23 May 1969
A drunken U.S. Air Force assistant crew chief, Sgt. Paul Adams Meyer, 23, of Poquoson, Virginia, suffering anxiety over marital problems, started up a Lockheed C-130E Hercules, #63-7789, c/n 3856, of the 36th Tactical Airlift Squadron, 316th Tactical Airlift Wing, on hardstand 21 at RAF Mildenhall and took off in it at 0655 hrs. CET, headed for Langley AFB, Virginia. At least two North American F-100 Super Sabres of the 493d Tactical Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, a C-130 from Mildenhall, and two RAF English Electric Lightnings were sent aloft to try to make contact with the stolen aircraft. The Hercules flew over the Thames estuary and headed south toward Brighton. After flying over the English Channel, Meyer turned northwest. North of Cherbourg he changed direction, heading south to a point 30 miles north of Alderney. The Hercules crashed into the English Channel off Alderney (5000N, 0205W) ~90 minutes later. In the last transmission from Meyer, to his wife, in a link-up over the side-band radio, he stated 'Leave me alone for about five minutes, I've got trouble.' There was speculation whether the Hercules was shot down. Some wreckage was recovered but the pilot's body was never found. Meyer had been arrested for being drunk and disorderly earlier in the morning in the village of Freckenham and had been remanded to quarters, but sneaked out to steal the Hercules.

Final RAF C-130J mission set for 17 June as Hercules retirement nears

By Dominic Perry17 April 2023

The UK’s long history as an operator of the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules will all but come to an end on 17 June when the Royal Air Force (RAF) performs its final mission with the type.

Consisting of a three-ship fly-past as part of the King’s Birthday celebrations, the sortie will be a bittersweet moment ahead of the official retirement of the RAF’s remaining J-model aircraft on 30 June.

Defence officials announced in 2021’s Integrated Review that the 15-strong C-130J fleet would be retired by 2023 due to cost savings, with operations transitioning to the Airbus Defence & Space A400M. That date was subsequently extended until end-June due to availability issues with the European type.

Group Captain Gareth Burdett, Commander Air Wing – Air Mobility, says just six Hercules remain in RAF service. Those already withdrawn from use have been relocated to Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge where they are being prepared for sale.

Although concerns had been raised at the A400M’s ability to take on all the missions performed by the smaller C-130J, Burdett says the Atlas has risen to the challenge.

“There will be some capability gaps in very niche areas, all of the capability improvements have been significantly accelerated since the decision to sunset the Hercules was taken.

“Many have been brought forward by a number of years and the most critical capabilities have had the gap eradicated.”

He cites the A400M’s better range and payload over the C-130J, and its short-runway performance, as key attributes for end-users.

“What our customers are saying is that they appreciate the benefits and enhancements the A400M can bring over the C-130 in almost every regard that enables them to deliver their mission more effectively,” he says.

Reliability and availability have been a concern for all users of the A400M, with the type’s Europrop TP400 engines posing a particular issue.

Burdett says the situation has improved thanks to joint efforts by Airbus Defence & Space and the Ministry of Defence, adding: “While we are yet to see the full benefit that their brochure promised, certainly we are seeing a stable and useable amount of aircraft that reflects the availability we’d expect from other [transport aircraft] fleets.”

Cirium fleet data shows the RAF as operating 21 A400Ms; a 22nd and final example will be delivered by the end of the month, adds Burdett.

Burdett, who is qualified on the C-130, has responsibility for the RAF’s Brize Norton-based transport fleet which includes the A400M, A330 Voyager multi-role tanker transport, and Boeing C-17.

The UK has been a C-130 operator since the mid-1960s, taking delivery of its latest J-model examples from 1999. 

AC-130J Ghostrider Could Get Huge Upgrade From AESA Radar

An active electronically scanned array radar would allow AC-130Js to independently engage targets in any weather and at greater distances.

byJoseph Trevithick, Tyler Rogoway| UPDATED May 15, 2023 7:47 PM EDT

The U.S. Air Force plans to test an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Adding an AESA would give these aircraft a valuable tool for spotting, tracking, and engaging targets, especially in bad weather and at extended ranges. The radar could perform more general intelligence-gathering and provide improved situational awareness, along with other functions, as well.

The forthcoming AC-130 AESA testing was highlighted during a briefing last week by members of U.S. Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) Program Executive Office for Fixed Wing aircraft (PEO-FW), which The War Zone, among others, attended. That event was held as part of an annual special operations-focused conference now called SOF Week.

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An AC-130J Ghostrider. USAF

"We have a tech demo coming up, where we've got a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement [CRADA] to do an AESA radar on an AC-130 gunship," one of the representatives from PEO-FW said. The testing will help SOCOM "see what capabilities that can help us bring to the fight."

A CRADA is a process wherein the U.S. military partners with a private company or research institution on a particular project, but without a traditional contract award. CRADAs typically involve various degrees of sharing of resources and the results of any testing in lieu of a typical exchange of funds.

What specific AESA SOCOM plans to test on the AC-130J is not currently known. This is, of course, not the first time SOCOM, together with the Air Force, has looked into equipped AC-130s with a radar of this general type.

In 2015, SOCOM revealed that it had been testing the AN/ASQ-236 Dragon's Eye radar pod on its gunships as part of an earlier CRADA. The pod was flight tested on at least one AC-130 mounted on a pylon under the right wing.

An AN/ASQ-236 Dragon's Eye radar pod under the wing of an AC-130 gunship. USAF

The AN/ASQ-236 features an AESA radar that is capable of rotating left and right along the pod's center axis. It has a synthetic aperture functionality that is said to be sensitive enough to generate near photo-quality radar maps and to spot shallow-buried objects, such as improvised explosive devices and individuals in dugouts. It also has a GMTI capability that is reportedly able to track moving vehicles and ships. The complete pod has the ability to geo-locate targets that the radar spots and systems required to keep everything cool.

SOCOM and the Air Force ultimately determined Dragon's Eye, at least in the form available at the time, to be unsuitable for use on the AC-130. The exact reasons for this remain unclear.

“The AC-130J does not have a sensor system that enables adverse weather engagements by detecting and tracking targets obscured by weather, smoke and haze or obscurants,” according to the Pentagon's Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation's annual report for the 2016 Fiscal Year. “Earlier efforts to integrate an AN/ASQ-236 radar pod were unsuccessful.”

Dragon's Eye is currently primarily carried by Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and F-16C/D Viper combat jets, though it has also been tested on other platforms, in addition to the AC-130, like the B-52 bomber.

A new variant or derivative of Dragon's Eye, or another podded AESA radar, mounted under the wing or using an add-on pylon installed on the AC-130J's right-side rear paratrooper doors might still be an option. The left-side door on the Ghostrider is already taken up with the aircraft's 105mm howitzer.

An example of a modified C-130 rear paratrooper door with an add-on pylon with a pod attached. via ThinkDefence.co.uk

Other podded AESA radars with still significant synthetic aperture and/or GMTI functionality do exist, including ones small enough to be mounted on drones. Some of these, such as the AN/ZPY-5 Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER) and IMSAR NSP-series, are in U.S. military service now or have otherwise been evaluated already by SOCOM.

A radar using some other kind of mounting arrangement could be another possibility. For example, earlier this year, Marshall Aerospace in the United Kingdom unveiled a roll-on/roll-off palletized AESA radar system for C-130-series aircraft that uses conformal antennas installed in modified rear paratrooper doors.

A portion of Marshall Aerospace's palletized radar system for use on C-130-series aircraft. Marshall Aerospace

A number of older AC-130 variants had a sensor called Black Crow, which included an antenna inside a dome, installed on the left side of the 'cheek' area. Black Crow was designed to pick up electrical impulses generated by the spark plugs in trucks and other vehicles with internal combustion engines. This could be an ideal location for a side-facing AESA radar on the AC-130J, but it would come at an aerodynamic penalty, which really is nothing new for the bristling AC-130.

The same sensor installation arrangement stuck around long after the war ended. USAF

Regardless, compared to older mechanically-scanned types, AESA radars offer significant benefits. This includes being typically able to spot objects of interest, even those with low radar cross-sections, faster and do so with greater precision and fidelity. AESAs also generally have very fast scanning and return rates, and can perform multiple functions near-simultaneously.

In addition, AESAs have improved resistance to radiofrequency jamming. With no need for a mechanical assembly to steer the antenna, systems that can often be very complex in their own right, radars of this type are more reliable, too.

The improved capabilities AESAs would offer at their core have further benefits when combined with other kinds of functionality, including synthetic aperture mapping and imaging and ground-moving target indicator (GMTI) modes.

The feed from an AN/ZPY-5 VADER radar as an example of AESA GMTI functionality overlaid on top of a topographical map. DHS

Compared to the electro-optical and infrared full-motion video cameras already found on the Air Force's AC-130Js, an AESA radar is also capable of functioning in any weather and of 'seeing' through dense smoke, dust, and other obscurants. This includes modern chemical smokescreens specifically developed to defeat optical and infrared sensors.

The Ghostrider's existing cameras do have various low-light-level and thermal capabilities, though an AESA can also work at night just the same as day. AESAs have the additional benefit of being immune to optical dazzlers and infrared interference, which are an increasing issue on the battlefield, as well.

Altogether, a modern AESA with a good field of view could be particularly useful on an AC-130 gunship for targeting and more general intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). But depending on how deeply integrated such a system would become into the AC-130J's complex mission systems suite, it could prove even more valuable.

The AESA radar would also spot targets for further investigation using the AC-130J's other sensors, or vice versa. This, in turn, could improve the ability of the aircraft's crew to positively identify targets rapidly, including in very bad weather and in dense urban or otherwise complex environments. Paired with advanced software algorithms and advanced back-end processing, these systems can automatically spot targets or patterns of interest and alert operators as to their proposed classification and location.

Once targets are found and identified, an AESA radar can be very valuable for helping AC-130J crews actually engage them, especially at stand-off ranges. As it stands now, Ghostriders rely heavily on off-board platforms to make the most of their longer-range munitions, such as the GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) and its laser-guided variant that can hit moving targets, although the latter needs something nearby lasing the target directly to do so. The standard SDB, which can only be used against fixed threats, has a stated maximum range of more than 40 nautical miles.

The Ghostrider is already in line to receive the much-improved GBU-53/B StormBreaker, which has a new multi-mode seeker system that gives it the ability to engage moving targets over its entire range without laser designation occuring. You can read all about StormBreaker here. A true self-contained ability to engage moving targets at stand-off ranges in any weather, which the AC-130J does not have now, would be a major capability boost by itself. An AESA would make this possible by providing the initial targeting and datalink updates for StormBreaker.

The AC-130J's need for longer-range target acquisition capabilities is only set to increase as its arsenal gains ever more capable precision-guided munitions able to hit targets further and further away. During SOF Week 2023, SOCOM's PEO-FW also highlighted interest specifically in adding new stand-off strike capabilities through the acquisition of small and miniature "cruise missiles" for use on the Ghostrider and other aircraft.

An AC-130J in the anechoic chamber at Edwards AFB. (USAF)

"Miniature" in this instance would be something small enough to fit inside a standardized Common Launch Tube (CLT). "Small" refers to larger designs that would be launched via a more traditional pylon or something like the Air Force's Rapid Dragon palletized munitions system. Smaller and lower-cost air-to-surface munitions with stand-in, if not stand-off range have been of interest to SOCOM and the Air Force for some years now.

An AESA radar could be used to help direct the AC-130J's 30mm automatic cannon and 105mm howitzer during shorter-range engagements, too. This would give the gunships another way to engage threats with those weapons even through cloud cover, smoke, or heavy dust.

An AC-130J Ghostrider with its 30mm automatic cannon, at left, and its 105mm howizter, at right, visible. USAF

Advanced mission systems, potentially leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, could be used to fuse data from multiple sensors on the Ghostrider in various ways to further improve its overall targeting and ISR capabilities. The aforementioned help in automating target recognition and categorization could be especially useful for gunship crews. SOCOM is already exploring the possibility of adding artificial intelligence-driven targeting and other capabilities onto the AC-130J, as well as other aircraft, in the future.

Depending on the type of AESA and its capabilities, how it is mounted, and especially how deeply it is integrated into the AC-130J's mission systems, it could potentially be used in a secondary role to provide additional threat warning, electronic attack, and general situational awareness. Such capabilities could be further integrated into the AC-130J's already extensive and still-expanding electronic warfare systems. Beyond helping to detect incoming threats along with other onboard systems, it could be used as a very powerful electronic warfare emitter, helping to protect the AC-130J but also working in an offensive EW capacity as a secondary capability set.

Improving the AC-130J's ability to spot and track targets at extended ranges, as well as its intelligence-gathering, situational awareness, and even self-protection capabilities, could be especially important in the coming years. For decades now, gunships like the Ghostrider have been primarily employed in counter-terrorism and other lower-end combat operations in largely permissive airspace.

ith the U.S. military's ongoing shift in focus to preparing for higher-end fights, with a specific eye toward a potential conflict with China in the Pacific, there are growing questions about what the future might hold for gunships like the AC-130, in general. One possibility, which would be further enabled by the addition of an AESA radar, could be the more localized use of the AC-130J for force protection missions of austere outposts — such as on islands — on the outer edges of the enemy's anti-access capabilities.

Being able to detect anything of interest for many miles around an island and leveraging its high-end communications and self-protection suites in the process, an AC-130 could provide an inner layer of awareness for U.S. forces in remote locales. Its ability to kill any of those targets and at a distance gives it all that much more relevance.

Once again, it all depends on how this capability evolves. To start, if just a basic GMTI and SAR functionality can be had, that would be a big leap in itself. But more robust abilities could soon follow.

So, while the results of this new round of testing of an AESA on the AC-130J remain to be seen, adding this kind of radar to the Ghostrider would make great sense. Coupled with other potential upgrades and new weaponry, the radar could be an important addition to help ensure the relevance of these gunships in future higher-end scenarios.

This unusual new Air Force tactic is likely raising alarms in China, expert says

“The agility of the U.S. military’s distributed method for strike missions and the suddenness of those strikes will increase immensely.”

By David Roza | Published Jan 4, 2023 8:54 AM EST

A U.S. Air Force pilot assigned to the 352d Special Operations Wing conduct a rehearsal flight on an MC-130J Commando II in preparation for a live-fire demonstration of a palletized munitions system during ATREUS 22-4 at Andøya Space Defense Range, Norway, Nov. 8, 2022. (Tech. Sgt. Brigette Waltermire/U.S. Air National Guard).

The U.S. Air Force is thinking outside the box, and it is probably keeping Chinese military leaders up at night.

Chinese military officials are likely alarmed by the Air Force’s efforts to launch cruise missiles out of cargo aircraft, according to an analysis by a U.S. Air Force civilian researcher who specializes in Chinese aerospace studies. 

Launching weapons out of cargo aircraft could complicate an enemy’s targeting priorities, make it more difficult for them to detect an incoming threat, and give the U.S. and its allies more options for striking the enemy at a low cost. 

That enemy may be China’s People’s Liberation Army in the near future, if the predictions of U.S. national security officials prove accurate.

“[T]he PLA likely regards Rapid Dragon in particular as a credible threat,” wrote Derek Solen, a senior researcher at the U.S. Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute, in a Dec. 22 article for The Jamestown Foundation, a national security think tank based in Washington, D.C. 

A palletized munitions system falls from the cargo hold of a 352d Special Operations Wing MC-130J Commando II during a live-fire demonstration for ATREUS 22-4 at Andøya Space Defense Range, Norway, Nov. 9, 2022. (Tech. Sgt. Brigette Waltermire/U.S. Air National Guard)

Rapid Dragon is the name for the Air Force effort to launch long-range missiles from cargo pallets dropped out of the back of cargo aircraft. In November, two Air Force MC-130Js successfully conducted a live-fire demonstration of Rapid Dragon using a Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile over Norway.

“An MC-130J is the perfect aircraft for this capability because we can land and operate from a 3,000-foot highways and austere landing zones whereas a bomber cannot,” said Air Force Lt. Col. Valerie Knight, mission commander of the 352d Special Operations Wing during the operation, in a November press release following the successful Rapid Dragon test. 

The JASSM’s long range, combined with the MC-130J’s ability to land where bombers cannot, would be bad news for any possible enemies, and PLA leaders seem to have noticed, according to Solen’s analysis.

Solen drew his observations from an article published Nov. 22 in the Science and Technology Section of China National Defense News, which the researcher described as “a sister publication of the PLA Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Military Commission, which is equivalent to the U.S. Defense Department.” 

The article, written by a man named Xi Qizhi, was “almost alarmist,” wrote Solen.

“In a state of war, sorties by transport aircraft far exceed those of bombers, and opponents have difficulty tracking them closely,” wrote Xi, according to Solen. “When a transport aircraft carrying palletized munitions flies to just outside a defensive perimeter and fires stealth cruise missiles, it is generally difficult to detect and discover it.”

Airmen and riggers with the 1st Special Operations Squadron Logistics Readiness Squadron load a Rapid Dragon Palletized Weapon System aboard an MC-130J Commando II at Hurlburt Field, Florida, Dec. 13, 2021. (Staff Sgt. Brandon Esau/U.S. Air Force)

Xi predicted that once a transport aircraft is armed with palletized munitions, “the agility of the U.S. military’s distributed method for strike missions and the suddenness of those strikes will increase immensely.”

Indeed, increasing strike agility is part of the goal of Rapid Dragon.

“Rapidly deployable palletized munitions can saturate the airspace with multiple weapons and effects, complicate adversary targeting solutions, help open access for critical target prosecution, and deplete an adversary’s air defense munitions stockpile,” wrote the Air Force Research Laboratory on its website page about the program.

In fact, the reason why the program revolves around putting missiles on cargo pallets is so that the weapons can be rolled on and off a cargo transport without any modifications to the aircraft. The Air Force alone has more than 200 C-130s, while the Navy and Coast Guard have a few dozen more. More than 40 countries fly the C-130, the Air Force wrote, so if U.S. allies want to drop palletized munitions, they likely have the means to do so.

“It’s really easily exportable to our partners and allies around the globe that may want to increase the utility of their air force,” said then-head of Air Force Special Operations Command Lt. Gen. Jim Slife last year about Rapid Dragon. “When you look at partner capability, we have a lot of partners around the globe that don’t have heavy bomber-type platforms that would be traditional carriers of those types of munitions, but they’ve got plenty of C-130s proliferated around the world.”

A 352d Special Operations Wing MC-130J Commando II conducts a rehearsal flight in preparation for a live-fire demonstration of a palletized munitions system during ATREUS 22-4 at Andøya Space Defense Range, Norway, Nov. 8, 2022. (Tech. Sgt. Brigette Waltermire/U.S. Air National Guard)

The proliferation of C-130s is one of the factors that makes Xi worried about Rapid Dragon, Solen wrote. Still, not all Chinese writers appear to share that view. Solen noted an article that appeared on Nov. 16 in the international section of China National Defense News where the writer, Liu Haochang, cited unnamed “analysts” saying that it would be “excessively wishful thinking” for U.S. military planners to hope that efforts like Rapid Dragon would complicate an enemy’s targeting picture.

“To a military with sufficient air defense forces, any enemy military aircraft in the midst of an armed clash is a target for strikes,” Liu cited the analysts saying, according to Solen.

However, Solen pointed out a factor that appears to hurt the credibility of Liu’s analysis. The international section of China National Defense News “usually downplays the efforts of Beijing’s enemies,” while the science and technology section in which Xi’s article appeared “tends to publish straight news,” he said. The downplaying is evident when Liu tries to quote a U.S. defense industry official’s doubts about efforts such as Rapid Dragon, but the writer ends up misattributing the quote and embellishing its meaning.

Liu tried to quote an executive from defense company L3Harris saying that Rapid Dragon “will not help resolve the compositional problem of its fleet of military aircraft,” Solen said. However, the  Defense News article that Liu cites does not feature such a quote from a L3Harris official. The Defense News article does cite Heather Penney, an analyst for the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, who said that the Air Force still suffers from having a too-small, too-old aircraft fleet. However, Liu may have “intentionally misattributed this remark to the executive in order to create the impression that greater doubt exists about the USAF’s endeavor within the U.S. itself,” Solen said.

It is true that the Air Force fleet is no spring chicken, but Solen remarked that getting more use out of aircraft by expanding their mission sets would be welcome even in a younger fleet. More individuals within the Chinese defense establishment probably agree with Xi rather than Liu, Solen argued.

“[I]n this case, the PLA likely regards Rapid Dragon in particular as a credible threat,” he wrote. “The PLA is likely to regard the seriousness of that threat as significantly greater if Rapid Dragon is shared with American allies.” 

Rapid Dragon is not the only U.S. Air Force effort to get more use out of its aging fleet of aircraft. Last August, the service also tried out using the venerable B-52 bomber as a cargo hauler in order to bring maintenance equipment out to the battlefield with them. In December, the Air Force also tried using a C-17 transport jet to refuel a B-2 stealth bomber, which “had never been done before,” according to a press release.

Top Air Force leaders are working hard to encourage a climate of experimentation among the rank-and-file, with many officials framing it as a requirement if the service hopes to defeat China in a possible war. Gen. Mike Minihan, the head of Air Mobility Command, which controls many of the Air Force’s C-130s and C-17s, said the time to conduct such experiments is now.

“I’d rather test that out now than try to figure that out when the shooting’s going on,” he said in front of thousands of airmen and aerospace industry members in September.

“Nobody is going to care what our plans are for five to 10 years if we lose tomorrow,” he added. “Our toys, our training, our desires are meaningless unless we maneuver them to unfair advantage and unrepentant lethality.”

I agree, but why at all, what's Cannon?  Based on the article, that's everything cannon already has, hence the moniker AFSOC West...

New Wing at Davis-Monthan Will Include AC-130s, MC-130s, CSAF Says

This Day in Aviation, L-100 Flies, 20–21 April 1964

The Last of Them: The boneyard receives final MC-130H

On April 2, the final MC-130H Combat Talon ll made its last flight, arriving at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona to retire at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG). This aircraft was the last of the final six MC-130Hs transferred for storage at the 309th AMARG, known as the boneyard.

The aircraft, tail number 89-0280 belonging to the 1st Special Operations Wing, was flown by a Total Force crew and included Lt Gen Tony Bauernfeind, AFSOC commander, to pay homage to the heroic legacy and service the Talon II has provided for AFSOC and the joint force over the past 30 years.

“Today marks the end of a legacy for one of the finest airplanes ever flown in AFSOC,” said Bauernfeind. “The MC-130H Combat Talon II, or as the crews that’ve flown it call it: “The Chariot of Armageddon,” held a critical mission of special operations forces mobility in infiltrating and exfiltrating into many of the hardest locations in the world while upholding the Talon Standard of absolute precision. I’m very proud of the entire Talon community; the crews, maintainers, and operations support personnel.” 

Initially arriving at Hurlburt Field in June 1992, the MC-130H Combat Talon II is a derivative of the C-130H Hercules modified for special operations and played a vital role in AFSOC operations across the globe.

The mission of the Combat Talon ll was to provide infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces and equipment in hostile and denied territories, while also providing a secondary air refueling capability for helicopters and vertical lift platforms. Additionally, it also provided SOF commanders with an all-weather, low-level penetration option utilizing its terrain following capabilities.

The standard aircrew complement for the MC-130H was seven consisting of two pilots, a navigator, two loadmasters, a flight engineer, and an electronic warfare officer.

“The Talon II was a navigator’s dream due to the planning required and systems expertise necessary to fly it,” said Col. Richard Greszler, Jr., AFSOC Operations Center commander and prior MC-130H navigator. “The ability to fly in mountainous terrain in [instrument meteorological conditions] required extremely detailed mission planning, so every flight required the whole crew to understand the limitations of the aircraft and the crew, and to push right up to the edge in order to be successful. The ability to project power and penetrate denied or sensitive areas to further our Nation’s interest was the hallmark of the Talon II.”

Over the last 30 years, the Combat Talon ll was critical to many missions from evacuations of civilians from the Republic of the Congo in 1997, to enduring counterterror and counter-violent extremist organizations (C-VEO) operations.

“The legacy of the Talon II fills me with pride,” Greszler said. “Pride in a community which looked to be tasked to defend our Nation no matter the danger. The aircraft was an amazing machine, but it was the men and women who crewed and maintained the Chariot of Armageddon that made it special. They constantly strove to improve and never let their teammates down.”

With the completion of the final trip to AMARG, the MC-130H fleet has approximately 264,442 total flight hours and 106,850 sorties since its start of operations in late 1992.

Replacing the MC-130H, along with the retired E and P models, is the MC-130J Commando II, which has been in operation since 2011.

The Commando II flies clandestine, or low visibility, single or multi-ship, low-level infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces, by airdrop or airland and air refueling missions for special operations helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft, intruding politically sensitive or hostile territories. The MC-130J primarily flies missions at night to reduce probability of visual acquisition and intercept by airborne threats.

The last MC-130H in the 1st SOW’s inventory will be retired later this summer in Hurlburt Field’s airpark, cementing the retirement of the Talon II fleet in AFSOC.

Below are a few of the notable MC-130H tail numbers and missions that highlight the various missions the Combat Talon II will be remembered for:

89-0280: Coined “The Highlander”, 89-0280 is one of the few Combat Talon II aircraft to have been stationed at every permanent duty location for Talon II aircraft, it was later the first aircraft to respond and land at Sendai International Airport during Operation Tomadachi following the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima, Japan on March 16, 2011. The mission to Sendai opened the airfield for mass follow-on relief missions, and the first C-17 was able to land four hours later.

85-0011: Coined “The Ace of Spades”, aircraft 85-0011 is known for transporting Saddam Hussein after his capture near the town of Tikrit in December 2003.  Additionally, this aircraft participated in earthquake relief efforts during a 1997 JCET down in Venezuela.  During the immediate aftermath, the crew of 0011 airlifted 175,000 lbs of supplies and received the Order of Jose Antonio Anzoategui, Venezuela’s highest medal for gallantry.

86-1699: Coined “Merlin’s Magic”, it participated in Operation Firm Response to conduct a 14.4 flight hour NEO of 56 non-combatants from the Republic of the Congo in 1997.

89-0283: This aircraft was the fourth of four Talons that opened OEF as a Rhino Raider in 2001. Rhino LZ was the first combat airfield seizure in Afghanistan in 2001. Additionally, 0283 conducted the exfil of Hamid Karzai on November 4, 2001. This aircraft also conducted a BLU-82 drop on Masir-e-Sharif and participated in the 2008 Colombia hostage rescue.

https://www.afsoc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3356795/the-last-of-them-the-boneyard-receives-final-mc-130h/

Retirement Of MC-130H Speeds Up MC-130J Low-Flying Radar Upgrade

Older MC-130Hs are now all retired, something that was delayed over concerns about key low-altitude radar capabilities on the MC-130J.

byJoseph Trevithick| PUBLISHED Apr 11, 2023 1:43 PM EDT

Sierra Nevada Corporation

The U.S. Air Force says it has accelerated work to integrate Raytheon's AN/APQ-187 Silent Knight terrain-following/terrain avoidance radar onto its MC-130J Commando II special operations transport/tanker aircraft. This has come amid the retirement of the Commando II's predecessor, the MC-130H Combat Talon II, with its highly specialized AN/APQ-170 radar. The Combat Talon II divestment process was slowed down significantly due to concerns about the MC-130J's terrain-following and terrain avoidance capabilities, which are critical to its core mission sets, with its original radar.

It is unclear how many MC-130Js have received the Silent Knight Radar, or SKR, to date, but Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) told The War Zone that the plan is to eventually integrate it onto each one of its Commando IIs. AFSOC currently has 56 MC-130Js and is planning to acquire a full fleet of 64 of the planes.

An MC-130J with the Silent Knight Radar fitted above its nose. Sierra Nevada Corporation Sierra Nevada Corporation

Currently, the MC-130J is the only C-130-based transport/tanker within AFSOC, at least that we know about. The service divested the last MC-130H earlier this month. Two Combat Talon IIs are now set to go on display, one each at Hurlburt Field in Florida and Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. Air Combat Command (ACC) also operates somewhat similarly configured HH-130J Combat King II combat search and rescue aircraft, which have transport and aerial refueling capabilities.

"AFSOC... has accelerated developmental testing on the Silent Knight Radar," a spokesperson for the command told The War Zone in a statement.

The MC-130J's core mission sets include inserting special operations forces into denied areas, as well as extracting them from those kinds of locations. Being able to fly at very low levels and otherwise use terrain to hide from enemy forces, and especially from their air defense radars, and do so in under the cover of darkness and in bad weather, is absolutely essential to the success of these kinds of operations.

An MC-130J Commando II without the Silent Knight Radar installed. USAF

Terrain following and terrain avoidance capabilities can also be useful for the MC-130J's additional aerial refueling mission. Commando IIs can carry a probe-and-drogue refueling pod under each wing to provide fuel in mid-air to V-22 Osprey tilt-rotors, including AFSOC's CV-22Bs, and helicopters, such as MH-60 Black Hawks and MH-47 Chinooks belonging to the Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. These missions also routinely occur at lower altitudes and at night.

The original expectation was that the MC-130J would be able to use a version of the AN/APN-241 multi-function radar found on all standard C-130J Hercules airlifters to provide the necessary terrain-following and terrain avoidance capabilities. This turned out not to be the case, as you can read more about here.

The decision was then made to integrate the proven SKR onto the Commando II. This radar is set to become a common terrain-following/terrain avoidance radar across the U.S. special operations aviation community as a whole, also being integrated into Air Force CV-22B tilt-rotors and Army MH-60M and MH-47G helicopters.

A U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) briefing slide showing Silent Knight Radars installed on Army MH-60M Black Hawk and MH-47G Chinook helicopters. SOCOM

On the MC-130J, the SKR is installed on top of the aircraft's nose, as a complement to the existing AN/APN-241.

A head-on view of an MC-130J Commando II with the Silent Knight Radar installed. USAF

The limitations of the original radar on the MC-130J prompted AFSOC to significantly alter its plans for retiring the older MC-130Hs. Originally, the Air Force expected to have divested the last of its Combat Talon IIs, which have a distinctive gonzo nose to accommodate the very large AN/APQ-170 radar, by 2012.

An MC-130H Combat Talon II. USAF

The story of the AN/APQ-170 is a saga unto itself, as you can read more about here, and delayed the entry of the MC-130H into service until 1991. Combat Talon IIs arrived too late to take part in the first Gulf War, but did go on to support operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq, among other places.

In the opening phase of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, MC-130Hs carrying U.S. Army Special Forces personnel, or Green Berets, conducted the longest publicly known low-level infiltration sorties since World War II as part of a mission known as Operation Ugly Baby. Turkish authorities had denied the U.S. military the use of the country's airspace over issues relating to Kurdish groups in northern Iraq.

Without access to Turkish airspace, the Combat Talon IIs launched from Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Romania on the night of March 22, 2003. They then had to ingress from the west and fly a convoluted route that took them along most of Iraq's western and northern borders to try to get safely around the country's defenses. The route also required stripping down the aircraft as much as possible and leaving behind anything that wasn't necessary to reduce weight and extend range.

A map showing a portion of the route taken by Air Force MC-130Hs during Operation Ugly Baby, as well as the locations of Iraqi forces. The "Green Line" noted in Northern Iraq reflects a boundary at the time between semi-autonomous Kurdish regions and the rest of the country. U.S. Army

"The planes taking off were staggered, which allowed the Iraqis to adjust fire as each plane flew the route to Bashur and Sulaymaniyah L.Z.s [landing zones]. The last few planes received the most contact from anti-air," according to an official history of the mission. "Most of the flight had been an average ride until the aircrew started to receive enemy fire. At that point, the airplane initiated evasive maneuvers to avoid taking too much damage. During the rollercoaster of a ride, the pilots had to change elevation throughout the flurry of rounds, sometimes reaching nearly 200 ft off the ground and at near top speeds with as many as 60 Green Berets on board."

Army Green Berets inside an MC-130H during Operation Ugly Baby. US Army

One of the Combat Talon IIs was so severely damaged as a result that it had to divert into Turkey.

"We passed over a small [Iraqi] convoy, and they started firing everything from shoulder-fired Surface to Air Missile Systems to pistols and everything in between," Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Jefferey Elwell, who as an Operation Detachment Alpha (ODA) team sergeant with the 10th Special Forces Group at the time, said an in an official interview. "The lights came on, and the pilots declared an inflight emergency which would have them divert landing into Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. As the ramp came down, everyone started running as they realized aviation fluid was spilling over the tarmac."

A picture said to show damage to one of the MC-130Hs that took part in Operation Ugly Baby. U.S. Army

Ultimately, MC-130Hs were able to insert 19 Special Forces ODAs, or A-Teams, as well as four special operations headquarters elements, as part of Ugly Baby. This helped establish a coalition foothold in northern Iraq in coordination with local Kurdish groups.

Operation Ugly Baby underscores the immense importance of extremely low-level flight capabilities to AFSOC's MC-130 community and the vital need to integrate SKRs onto the Commando IIs as quickly as possible.

AFSOC MC-130Js are also in the process of receiving other upgrades to their communications and data-sharing networking capabilities and their self-protection suite.

The Air Force is exploring the possibility of fielding a subvariant of the MC-130J configured as a float plane. However, AFSOC told The War Zone in February that plans to conduct an actual demonstration of this capability this year have been pushed back, at least until 2024. The Pentagon's 2024 Fiscal Year budget request does show there remains significant interest in this project, with U.S. Special Operations Command asking for nearly $10.1 million in additional funding. This is a major increase over the $1.6 million that SOCOM received for MAC in Fiscal Year 2023.

A rendering of an MC-130J converted into a floatplane. AFSOC

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/retirement-of-mc-130h-speeds-up-mc-130j-low-flying-radar-upgrade

There are not many acft equipped with the terrain following radar yet.  So likely they will unmodded acft that would eventually get the mod,

The radar you are referring to is a mod. 

yes, it does.  The only unit. 

C-130 Seaplane Program Put On Back Burner (Updated)

Funding challenges and ‘reprioritization of capabilities’ has resulted in an indefinite delay of the C-130 floatplane’s test flight.

byHoward Altman| UPDATED Feb 2, 2023 6:57 PM

Howard Altman

The initial test flight of an amphibious MC-130J special operations transport was anticipated to take place this year, but those plans have changed.

“We were initially aiming to conduct an operation capability demonstration in [2023],” Air Force Capt. Alicia Premo, a spokeswoman for Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), told The War Zone in an email Thursday after we requested a program update. “However, for a variety of reasons, at this time we do not have the capability demonstration scheduled. Those reasons vary from funding challenges to a recent reprioritization of capabilities.”

Premo did not elaborate on the reasons she cited for the change in plans for the aircraft, dubbed the MC-130J Commando II Amphibious Capability, or MAC. We asked for clarification and will update this story when we get a response.

But whatever the answer, it is yet another setback for a program that has now seen its goal line shift to the right for the second time.

A flying demo was originally set to take place by the end of 2022, then-AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. James Slife said at a September 2021 media roundtable.

A year later, in September 2022, Slife announced he was moving the test flight date yet again.

"We're awaiting the outcome of the 23 [Fiscal Year 2023] budget process that continues to work its way through the Hill right now," Slife told reporters at the Air and Space Forces Association (AFA) Air, Space, & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. "But our anticipation is that we will have a flying demonstration in the next calendar year."

The future of the MAC is now murky.

In December, Lt. Gen. Tony D. Bauernfeind took over command of AFSOC from Slife, who was shepherding the MAC program but now has a new job as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, at the Air Force Headquarters in the Pentagon.

It is unclear whether the change at the top of AFSOC is a death knell for MAC, a program design to add floats onto special operations-equipped MC-130Js to provide greater airlift flexibility, especially in the Pacific.

In an age of increasing concern over threats from China, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), AFSOC’s higher headquarters, has been looking for ways to move people and equipment to austere locations in or at the edge of contested areas. Being able to take off and land on the water offers a lot of advantages.

The MC-130’s established ability to use short, often rugged airstrips has made it an attractive platform to consider for such capabilities. The fact that it is fully outfitted with all the gear needed for the most challenging of special operations missions is even a bigger selling point.

A potential conflict with China would likely have distributed U.S. forces operating in far-flung locations that could be hard to reach with conventional air and sea lift. Marine Corps Commandant David Berger's Force Design 2030 concept is based on prepositioning troops in range of Chinese weaponry. During last year’s AFA conference, Pacific Air Forces Commander Air Force Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach talked about having supplies prepositioned across the region in anticipation of Chinese efforts to cut off supply lines. Being able to take off and land on water has the potential to help address some of those issues and concerns. Supporting small forward forces, such as those supporting F-35B or drone operations on remote islands that do not have runways is another example of how this capability could prove critical. The MAC could also help provide combat search and rescue, especially for down aircrews, over vast distances.

As noted earlier, decades of evolutionary development have gone into the MC-130J along with large sums of money to integrate unique navigation, communications, and survivability enhancements onto the airframe. So, while there is clearly a tradeoff using a C-130 on floats over a flying boat, for instance, it would be very expensive and time-consuming to fit such an aircraft out with the MC-130's existing capabilities, which center on getting in and out of hostile territory alive. The C-130 also has a large spacious hold and rear ramp that can accommodate outsized loads.

You can read more about the concept and its pitfalls and advantages in our previous coverage here.

As of last year, AFSOC had picked a general design layout for its amphibious MC-130 variant, Slife said at the time.

"We've kind of done all the modeling and simulation, and we settled on a general design layout for the way we're going to do that," said Slife of the MAC's design. "We're going through wave tank modeling to make sure that the design that we selected is stable and looks like it's going to be operationally viable for us."

AFSOC has been working with the Air Force Research Lab's (AFRL) Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) directorate to develop the MAC “to improve the platform's support of seaborne special operations,” AFSOC said in a September 2021 media release. 

With today's update from AFSOC though, it is unclear whether the command still considers this concept viable and if not, what, if anything, it has in mind to replace it.

There are developments ongoing that are working toward realizing major runway independent airlift capacity, like DARPA's Liberty Lifter wing-in-ground-effect aircraft, but that is a much bigger concept, both figuratively and literally. It was hoped that the MC-130 floatplane could have provided even a tactical airlift capability much sooner and in a relatively mature package.

We will let you know more about the fate of MAC as soon as we can.

Update 7:05 PM EST

Capt. Premo got back to us with some additional information.

"A final determination on how AFSOC will allocate funds for future and pathfinding capabilities has not been finalized yet," she said. "Right now, a demo is not likely to happen in [2023]."

Premo said she would update us with a better timeline tomorrow.

"MAC does have a future," she said.

'Spirit of Mansfield' finds new home at MAPS Museum

88-4401 (#5154)

Kelly Byer

The Repository

GREEN − The "Spirit of Mansfield" became the largest military plane at the Military Aviation Preservation Society (MAPS) Museum with its arrival Saturday.

The C-130H Hercules, which was previously flown from the Mansfield-Lahm Air National Guard base to the Akron-Canton Airport, was towed to MAPS just west of the airport while about 50 people watched. With a wingspan greater than 132 feet, it took about an hour or more of maneuvering and wood placed under one side to lift a wing over the museum's gate.

"It's very difficult to move this thing," said Kim Kovesci, the museum's executive director.

In 2021, the Air Force announced plans to transition the Mansfield base into the Air National Guard's first Cyber Warfare Wing. Because of its size, Kovesci said, there wasn't much competition for one of the eight, aging C-130Hs.

The plane was retired from the Mansfield base and, because the military still uses Hercules planes, is considered on loan to the museum.

Kovesci and Ray Weber, a retired squadron commander who flew the Hercules and other aircraft out of Mansfield, said getting the plane mostly involved a lot of paperwork.

Weber is a MAPS volunteer and retired from the 179th Airlift Wing, a unit of the Ohio Air National Guard. The Air National Guard is a separate reserve component of the U.S. Air Force. His son and grandson also have flown for the Air National Guard.

Weber has flown even larger planes than the Hercules transport and cargo plane but said its 155,000 pounds are easily maneuvered and capable of landing on only 3,000 feet of runway. That particular Hercules has made 14,450 landings.

"It's going to be a big asset to the museum," Weber said. "It's our biggest airplane yet."

Penny Schoenberger, a MAPS volunteer who was a master sergeant with the Air National Guard, said she performed maintenance for the 179th Airlift Wing for 10 years. Her late husband also was a master sergeant at the Mansfield base and flew many missions on C-130Hs.

"I'm just excited that it's coming here," said Schoenberger, who grew up in North Canton.

Kovesci said the MAPS Museum tries to maintain displays that are significant for the Northeast Ohio region. The C-130Hs have been flown out of Mansfield and Youngstown, and a lot of area residents "have a history" with them.

"This fits right in," Kovesci said.

The Hercules joins about 60 other military aircraft at the MAPS Museum, 2260 International Parkway.

Reach Kelly at 330-580-8323 or [email protected] Twitter: @kbyerREP

The new split wheel is PN 3-1660, see IPB TO 4W1-3-7-4 and 4W1-3-7-2 for Mx.

Youngstown Air Reserve selected as preferred location for new C-130Js

While the final decision won't be made until this summer, Youngstown's selection as the preferred site offers hope for the Valley.

Thursday, December 22nd 2022, 6:09 PM EST

By Robert McFerren

The Youngstown Air Reserve Station has been selected as the preferred location to replace its eight C-130Hs with eight C-130Js out of the four locations being considered.

Youngstown ARS was selected to host this mission after a site survey was conducted that assessed the location based on factors related to the mission, infrastructure capacity, community support, environmental considerations, and cost. 

"The men and women of the 910th Airlift Wing are excited by the news that Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, has been selected by Secretary of the Air Force Kendall as the preferred basing location for eight new C-130J aircraft. The replacement of our eight C-130Hs with these new planes will allow the 910th to continue to answer our nation's call anywhere around the globe for the foreseeable future," said Col. Jeff Van Dootingh, 910th Airlift Wing commander.

While the final decision won't be made until this summer, Youngstown's selection as the preferred site offers hope for the Valley. Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado; Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia; and Minneapolis-St. Paul ARS, Minnesota, remain as alternative locations for the C-130Js.

The new C-130J reduces manpower requirements, lowers operating and support costs, and provides life-cycle cost savings over earlier C-130 models. It can also climb faster and higher, flying farther at a higher cruise speed, and taking off and landing at a shorter distance. Youngstown ARS will continue supporting Air Force Northern Command aerial spray and tactical airlift missions.   

"Every day, the men and women stationed at YARS put their lives on the line for our safety, and it is our job to give them the resources they need to succeed," said Congressman Tim Ryan. "Today's announcement is the culmination of many years of effort in concert with my Ohio Delegation colleagues, and I couldn't be prouder to have helped make it happen."

"The 910th Airlift Wing performs critical missions throughout the country and around the globe," said Senator Sherrod Brown. "The Youngstown Community proudly supports the 910th. I'm grateful that the Air Force Reserve Command, and Secretary Frank Kendall, recognized how important Youngstown Air Reserve Station is to our national security and selected it as the preferred location for eight C-130Js. Congressman Ryan and I have worked with the entire delegation to upgrade these planes, and it's finally happening." 

Merry Christmas Tiny

PN 354798-2            NSN: 1670-00-588-6261

November 3, 2022 (by Capt. Alicia Premo) - Air Force Special Operations Command received its 31st and final AC-130J Ghostrider, completing the command's transition from the legacy AC-130W, AC-130U, and AC-130H fleets.

USAF AC-130J Ghostrider #19-5946 taxies on the flight line following the AC-130J Ghostrider dedication and delivery ceremony on November 2, 2022, at Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview, Fla. The ceremony marked the 31st and final AC-130J delivery to the U.S. Air Force. (USAF photo by TSgt. Michael Charles]

Following a commemoration ceremony at the Lockheed Martin Gunship Modification Facility in Crestview on Nov. 2, the final AC-130J was delivered to the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico.

During the AC-130J Ghostrider dedication and delivery ceremony, Lt. Col. Joe Allen, Gunship Program manager and narrator for the event, briefly discussed the history of nose art and how it became a common way of depicting the name of an airplane. He also explained how pilots would stencil names or call signs on their aircraft, providing a sense of connection and further a feeling of pride for themselves and the crew that kept the airplane flying.

"Aircraft #31 is no different [than previous World War II aircraft] and is being named in honor of Mr. Stan ‘Sluggo' Siefke who was instrumental in the developments of the precision strike package prior to cutting the first metal on the MC-130W," said Allen. "Sluggo's impacts on Whiskey and Ghostrider have been nothing short of outstanding and we are honored to have him in attendance today."

Lt. Gen. Jim Slife, AFSOC commander, represented the command at the ceremony and spoke about his experience with acquiring and receiving the AC-130J.

Slife recalled that it had been only a few years back when then Col. Slife, working at the Pentagon for the Office of Secretary of Defense, began the messaging and formative language that initiated the program that he's seeing come full circle.

"In the fall of 2009, the secretary of defense decided to recapitalize [the AC-130] with C-130Js to build the platforms we see behind us today," Slife said.

He also spoke about seeing the first J model go into combat in the summer of 2019 while serving as the AFSOC commander.

"The airplane and its predecessors have exceeded all our expectations and kept more Americans alive than any other airplane on the battlefield," Slife said.

"The future is going to be different than what we have experienced for the last 20 years, but one thing I'm certain of is this airplane will be relevant to whatever the future operating environment brings, so thank you all for delivering such a magnificent capability to today's warfighters," he said.

Capt. Katie Tiedemann, 73rd Special Operations Squadron weapons systems officer, shared operational vignettes of the AC-130J during the event. She specifically shared her own experience deployed in Afghanistan when she supported Operation Allies Refuge.

"Over two weeks, my own crew, and two others, continued to employ our aircraft for countless hours, reopening the [Kabul] airport and evacuating 123,000 refugees," Tiedemann said. "Much of the rest of the story you have seen and heard, but our two crews who flew during the evacuation will be recognized this fall with the MacKay trophy for accomplishing the most meritorious flight of the year."

Following Capt. Tiedemann's presentation, William Innes, deputy director for acquisition, United States Special Operations Command, spoke about USSOCOM's part in navigating the acquisitions process to get the weapons systems from industry to the warfighter.

"When we can see firsthand that it [the acquisition process] works, it delivers the best weapons system the nation can get, it is truly inspirational," he said.

Vic Torla, Lockheed Martin vice president of Special Operations Forces Global Logistics Support Services, expressed his gratitude for the partnership between Lockheed Martin and the Air Force.

"A great example of a government and industry partnership to stand up this facility," Torla said. "A ten-year journey to deliver what is now 30 combat capable aircraft to Special Operations Command."

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Slife, along with the aircrew, stepped onto the new AC-130J and took off for Cannon AFB, where the final AC-130J will become part of the 27th Special Operations Wing.

He concluded with his gratitude for all who contributed to making the AC-130J the success it is today.

"For the whole team today, for the team that maintained the airplane, that built the airplane, that acquired the airplane, that fly the airplane, that tested the airplane, thank you for what you've done."

The AC-130J is a transport aircraft modified for special forces operations and has been used to support AFSOC in missions around the world. It is a fifth-generation gunship that can provide close air support, air interdiction, and armed reconnaissance.

Special Ops C-130 Tests Pallet-Dropped Cruise Missiles In The Arctic

The Air Force’s Rapid Dragon palletized munitions system has made its first trip to Europe, including being loaded aboard a Polish C-130.

byJoseph Trevithick| PUBLISHED Nov 9, 2022 4:32 PM

A U.S. Air Force MC-130J Commando II special operations aircraft has launched an AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range cruise missile, or JASSM-ER, above the Arctic Circle in the first-ever demonstration in Europe of the Rapid Dragon air-launched palletized munitions concept. In addition, U.S. personnel trained together with their Polish counterparts on the system highlighting how it might be employed by other members of a U.S.-led coalition in a future conflict, as well as potential foreign interest in this capability.

U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) led the demonstration earlier today as part of the latest iteration of a larger multi-national exercise series called ATREUS. An MC-130J from the 352nd Special Operations Wing carried out the actual employment of the Rapid Dragon system over the Andoya Space Range, which is situated north of the Arctic Circle in the Norwegian Sea off the coast of Norway. The 352nd, based at RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom, forms the core of SOCEUR's standing aerial capabilities and is the main Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) unit in Europe, as you can read about more in this past War Zone feature.

An MC-130J Commando II from the 352nd Special Operations Wing releases a Rapid Dragon palletized munitions system during a demonstration off the coast of Norway. Oklahoma Air National Guard

An MC-12W Liberty intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft from the Oklahoma Air National Guard participated in the demonstration, as well. Among other things, the MC-12W is equipped with a sensor turret containing electro-optical and infrared cameras that could have been useful for recording various aspects of the demonstration.

The MC-12W Liberty from the Oklahoma Air National Guard's 137th Special Operations Wing that took part in the Rapid Dragon demonstration today on the ground at an unspecified airfield in Norway. Oklahoma Air National Guard

The Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) office, which is in charge of the Rapid Dragon program, and other organizations supported the demonstration. The full list of participants includes U.S. Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) Detachment 1, the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Dahlgren Division (NSWC-Dahlgren), Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control division, Systima Technologies, ASR-Pioneer, and the Andoya Space Center, according to AFRL.

In addition to SDPE and SOCEUR, participants supporting this event included U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Det 1, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Dahlgren; Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Systima Technologies, ASR-Pioneer, and Andøya Space Center.

At the time of writing, there are limited specific details about what this particular demonstration entailed. A video the 352nd Special Operations Wing released, seen below, does show the release of the AGM-158B missile, presently the primary munition for use with the Rapid Dragon system, and the weapon then cruising along at a low altitude over the sea. The JASSM-ER is seen impacting the water at the end of its flight, but it's unclear whether an actual target of some kind was struck.

The Rapid Dragon system consists primarily of multiple munitions contained inside modular frames, which are then loaded in a palletized fashion onto a cargo-carrying aircraft with a large rear ramp. It also includes a computerized targeting system that feeds information from off-board sources and into the missiles. The launch method involves releasing the palletized munitions via the aircraft's ramp just like any other type of air-dropped cargo, after which the system deploys a number of parachutes, stabilizes itself, and dispenses the munitions vertically. The system is designed to be able to accommodate various types of munitions, as well as be scalable and able to be quickly integrated with various types of airlifters.

Earlier, SOCEUR had posted another video on Twitter ahead of today's demonstration that it said showed the MC-130J carrying the Rapid Dragon system taking off from an unspecified airfield. Another C-130-type aircraft is also seen in the clip takeoff and then trailing behind the Commando II.

Plane spotters using online flight tracking software spotted at least one MC-130J, as well as the MC-12W Liberty, taking off from Norway's Andoya Airport, heading to the nearby Andoya Space Range, and then returning to the airport.

"The Rapid Dragon Experimentation Program is appropriately named, as it advanced rapidly from a concept on paper to a live fire using a developmental prototype in 24 months," Dr. Dean Evans, the Rapid Dragon program manager, said in a statement. "Now less than three years from the program’s inception, Rapid Dragon is being used by SOCEUR in the Arctic Circle. This is a testament to the team’s focus on rapid fielding to meet warfighter needs."

The first test of the Rapid Dragon system was conducted in January 2020 and a number of others have been carried out since then. These have involved various types of aircraft, including multiple C-130 variants and the C-17A Globemaster III, and different payloads, including AGM-158 series missiles and surrogates for them, as well as a novel design known as the Cargo Launch Expendable Air Vehicles with Extended Range, or CLEAVER.

"Although the Rapid Dragon Experimentation Program has been focused on kinetic munitions, the program’s efforts are now expanding from Palletized Munitions to Palletized Effects, which include kinetic and non-kinetic munitions; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, or ISR, platforms; cargo resupply; humanitarian aid delivery," according to a press release from AFRL regarding the test off Norway's coast.

The core idea behind Rapid Dragon is to offer a potentially more cost-effective and scalable way to rapidly and significantly increase stand-off strike capacity, as required, without the need to acquire and deploy more combat aircraft, especially bombers. This could be particularly important in a future high-end conflict. At the same time, airlift assets are likely to be equally in high demand during any future major fight, which has raised questions about the potential availability in those scenarios of cargo planes to turn into impromptu missile trucks. You can read more about the underlying concept here.

Today's demonstration off the coast of Norway does underscore the Air Force remains very interested in the potential benefits that Rapid Dragon has to offer and is continuing to explore the concept.

This particular event also highlighted the growing strategic significance of the Arctic region, and the potential for conflict there, especially with Russia. As Arctic ice has receded, new economic opportunities, particularly expanded access to trade routes and natural resources, have emerged, as has increased geopolitical competition. The U.S. military, as a whole, has been actively working in recent years to better position itself to be able to conduct sustained major operations in the High North, including together with regional allies and partners like Norway.

This all, of course, also comes against the backdrop of Russia's continuing war against Ukraine. This has already prompted the U.S. military and the rest of NATO, including Norway, to bolster its defensive posture along its eastern flank to help deter any potential spillover in Russian aggression.

“This is not signaling to Russia or any adversary,” U.S. Army Cpt. Margaret Collins, a SOCEUR spokesperson, had told The Barents Observer about the planned Rapid Dragon demonstration last week.

When it comes to allies and partners, Rapid Dragon's participation in the ATREUS exercise has notably extended beyond today's demonstration, too. Yesterday, U.S. personnel trained on the system with their Polish counterparts at Powidz Air Base. This included actually loading a Rapid Dragon pallet with what appeared to be AGM-158 surrogates onto one of the Polis Air Force's C-130H Hercules airlifters.

Whether or not the Polish military has an active interest in acquiring the Rapid Dragon system itself, this training does highlight how American forces could potentially utilize allied or partner airlifters to employ it during a future contingency. The Polish Air Force is already an operator of AGM-158 series missiles, with the F-16C Viper fighter jet being its current launch platform for those weapons.

"This effort [ATREUS] is meant to increase integration of both conventional and Special Operations Forces from participating nations and enhance interoperability with our NATO allies and European partners," Air Force Lt. Col. Lawrence Melnicoff, ATREUS exercise lead, said in a statement. "Routine engagements like those conducted throughout ATREUS training events enable effective responses for any contingency, as well as continuation of training, and increased readiness and collective defense."

All told, the Rapid Dragon demonstration off the coast of Norway is yet another step forward for this system and its underlying concepts of operations. At the same time, this particular event also highlights new security dynamics in Europe and the Artic and how American forces could work with allies to respond to future crises in those regions.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/special-ops-c-130-tests-pallet-dropped-cruise-missiles-in-the-arctic

You might be better off reaching out to a few of the MROs that perform that work to see about a travel field team to come do it for you vs. train you.  Problem with training is the proficiency aspect...if you don't have many to do, your people will never become proficient.  Cheaper and faster in the long run to pay someone to come to you and do it.  Marshall Aerospace Group in England, L3Harris in Crestview FL, Lockheed etc.

Anyone know the approximate timeline the USAF transitioned to the two blade antennas mounted on the vertical at the approximate same VOR antenna location?  I think the mid to late 1990s but not sure.

Thanks

Scott