USAF workload already shifted to WR/ALC starting in FY18.  USN workload has started too, WR/ALC suppose to first USN acft in the next few months but the entire workload transition is suppose to be a 5-yr transition. 

Suppose to be in FY 19...although they are suppose to initially operate their first three-four tails out of Wright Patt until facilities etc at Pittsburgh can be updated to accommodate the new acft.  

According to Bob Daley's spreadsheet, LMCO # 4132, tail # 65-0980 is at Robins, "withdrawn from use".  I know there are a few out here sitting on the ramp that have been here for a long time as well as a few that were here/at the museum and moved to Warrior Air Base for ABDR training etc.

Two units at Keesler, 815th Airlift Sqd (C-130Js) and the WC-130J Hurricane Hunters.

The unit at Elmo is ANG...not active duty...transitioning now from HC-130Ns to HC-130Js

Still have Ramstein (C-130Js)

Never knew about all this stuff...might have to go to the link below to check out the photos of all this stuff.

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15713/this-is-all-the-stuff-you-can-hang-out-of-a-c-130s-rear-paratrooper-doors

This Is All The Stuff You Can Hang Out of a C-130's Rear Paratrooper Doors

Various kits use those openings to mount surveillance systems, communications antennas, firefighting gear, and more.

By Joseph TrevithickNovember 2, 2017

Columbia University

After more than five decades of steady service, it’s safe to say that Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules family, as well as the civilian L-100 and now LM-100J models, has proven to be an especially versatile design. Its widespread use has prompted a whole associated industry of third party upgrades and add-ons, including one modular system called the Special Airborne Mission Installation and Response (SABIR) in particular, that can turn the aircraft’s rear paratrooper doors into surveillance arrays, communications nodes, even a radio and television broadcast antennas and more.

Airdyne, an engineering firm based on Calgary, Canada, has been actively developing SABIR, one of the better known systems, and expanding on what it can do since 2007. Its subsidiary, Airdyne Aerospace, handles the sales and marketing of the equipment, as well as repairs, from its headquarters in Florida. Rather than one single piece of equipment, SABIR is a modular kit that includes a new door, a retractable “arm” able to carry a store weighing up to 400 pounds, and an equipment rack and work station with a seat so a member of the crew can operate the systems now attached to the aircraft.

The USAF Tested an Advanced, Modular Sensor Pod on a Vintage AirlinerBy Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone

Marines To Turn Super Hercules, Osprey Fleets Into Missile Slinging Electronic Warfare PlatformsBy Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone

This Mysterious Military Spy Plane Has Been Flying Circles Over Seattle For DaysBy Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone

USAF Has Dispatched Its Air Sprayer C-130s To Texas In Response To Hurricane HarveyBy Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone

The USAF Finally Gives Its AC-130W Gunship The Big Gun It Desperately NeedsBy Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone

Relatively easy and quick to install, crews can substitute the rig for either the left or right rear paratrooper doors on any C-130, or both. Airdyne's website says it initially developed the setup for the Hercules specifically, but that it is “platform independent” and able to fit on other aircraft, though the Hercules still appears to be the primary platform.

The company says that an aircraft with this rapidly reconfigurable kit could be useful in a variety of military, law enforcement, and civilian roles. Its website lists more than a dozen possible mission sets, including surveillance missions, border patrol, search and rescue, and scientific research.

Airdyne

Airdyne itself offers a number of modular pods that fit onto the extendable strut, the AS-4 and AS-18, both of which can accept a variety of different sensors, including electro-optical and infrared still and video cameras, imaging and surface search and surveillance radars, laser imaging equipment, and signals intelligence suites. Another option is a wide-area surveillance system that incorporates multiple video cameras to capture imagery across a large swath of land or sea. Analysts can then put imagery together in a large mosaic making it easier to spot routine patterns of enemy movement or changes to the landscape over an extended period of time. Multiple users can exploit different parts of the imagery at one time, and vehicles and even people can be tagged tracked, including "rewinding" past footage and tracing their steps over a period of time. 

With the retracting arm, which only takes approximately one minute to extend or fold back up, the crew can position the pod well below the aircraft’s fuselage, as well. This reduces physical obstructions and other interference that might limit the range, field of view, intensity, or other capabilities of the sensors on board. Airdyne says that the full SABIR system works with nearly 170 different sensor packages.

Airdyne

We at The War Zone have written numerous times in the past about the immense value of modular sensor packages, especially for cash-strapped military forces and civilian agencies who might have limited numbers of actual aircraft available, but the need to perform a wide variety of missions. In July 2017, while exploring the U.S. Air Force’s new AgilePod system specifically, I wrote:

“This level of modularity makes perfect sense. If the AgilePod works as intended, during actual operations, crews on the ground could quickly swap out gear to better fir the situation at hand rather than having to prepare an entirely different aircraft or even just install a completely different pod. This would reduce the total number of aircraft a unit might need to be able to perform the different mission sets, as well as potentially speeding up the process of getting the appropriate equipment into the air. It would be especially useful for units at forward locations where existing infrastructure and resources may be otherwise limited.

…

“Of course, individual manned or unmanned aircraft would only be able to perform the missions that the pod is configured for at any one time. However, the multiple stations inside the AgilePod would allow it to carry more than one type of sensor during each mission, which would still provide additional flexibility over some existing configurations. ARFL already has a number of examples within the Air Force and elsewhere in the U.S. military it can look to for evidence of the benefits of similar modular architecture.”

So it’s not surprising that SABIR is already in service across the U.S. military, including with the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, as well as U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air National Guard. A number of other countries around the world also operate the system. The Air National Guard in particular has been steadily exploring the versatility of the concept to handle less typical missions.

In 2006, the New York Air National Guard turned to Sandia National Laboratories to develop an X-band radar for its LC-130H Hercules, already specially configured to support U.S. government activities in extreme cold weather locales such as Greenland and Antarctica. The 109th Airlift Wing had suffered a number of accidents when crews tried to land on what appeared to be stable ice, only to have the aircraft run into a hidden crevasse.

USAF

An LC-130H sits snagged in the ice in Antarctica after hitting a hidden crevasse during a landing in December 1998.

With the X-band radar, crews could see beneath the top sheet of ice and make sure their impromptu runway was safe before touching down. The 109th used SABIR to attach the equipment to the aircraft. 

Afterwards, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation and Colombia University, the unit began helping test the “IcePod,” which could carry the radar, along with various other sensors for research purposes. The final design had multiple visual and infrared cameras, radars, and a GPS navigation system, and was able to gather data on ice depth and density and air and surface temperatures, among other information. 

USAF

The IcePod on one of the 109th's LC-130s.

The Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 193rd Special Operations Wing also had a unique requirement, but one that didn’t involve sensors at all. The unit flies the EC-130J Commando Solo variant, a psychological warfare platform that can beam out propaganda radio and television broadcasts over warzones, urging civilians to avoid certain areas or implore them to give up any support they might be giving to the enemy.

The only problem was that the Commando Solo conversions were complicated, costly, and would only ever apply to a small fleet. In 2008, the U.S. military decided to trim back the planned fleet from an already paltry six aircraft, down to just three. This left the 193rd with three “slick” C-130 airframes, plus an additional spare, that it suddenly had no idea what to do with.

The unit subsequently combined SABIR carrying a pod with a version of a U.S. Army psychological operations broadcasting system. The cost-effective combination meant that these EC-130J aircraft, though less complex than the Commando Solos, could still transmit FM radio, analog and digital television, and even SMS text messages.

via ThinkDefence

One of the 193rd Special Operations Wing's "slick" C-130s with SABIR system.

The psychological warfare mission highlights SABIR versatility beyond just modular sensor packages. Along with the broadcast equipment, the arm could just as easily accommodate a communications or data sharing hub to help pass information between friendly forces on the ground and in the sky. This could be an especially important capability for smaller militaries that cannot afford to field dedicated aircraft for this mission, such as the U.S. Air Force’s fixed wing E-11 or EQ-4B drone, both of which carry the powerful Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN).

Off the battlefield, this capability could be especially useful for more civilian authorities, in particular during a natural disaster that disables a significant amounts the communications infrastructure, including emergency assistance hotlines, or knocks out large portions of the power grid in a particular area. A C-130 flying an orbit with a communications relay could provide a quick substitute system to get first responders and larger government disaster relief agencies back in regular contact with each other so that they can best direct their efforts and quickly share critical information about the overall situation.

Airdyne

The possible uses of SABIR as a datalink or communications node.

With its 400 pound load capacity and a standardized bomb rack, the system could theoretically carry small munitions or other types of stores, as well. In a pinch, a C-130 with SABIR might be able to double as an attack platform or release swarms of small drones able to conduct their own myriad missions.

For maritime surveillance and anti-submarine work, Airdyne already offers a sonobouy launcher that fits into the new door. This doesn’t impede the ability of the system to carry other equipment, meaning that crews could have that capability plus a surface search radar for long range patrol operations over the open ocean just on one side of the aircraft. A second SABIR setup on the other size could carry additional sensors.

Airdyne

According to Airdyne, that same dispenser can accommodate other manually dropped payloads, too. These include the GBU-44/B Viper Strike lightweight glide bomb and small, expendable drones. It could also likely drop research probes, such as the dropsondes storm chasing aircraft drop into hurricanes and other extreme weather patterns to gather data on temperature, wind speed, and various other data.

It’s not the first time the U.S. military in particular has explored what it can do by simply swapping out the C-130’s rear paratroop doors. The U.S. Air Force Reserve flies two types of unique aerial spraying C-130s, both of which utilize that space. 

In the 1970s, the Air Force first started using the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, or MAFFS, consisting of five pressurized tanks than can hold 2,700 gallons of fire retardant chemicals or water. The system fits inside the the main cargo area of a C-130 and dispenses the liquid over large forest and other wildfires through nozzles that poke out through the rear paratrooper doors.

In 2007, the Aero Union delivered the first improved MAFFS II, which replaced the five individual tanks with a single unit that also had a large 3,000 gallon capacity. In addition, the new system included two air compressors on board the aircraft, allowing the crew to pressurize the system themselves without the need for a separate piece of ground equipment.

In addition to MAFFS, the Air Force Reserve also has a small number of C-130s fitted with the Modular Air Spray System (MASS). This configuration includes spray nozzles fitted in modified paratrooper doors and under the wings. Unlike the fire-fighting MAFSS, MASS crews primarily spray chemicals to control harmful insects or invasive plants.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the aircraft headed to Texas to help control a potentially dangerous explosion in the mosquito population. The planes have have also gone to work after other natural and man-made environmental disasters, including spraying oil dispersing chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010, which you can see in the video above. 

In the 1980s, the Air National Guard began flyingh C-130s with a special signals intelligence system called Senior Scout, as well. While, the bulk of the equipment fit inside a container that slides into the main cargo bay, new paratrooper and landing gear bay doors held the antenna farm necessary to spot and monitor enemy emitters.

via ThinkDefence

Replacement doors bristling with antennas on a C-130 fitted with the Senior Scout system.

Ground crews could relatively quickly install all of the equipment onto any C-130 or remove it to put it back to work as a regular airlifter. The modular nature of the system meant that the Air Force built up a few versions, called Senior Warrior, for the U.S. Marine Corps to use on its KC-130 tanker transports during the first Gulf War. The Air National Guard appeared to have retired its remaining Senior Scout systems by 2013.

More recently, the U.S. Marine Corps added a new paratrooper door to its KC-130 fitted with the Harvest Hawk weapons kit. Nicknamed the “Derringer Door” for its two weapons launch tubes, crews could fire various lightweight precision guided munitions, include the GBU-44/B and the AGM-176 Griffin missile, from inside the aircraft. Earlier Harvest Hawks had a larger launcher on the rear cargo ramp, but that meant the crew had to depressurize the main cargo compartment in order to use it.

Lockheed Martin

The inside of the Derringer Door on a KC-130 Harvest Hawk.

A Harvest Hawk could conceivably expand its capabilities by using SABIR to combine the stores release capability with a sensor or other additional equipment. At present, the gunships use a modular sensor turret system that fits onto the rear of one of the aircraft’s under wing drop tanks.

SABIR could also offer a quick, bolt-on electronic warfare capability, especially when combined with something such as the U.S. Marine Corps' Intrepid Tiger precision jamming pod. Many of these systems can double as electronic intelligence suites since they have to be able to locate and monitor enemy signal sources. Intrepid Tiger itself makes use of so-called "open architecture" software that will allow engineers to quickly install upgrades and add new capabilities as time goes on, including potentially radar jamming and even the ability to launch cyber attacks.

In June 2017, Lockheed Martin unveiled a special operations configuration for the C-130J, the C-130-SOF. The concept art the company showed included a 30mm cannon firing through the left-side paratrooper door. This is a simpler, more modular arrangement than the purpose-built gun mount in the forward fuselage on the U.S. Air Force's AC-130W and AC-130J gunships.

You really can hang a lot of stuff out of those rear paratrooper doors. More than six decades after its first flight, the C-130 is still going strong and it seems unlikely we’ve seen everything  you can do with that space. 

Never knew about all this stuff...

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15713/this-is-all-the-stuff-you-can-hang-out-of-a-c-130s-rear-paratrooper-doors

This Is All The Stuff You Can Hang Out of a C-130's Rear Paratrooper Doors

Various kits use those openings to mount surveillance systems, communications antennas, firefighting gear, and more.

By Joseph TrevithickNovember 2, 2017

Columbia University

After more than five decades of steady service, it’s safe to say that Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules family, as well as the civilian L-100 and now LM-100J models, has proven to be an especially versatile design. Its widespread use has prompted a whole associated industry of third party upgrades and add-ons, including one modular system called the Special Airborne Mission Installation and Response (SABIR) in particular, that can turn the aircraft’s rear paratrooper doors into surveillance arrays, communications nodes, even a radio and television broadcast antennas and more.

Airdyne, an engineering firm based on Calgary, Canada, has been actively developing SABIR, one of the better known systems, and expanding on what it can do since 2007. Its subsidiary, Airdyne Aerospace, handles the sales and marketing of the equipment, as well as repairs, from its headquarters in Florida. Rather than one single piece of equipment, SABIR is a modular kit that includes a new door, a retractable “arm” able to carry a store weighing up to 400 pounds, and an equipment rack and work station with a seat so a member of the crew can operate the systems now attached to the aircraft.

The USAF Tested an Advanced, Modular Sensor Pod on a Vintage AirlinerBy Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone

Marines To Turn Super Hercules, Osprey Fleets Into Missile Slinging Electronic Warfare PlatformsBy Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone

This Mysterious Military Spy Plane Has Been Flying Circles Over Seattle For DaysBy Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone

USAF Has Dispatched Its Air Sprayer C-130s To Texas In Response To Hurricane HarveyBy Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone

The USAF Finally Gives Its AC-130W Gunship The Big Gun It Desperately NeedsBy Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone

Relatively easy and quick to install, crews can substitute the rig for either the left or right rear paratrooper doors on any C-130, or both. Airdyne's website says it initially developed the setup for the Hercules specifically, but that it is “platform independent” and able to fit on other aircraft, though the Hercules still appears to be the primary platform.

The company says that an aircraft with this rapidly reconfigurable kit could be useful in a variety of military, law enforcement, and civilian roles. Its website lists more than a dozen possible mission sets, including surveillance missions, border patrol, search and rescue, and scientific research.

Airdyne

Airdyne itself offers a number of modular pods that fit onto the extendable strut, the AS-4 and AS-18, both of which can accept a variety of different sensors, including electro-optical and infrared still and video cameras, imaging and surface search and surveillance radars, laser imaging equipment, and signals intelligence suites. Another option is a wide-area surveillance system that incorporates multiple video cameras to capture imagery across a large swath of land or sea. Analysts can then put imagery together in a large mosaic making it easier to spot routine patterns of enemy movement or changes to the landscape over an extended period of time. Multiple users can exploit different parts of the imagery at one time, and vehicles and even people can be tagged tracked, including "rewinding" past footage and tracing their steps over a period of time. 

With the retracting arm, which only takes approximately one minute to extend or fold back up, the crew can position the pod well below the aircraft’s fuselage, as well. This reduces physical obstructions and other interference that might limit the range, field of view, intensity, or other capabilities of the sensors on board. Airdyne says that the full SABIR system works with nearly 170 different sensor packages.

Airdyne

We at The War Zone have written numerous times in the past about the immense value of modular sensor packages, especially for cash-strapped military forces and civilian agencies who might have limited numbers of actual aircraft available, but the need to perform a wide variety of missions. In July 2017, while exploring the U.S. Air Force’s new AgilePod system specifically, I wrote:

“This level of modularity makes perfect sense. If the AgilePod works as intended, during actual operations, crews on the ground could quickly swap out gear to better fir the situation at hand rather than having to prepare an entirely different aircraft or even just install a completely different pod. This would reduce the total number of aircraft a unit might need to be able to perform the different mission sets, as well as potentially speeding up the process of getting the appropriate equipment into the air. It would be especially useful for units at forward locations where existing infrastructure and resources may be otherwise limited.

…

“Of course, individual manned or unmanned aircraft would only be able to perform the missions that the pod is configured for at any one time. However, the multiple stations inside the AgilePod would allow it to carry more than one type of sensor during each mission, which would still provide additional flexibility over some existing configurations. ARFL already has a number of examples within the Air Force and elsewhere in the U.S. military it can look to for evidence of the benefits of similar modular architecture.”

So it’s not surprising that SABIR is already in service across the U.S. military, including with the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, as well as U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air National Guard. A number of other countries around the world also operate the system. The Air National Guard in particular has been steadily exploring the versatility of the concept to handle less typical missions.

In 2006, the New York Air National Guard turned to Sandia National Laboratories to develop an X-band radar for its LC-130H Hercules, already specially configured to support U.S. government activities in extreme cold weather locales such as Greenland and Antarctica. The 109th Airlift Wing had suffered a number of accidents when crews tried to land on what appeared to be stable ice, only to have the aircraft run into a hidden crevasse.

USAF

An LC-130H sits snagged in the ice in Antarctica after hitting a hidden crevasse during a landing in December 1998.

With the X-band radar, crews could see beneath the top sheet of ice and make sure their impromptu runway was safe before touching down. The 109th used SABIR to attach the equipment to the aircraft. 

Afterwards, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation and Colombia University, the unit began helping test the “IcePod,” which could carry the radar, along with various other sensors for research purposes. The final design had multiple visual and infrared cameras, radars, and a GPS navigation system, and was able to gather data on ice depth and density and air and surface temperatures, among other information. 

USAF

The IcePod on one of the 109th's LC-130s.

The Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 193rd Special Operations Wing also had a unique requirement, but one that didn’t involve sensors at all. The unit flies the EC-130J Commando Solo variant, a psychological warfare platform that can beam out propaganda radio and television broadcasts over warzones, urging civilians to avoid certain areas or implore them to give up any support they might be giving to the enemy.

The only problem was that the Commando Solo conversions were complicated, costly, and would only ever apply to a small fleet. In 2008, the U.S. military decided to trim back the planned fleet from an already paltry six aircraft, down to just three. This left the 193rd with three “slick” C-130 airframes, plus an additional spare, that it suddenly had no idea what to do with.

The unit subsequently combined SABIR carrying a pod with a version of a U.S. Army psychological operations broadcasting system. The cost-effective combination meant that these EC-130J aircraft, though less complex than the Commando Solos, could still transmit FM radio, analog and digital television, and even SMS text messages.

via ThinkDefence

One of the 193rd Special Operations Wing's "slick" C-130s with SABIR system.

The psychological warfare mission highlights SABIR versatility beyond just modular sensor packages. Along with the broadcast equipment, the arm could just as easily accommodate a communications or data sharing hub to help pass information between friendly forces on the ground and in the sky. This could be an especially important capability for smaller militaries that cannot afford to field dedicated aircraft for this mission, such as the U.S. Air Force’s fixed wing E-11 or EQ-4B drone, both of which carry the powerful Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN).

Off the battlefield, this capability could be especially useful for more civilian authorities, in particular during a natural disaster that disables a significant amounts the communications infrastructure, including emergency assistance hotlines, or knocks out large portions of the power grid in a particular area. A C-130 flying an orbit with a communications relay could provide a quick substitute system to get first responders and larger government disaster relief agencies back in regular contact with each other so that they can best direct their efforts and quickly share critical information about the overall situation.

Airdyne

The possible uses of SABIR as a datalink or communications node.

With its 400 pound load capacity and a standardized bomb rack, the system could theoretically carry small munitions or other types of stores, as well. In a pinch, a C-130 with SABIR might be able to double as an attack platform or release swarms of small drones able to conduct their own myriad missions.

For maritime surveillance and anti-submarine work, Airdyne already offers a sonobouy launcher that fits into the new door. This doesn’t impede the ability of the system to carry other equipment, meaning that crews could have that capability plus a surface search radar for long range patrol operations over the open ocean just on one side of the aircraft. A second SABIR setup on the other size could carry additional sensors.

Airdyne

According to Airdyne, that same dispenser can accommodate other manually dropped payloads, too. These include the GBU-44/B Viper Strike lightweight glide bomb and small, expendable drones. It could also likely drop research probes, such as the dropsondes storm chasing aircraft drop into hurricanes and other extreme weather patterns to gather data on temperature, wind speed, and various other data.

It’s not the first time the U.S. military in particular has explored what it can do by simply swapping out the C-130’s rear paratroop doors. The U.S. Air Force Reserve flies two types of unique aerial spraying C-130s, both of which utilize that space. 

In the 1970s, the Air Force first started using the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, or MAFFS, consisting of five pressurized tanks than can hold 2,700 gallons of fire retardant chemicals or water. The system fits inside the the main cargo area of a C-130 and dispenses the liquid over large forest and other wildfires through nozzles that poke out through the rear paratrooper doors.

In 2007, the Aero Union delivered the first improved MAFFS II, which replaced the five individual tanks with a single unit that also had a large 3,000 gallon capacity. In addition, the new system included two air compressors on board the aircraft, allowing the crew to pressurize the system themselves without the need for a separate piece of ground equipment.

In addition to MAFFS, the Air Force Reserve also has a small number of C-130s fitted with the Modular Air Spray System (MASS). This configuration includes spray nozzles fitted in modified paratrooper doors and under the wings. Unlike the fire-fighting MAFSS, MASS crews primarily spray chemicals to control harmful insects or invasive plants.

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the aircraft headed to Texas to help control a potentially dangerous explosion in the mosquito population. The planes have have also gone to work after other natural and man-made environmental disasters, including spraying oil dispersing chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010, which you can see in the video above. 

In the 1980s, the Air National Guard began flyingh C-130s with a special signals intelligence system called Senior Scout, as well. While, the bulk of the equipment fit inside a container that slides into the main cargo bay, new paratrooper and landing gear bay doors held the antenna farm necessary to spot and monitor enemy emitters.

via ThinkDefence

Replacement doors bristling with antennas on a C-130 fitted with the Senior Scout system.

Ground crews could relatively quickly install all of the equipment onto any C-130 or remove it to put it back to work as a regular airlifter. The modular nature of the system meant that the Air Force built up a few versions, called Senior Warrior, for the U.S. Marine Corps to use on its KC-130 tanker transports during the first Gulf War. The Air National Guard appeared to have retired its remaining Senior Scout systems by 2013.

More recently, the U.S. Marine Corps added a new paratrooper door to its KC-130 fitted with the Harvest Hawk weapons kit. Nicknamed the “Derringer Door” for its two weapons launch tubes, crews could fire various lightweight precision guided munitions, include the GBU-44/B and the AGM-176 Griffin missile, from inside the aircraft. Earlier Harvest Hawks had a larger launcher on the rear cargo ramp, but that meant the crew had to depressurize the main cargo compartment in order to use it.

Lockheed Martin

The inside of the Derringer Door on a KC-130 Harvest Hawk.

A Harvest Hawk could conceivably expand its capabilities by using SABIR to combine the stores release capability with a sensor or other additional equipment. At present, the gunships use a modular sensor turret system that fits onto the rear of one of the aircraft’s under wing drop tanks.

SABIR could also offer a quick, bolt-on electronic warfare capability, especially when combined with something such as the U.S. Marine Corps' Intrepid Tiger precision jamming pod. Many of these systems can double as electronic intelligence suites since they have to be able to locate and monitor enemy signal sources. Intrepid Tiger itself makes use of so-called "open architecture" software that will allow engineers to quickly install upgrades and add new capabilities as time goes on, including potentially radar jamming and even the ability to launch cyber attacks.

In June 2017, Lockheed Martin unveiled a special operations configuration for the C-130J, the C-130-SOF. The concept art the company showed included a 30mm cannon firing through the left-side paratrooper door. This is a simpler, more modular arrangement than the purpose-built gun mount in the forward fuselage on the U.S. Air Force's AC-130W and AC-130J gunships.

You really can hang a lot of stuff out of those rear paratrooper doors. More than six decades after its first flight, the C-130 is still going strong and it seems unlikely we’ve seen everything  you can do with that space. 

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15713/this-is-all-the-stuff-you-can-hang-out-of-a-c-130s-rear-paratrooper-doors

Completely understand what you're saying...different requirements for different users.  Like you said, best thing is to write it up and let owner hash it out, to fix or not to fix.  In the end, sounds like it worked out for the best. 

Those look like drill chuck marks from when the holes were initially drilled in the structure.  Structure technicians not paying attention and/or not using drill stops when drilling holes...just punching holes.  Sad to say, not uncommon to see but typically of little concern unless in primary structure, i.e. longerons, end fittings etc where stress is high.  In my 30 years experience as structural technician, I would not be too concerned about it, possibly blend out the deeper ones but that would be the extent of it, no straps etc.  However, I don't work for your company and I'm not your engineer.  

Anyway to get a photo of the area in question?  It can be sanitized, i.e. fairly close so as not to divulge geographic location, owning nation etc, just the damage.  Sounds like an external doubler or strap would likely do to resolve the problem.  Fairly straight forward, thickness of the doubler/strap would depend on the original skin thickness as well as size of fasteners currently installed or what will be installed (if you have to upsize them).   

Looks similar to what the NC ANG unit at Charlotte made for air shows etc.  This was built on a golf cart or small car and can carry kids around the flightline etc.  The plexiglass props even turn!!!

Paul Meyer, CC that stole C-130 from Mildenhall.pdf

Lockheed Martin is anticipating its forthcoming LM-100J aircraft to garner demand for some unique missions, including oil spill clean-ups among other roles. The aerospace and defense manufacturer will also make a major announcement regarding its latest non-military aircraft program at next week's Farnborough International Airshow.

In February, Lockheed announced it will be pursuing an amended type certification from the FAA for the LM-100J. The aircraft is a modern version of the L-382J—which was a commercial variant of the C-130J Super Hercules that went out of production in 1992.

Lockheed Martin is anticipating its forthcoming LM-100J aircraft to garner demand for some unique missions, including oil spill clean-ups among other roles. The aerospace and defense manufacturer will also make a major announcement regarding its latest non-military aircraft program at next week's Farnborough International Airshow.

In February, Lockheed announced it will be pursuing an amended type certification from the FAA for the LM-100J. The aircraft is a modern version of the L-382J—which was a commercial variant of the C-130J Super Hercules that went out of production in 1992.

Now, the company is ready to re-enter the commercial airframe market, and is working closely with the FAA on a project-specific certification plan, according to Ray Fajay, director of air mobility business development at Lockheed Martin.

"Following the type design update, we envision the LM-100J serving a range of customers as broad as the aircraft’s multi-role capabilities," Fajay said in an interview with Avionics Magazine. "Growth provisions built into the LM-100J enable it to support a variety of operations that include: oil spill clean-up, oil exploration logistics, mining logistics, aerial firefighting and delivery, humanitarian relief and aerial spray for oil spill response."

According to Fajay, the military components and capabilities of the C-130J "are removed for this civil variant." If Lockheed keeps the latest glass cockpit avionics setup from the C-130 for the LM-100J, it will feature flight management systems, displays, autopilot, weather radar, and a Traffic Alert Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) from Rockwell Collins.

The LM-100J will also be in the "stretched" configuration of the C-130J with a cargo floor measuring 55 feet in total length. That could lead to the most demand for the aircraft coming from air cargo operators, Fajay said.

"We anticipate the demand for the LM-100J to exist in the air cargo market," said Fajay. "The LM-100J is designed to support - with minimal material handling equipment — rapid on-load and off-load of cargo at truck-bed height."

Lockheed expects flight testing of the LM-100J to begin in 2017, followed by entry into service in early 2018.

View full article

Not sure about that.  Guess it would all depend on how the schedule shakes up.  Having a PDM at one point and then 2-3 years later an opening in the CWB replacement schedule opens up.  Doing a full PDM 203 years after it was already completed upsets the 72 month inspection calendar etc. 

My understanding is the MC-130J will not be fully capable to replace the MC-130H until late 2019/2020 due to radar upgrades, etc.  But that is dated info so it might have changed and moved up.

What about new CWBs?  I thought some of the older Hs received new CWBs after AFSOC and the others that were priority got them so we had plenty of tails available until till such time when the fielded J model #s were sufficient in strength.  It would make some sense to keep older acft with new CWBs and wings around vs. keeping a slightly newer acft that will need a new CWB in the near future.  Just a thought.

22 hours ago, Casey said:

I don't think their J's were built with the extended service life center wing box.  

First 75 or so J's off the production line did not have the ESL CWB.  USAF has some acft starting to go through CWB change out now and will last a year or two. 

10 hours ago, Old A/R Guy said:

Not sure how you achieve this, but from the aerial photos that are starting to come out, it looks like it did an inverted flat splash.  The acft appears to be belly-up.  May they rest in peace.  Pray for their families.

The acft seems to be missing most of the right horizontal stab.  Rudder/elevator/flap (?) surface seems to be laying in the soybeans aft of the beaver tail.  Both elevator surfaces seem to be missing?

Very sad indeed.  May they rest in peace.

I was just thinking the same thing...looks like it fell out of the sky inverted.  What's puzzling is looking the pix, it appears everything forward of the center wing, i.e. forward fuselage is gone.  The other thing is why the FBI is involved and no mention of NTSB.  Just not accustomed to seeing/hearing FBI involved so fast and no references to NTSB being on the scene. 

On 7/3/2017 at 8:27 PM, WxFE said:

I kinda figured as much, but I wanted to ask. Thanks again for the info!

Color # for the seafoam green is #34424

Never saw the nut issued by itself.  I know I was always told that you could not re-swedge/re-pull a nut (old or new) therefore mandating removal and replacement of the sleeve assembly.  The reasoning was the sleeve is stretched and formed during the initial installation and re-swedging/re-pulling a second nut assembly (new or used) would add stress to the sleeve and could cause it to fail.  That's not to say I haven't done it before in a pinch but always been told technically it cannot be done.  What does the TO say?  How do you sign off the red x...re-swedged/re-pulled nut assembly IAW what?  

Don't know there are B/E Nose radomes with lightening diverter strips installed.  USAF really didn't start using the diverter strips until H3 models.  I never saw them on E models, H1s or H2s.

Air National Guard receives first HC-130J Combat King II

25 May, 2017, 17:43 ET

MARIETTA, Ga., May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The first Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) LM-100J commercial freighter aircraft achieved a critical milestone with the completion of its first flight here today.

"I was proud to fly the first flight of our LM-100J. It performed flawlessly, as is typical of our military C‑130J new production aircraft," said Wayne Roberts, chief test pilot for the LM-100J Program. "This new model will perform many commercial roles in the decades to come, like humanitarian service following natural disasters and others like nuclear accident response, oil spill containment, and firefighting. This aircraft will also enable remote area development such as mining and oil and gas exploration. This day marks the beginning of a tremendous commercial capability that only the LM-100J can deliver."

Lockheed Martin’s LM-100J commercial freighter had a successful first flight, May 25, 2017. by Todd R. McQueen

This first flight followed the same test flight route over North Georgia and Alabama that is used for all C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The LM-100J will complete initial production flight tests and then begin Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certificate update flight test requirements.

"This first flight is a source of pride for Lockheed Martin and serves as a proof-point to the ongoing versatility of the Super Hercules aircraft," said George Shultz, vice president and general manager, Air Mobility & Maritime Missions, and Marietta site general manager. "I'm continually impressed by the commitment to quality and relevance that our employees, industry partners and customers have invested into the LM-100J. Like its military counterpart, the LM‑100J is exceeding all expectations in terms of performance and capabilities."

The LM-100J is the 17th different mission capability developed for the C-130J Super Hercules and it is an updated version of the L-100 cargo aircraft, which Lockheed Martin produced from 1964-1992. Lockheed Martin officials submitted a Program Notification Letter to the FAA on Jan. 21, 2014, for a type design update to this aircraft, a civil-certified variant of the C-130J Super Hercules to be marketed as the LM-100J.

Through select design innovations, the LM-100J will perform as a commercial multi-purpose air freighter capable of rapid and efficient cargo transport. The LM-100J is an ideal airlift solution for delivering bulk and oversize cargo, particularly to austere locations worldwide. Like its military counterpart, the LM-100J will be able to support multiple missions, ranging from firefighting to medevac to VIP transport.

The LM-100J incorporates technological developments and improvements over the existing L‑100s that result from years of C-130J operational experience, including more than 1.5 million fleetwide flight hours. The result of this experience and advancement translates to an aircraft that will deliver reliable service in a multi-role platform for decades to come.

Very good possibility, especially since one of the options for the new JSTARS uses a G550.

Compass Call cross-deck continues despite Bombardier protest

• 23 March, 2017

• SOURCE: Flightglobal.com

• BY: Leigh Giangreco

L3 Communications and the US Air Force will continue their Compass Call cross-deck effort, despite a recent protest from Bombardier over a possible sole-source contract.

The protest will not affect the USAF’s Compass Call acquisition strategy, the service’s military deputy for the assistant secretary of the air force for acquisition says this week. L3 Communications will lead the US Air Force’s Compass Call cross-deck effort, which will transfer existing technology from the EC-130H onto a new aircraft, dubbed the EC-37B.

“[L-3] will make the selection of the aircraft...and they will incorporate and put the mission systems into the platform,” Lt Gen Arnold Bunch said during a 22 March defense conference in Washington. L-3 will not be able to select the platform until Congress has passed the fiscal year 2017 defense spending bill.

“But we have made the decision on how we’re going to go forward,” he says. “We’ve already signed all the paperwork off and what we’re waiting to do is get a bill and then we’ll go forward.”

Last year, the USAF determined Gulfstream’s G550 conformal airborne early warning type the only suitable aircraft to host the Compass Call mission. That sparked concern from competitors Bombardier and Boeing, whose 737 Wedgetail and G6000 were nixed by the service.

Bombardier filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office arguing the USAF’s decision and process for Compass Call was non-compliant with US government procurement rules. Boeing has not issued a bid protest.

“The Air Force’s decision to move forward on the Compass Call program by awarding it to a sole source systems integrator and apparently indirectly to a single source aircraft platform is non-compliant with the procurement rules,” Bombardier tells FlightGlobal. “This process denies Bombardier of a fair opportunity to compete for this contract.”

GAO dismissed the case as premature on 10 March, noting that there is consideration of a sole source contract but that the USAF has not yet issued a solicitation. Bombardier’s protest was anticipating improper action that hasn’t happened yet, a GAO spokesman tells FlightGlobal. However, the GAO did not make a ruling on the merits of Bombardier's protest and the company will have another opportunity to raise concerns with the procurement, Bombardier says.

Bombardier argues the company demonstrated that all technical and schedule requirements could be fulfilled, but air force documents state the G6000 BACN does not meet aperture requirements without modification and will require a supplemental type certification that could incur up to $180 million in additional costs and a three-year schedule delay. The USAF also called the G6000’s payload capacity “marginally insufficient.” The USAF’s Compass Call requirements call for a total cargo capacity of 20,000lb including 13,000lb of prime mission equipment.

The air force called out the Wedgetail’s aperture requirements and also stated the aircraft could not meet performance requirements without caveats. The Wedgetail must burn significant gas to reach its maximum 41,000ft altitude, trading loiter time for altitude, and is unable to meet both, according to the USAF.

Although the Compass Call recapitalisation would represent a substantial win on its own, defense contractors might also be wary about the award outcome’s impact on other E-model programmes within the USAF. In September, Boeing military aircraft’s director of global sales Fred Smith told reporters he believed the sole source could impact the JSTARS competition.

Last year, the Air Force Office of Transformational Innovation explored the use of a common business jet for multiple battle management command-and-control platform recapitalisations. The office considered using a commercially available aircraft for several recapitalisation efforts, including the EC-130, E-8 JSTARS and E-3 AWACS. The study looked at "space, payload, power, cooling, in-flight refueling, and mission growth potential” on the jet, according to OTI.

While OTI determined last June that a common business jet would not garner significant savings for the USAF, the study intimates that the service sees commonality between those platforms and recapitalisation efforts. In September, then-Air Combat Command Chief Gen Herbert Carlisle maintained the Compass Call acquisition strategy would not affect the JSTARS recapitalisation, noting the EC-130H mission set, sensor suite and crew configuration vary from JSTARS.

82-0061 departed on 6 Mar bound for WPAFB to be Aerovac trainer.  No idea regarding 82-0060