are used per mission at a cost of around $400 each. View original article at KTBS.com
  21. casey

    405 oops

    Retract on engine start? The AF had a J do that a while back.
  22. Yes, it is possible to get a civilian registration of an ex-military Herk. It would not be registered as an L-100, it would registered as a C-130H (or what ever model of C-130 it is).
  23. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service confirms three people have died after a C-130 heavy air tanker owned by Coulson Aviation crashed in Australia this afternoon. The aircraft was deployed to fires in the Snowy Mountains. They lost contact with the machine and the flight tracker stopped. “There’s no indication at this time what caused the accident,” NSW RFS commission Shane Fitzsimmons said in a press conference tonight. There were approximately four other aircraft in the area fighting the fire at the time. The weather has been hot, dry and windy with smoke and dust in the area. “It was another very difficult, aggressive fire day.” “We are deeply saddened to confirm there were three fatalities,” Coulson Aviation confirmed in a post on its Coulson Aviation – Next Gen Firefighting Facebook page. The aircraft had departed Richmond, NSW with a load of retardant and was on a firebombing mission. “The accident response team has been activated as well as local emergency services. Coulson Aviation will be sending a team to the site to assist in emergency operations. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the three crew members onboard,” said the statement, signed “The Coulson Family. The NSW RFS reported on Twitter at 7:22 p.m. PST that it was investigating reports of a “serious incident” involving an aircraft in southern New South Wales. The NSW RFS media release states that contact was lost with a large air tanker working in the Snowy Monaro area. The wreckage has been located. There was a fireball associated with the crash, according to the NSW RFS spokesperson. “First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the three crew…and with Coulson Aviation, with whom we’ve had a long association.” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in a news conference that the crash “demonstrates the dangerous work being undertaken and demonstrates the conditions that our firefighters are working under. There were in excess of 70 aircraft being used today (Jan. 23 in Australia) alone. “Today is a stark and horrible reminder of the dangerous conditions that our volunteers and emergency services personnel across a number of agencies undertake on a daily basis.” Berejiklian said there were 1,700 volunteers and personnel working to control fires a number of fires across New South Wales on the day the plane crashed. Coulson grounded their large air tankers this afternoon in NSW and Victoria pending a review and out of respect to the families of the crew members, a NSW spokesperson said. No names are being released pending notification of next of kin. All three crew members were U.S. residents, Fitzsimmons said. Coulson Aviation representatives will be in Sydney, NSW within the next 24 hours. Coulson and the NSW RFS have worked together for the past four or five years and last year purchased a converted 737 air tanker from the Port Alberni-based aviation company. Coulson is contracted to operate and maintain that 737 for the Rural Fire Service, and also has a second 737 and second C-130 operating in the state of Victoria, Fitzsimmons said. View full record
  24. Please do not post any Export Control data on this site. WARNING -This document contains technical data whose export is restricted by the Arms Export Control Act (Title 22, U.S.C., Sec. 2751 et seq.) or the Export Administration Act of 1979 (Title 50, U.S.C., App. 2401 et seq.), as amended. Violations of these export laws are subject to severe criminal penalties. Disseminate in accordance with provisions of DoD Directive 5230.25.
  25. casey

    3756_A.jpg

    © 314FMS

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