2015
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9/11/2015 - HC-130P Combat King number 64-14852 travels under an arc of water signifying its final flight Sept. 11, 2015, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The aircraft was manufactured on November 30, 1965 and has more than 17,500 flight hours. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eric Summers Jr./Released) See original article at: Moody.af.mil View full article
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KABUL, Afghanistan - A C-130 Hercules touched down at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, June 20, bringing expanded flight capabilities to the Afghan Air Force. After a weeklong journey beginning at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, the arrival of the C-130 in Afghanistan’s capital city illustrates a partnership that will provide increased tactical airlift and mobility operations throughout Afghanistan and beyond. In 2010, coalition partners recognized that C-130s could provide the Afghan Air Force with increased airlift, resupply and casualty evacuation capabilities, and a plan to supply the Afghan Air Force with a fleet of their own was born…
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The U.S. Air Force is winnowing down its fleet of EC-130H Compass Call electronic attack planes. The 15 high-tech jammers belong to the 55th Electronic Combat Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. But if the flying branch has its way, it will retire seven at the turn of the fiscal year in October, according to the Pentagon's budget request. They're few in number, but highly important planes. These are same EC-130Hs that twice shut down Saddam Hussein's air defenses, and helped American pilots and troops return home alive from the conflicts in Kosovo, Haiti, Panama, Serbia and more recently Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. Compass Calls are heavily-modif…
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Oct 15 Lockheed Martin Corp on Thursday said it had reached a verbal agreement with the U.S. Air Force on a five-year contract to build up to 83 C-130J transport planes for the Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps through 2020. The company said its goal was to complete the remaining contract actions, certifications and congressional notifications required to finalize the deal by the end of the year. Analysts value the agreement at around $5 billion. "We have reached a verbal agreement on the C-130J multiyear II contract," Lockheed spokesman Joe LaMarca told Reuters in response to a query. He gave no details on the value of the deal, or the amount of savings it would …
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The US Air Force (USAF) has taken delivery of a MC-130J Commando II aircraft from the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia. The new aircraft is intended for the USAF's Kadena Air Base in Japan. The latest development follows the delivery of two MC-130J Commando aircraft from Lockheed's facility. Assigned to be operated by the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the aircraft ferried last week was intended for Kadena Air Base, Japan and the Hurlburt Field, Florida. Previously known as the Combat Shadow II, the MC-130J Commando II aircraft is an improved variant of the C-130J aircraft. The special operations tanker aircraft is designed to replace the …
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Numerous American service members have been suspended from duty due to misconduct that led to the Oct. 3 bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, which killed 30 people, U.S. military officials said Wednesday. A six-week investigation into the bombing placed the bulk of the blame on the crew of the AC-130 gunship that opened fire on the hospital, along with the U.S. Special Operations Forces commander overseeing the battle in Kunduz, officials said. “Those individuals most closely associated with the incident have been suspended from their duties, pending consideration and disposition of administrative and disciplinary matter…
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he 86th Airlift Wing held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the new C-130J Super Hercules Flight Simulator Aug. 24, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The project is a result of a collaborative effort, as the simulator itself is owned by Air Mobility Command but housed in a U.S. Air Forces in Europe and 86th Airlift Wing building. "A big thank you goes to ... the collaborative effort," said Col. Eric Mayheu, AMC Aircrew Operations and Training Division chief. "This has been a project ongoing for the past seven years. This design, this building, this device and everything else that needs to come online took seven years to be able to have what you have …
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CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Members of the 27th Special Operations Wing gathered to officially retire the final AC-130H Spectre Gunship, tail number 69-6569 c/n 4343 “Excalibur,” Tuesday. Over the last two years, Air Commandos within the 16th Special Operations Squadron have bid farewell to the entire fleet of this historic aerial asset, as each of the eight aircraft have been one-by-one ceremoniously retired after 46 years of dedicated service. “Over the last 12 years, the 16th SOS has flown over 6,500 combat sorties, 26,000 combat hours and has been responsible for over 4,600 enemies killed in action, along with over 5,200 enemy captures,” said Capt. Aaron Magger,…
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NEW YORK — L-3 Communications has been competitively awarded a $30 million contract from the U.S. Coast Guard to missionize two C-130J aircraft using a next-generation mission system suite, the company announced in an Oct. 8 release. The total value of the contract, with all options exercised, is approximately $93 million and work will be performed by L-3 Platform Integration in Waco, Texas. The government-owned mission system was developed jointly by the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy and is operated across multiple platforms. Under the five-year contract, L-3 will integrate mission systems on two baseline configuration C-130J long-range surveillance aircraft. The …
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1/9/2015 - RAF MILDENHALL, England -- The last MC-130H Combat Talon II departed Jan. 8, 2015, thus ending its tenure at the 7th Special Operations Squadron at RAF Mildenhall. The MC-130H, tail number 0195, is the last of its kind to leave the European theater. Its departure marks the final step of Special Operations Command Europe's transition from the Talon II to the CV-22 Osprey."This is a departure flight," said U.S. Air Force Col. Matthew Powell, Joint Special Operations Air Component - Europe vice commander. "It's a somber occasion. What you'll see today is a real quiet and respectful departure because we understand the mission will never be the same as the 7th evolv…
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An Air Force AC-130 Special Operations Command gunship may have carried out the strike in Afghanistan that allegedly hit a Doctors Without Borders hospital in the embattled northern city of Kunduz, killing at least 22, including 12 staffers. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who was traveling in Europe to NATO meetings, called the attack a "tragic incident" but stopped short of an apology. Carter and U.S. military officials in Afghanistan and the Pentagon have yet to specify the type of aircraft that carried out the airstrike but the Washington Post, CNN and other news outlets cited a U.S. official in Afghanistan as saying that it was a ground attack AC-130. In a statem…
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The US Air Force is set to initiate a multi-billion dollar Lockheed Martin C-130X avionics modernisation programme (AMP), following recommendations by an Air Mobility Command C-130 study team. USAF leaders are also considering the study group's recommendations for a powerplant upgrade and acquisition of 150 new C-130J-30s. The group, known as a Tiger Team, was formed to consider problems with the C-130 Hercules transport, including its reliability and maintainability and lack of global air transportation management (GATM) avionics. With 44 versions of the aircraft operating with the USAF, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, the intention is to reduce to two basic …
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Members of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VR) 62, based at NAS Jacksonville, are one of five Navy Reserve C-130T squadrons supporting the fleet around the globe. The VR-62 Nomads regularly execute detachments in Pacific Command and Central Command. The normal Navy C-130 rotation is to complete three theater detachments per year. During the detachment cycle, the squadron’s remaining aircraft are tasked by the Navy Air Logistics Office for missions in support of the fleet in all parts of the world. The Navy C-130 wing is part of the unique Fleet Essential Airlift – meaning that the U.S. Navy has control of its own airlift. The Fleet Logistics Support Wing is a Navy R…
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15 May 2015 - The USAF retired its last two MC-130Ps in a ceremony at Hurlburt Field today. View article here: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/final-flight-hurlburt-air-force-say-goodbye-to-mc-130ps-photos-video-1.478758 Image credit: Hurlburt Field (Official) Facebook Page View full article
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It’s been a busy year for the mighty Hercules. Despite the Air Force’s push for a toned-down Avionics Modernization Program (AMP), there have been a number of significant upgrades and modifications. In April 2015, a bill was introduced and referred to the Committee on Armed Services relating to the modernization of C-130 aircraft to meet applicable Federal Aviation Administration regulations. New upgrades will include 8.33-Khz radios, cockpit video recorders, flight visual recorders, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), enhanced Mode S, and enhanced traffic alert and avoidance systems. At $3.8 million per plane versus $20 million per plane under AMP, the A…
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Of the two contracts announced 30 December, one concludes negotiations for the $5.3 billion multiyear II contract that has been under discussion for almost two years, with money down now for the first 32 of 78 total aircraft. That $1 billion order includes 13 C-130J-30 Super Hercules, and five HC-130J Combat King IIs used by the air force for personnel recovery and training. A further 11 multi-mission MC-130J Commando IIs are being procured for special operations and conversion into AC-130J “Ghostrider” gunships. Two more are KC-130J refuelers, and one HC-130J is being purchased for US Coast Guard operations. Those aircraft will deliver through 2020, acc…
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November 30, 2015 (by TSgt. Emerson Marcus) - For the second time in its history the 152nd Airlift Wing has upgraded its entire fleet of C-130 Hercules aircraft just as the U.S. Air Force seeks total fleet modernization in the face of nearing federal upgrade deadlines. “It is a significant upgrade and it should help increase mission capability with more reliable equipment,” said Col. Karl Stark, commander of the 152nd. By early 2016, the 152nd — known as the “High Rollers” of the Nevada Air National Guard — will have acquired each of its six C-130 H3 models and two H2.5 models. These models are about a decade newer with nearly 10,000 f…
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The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a measure by North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis that Tillis said would keep C130H aircraft at Fort Bragg’s Pope Airfield even if the Air Force goes ahead with plans to inactivate the 440th Airlift Wing. Tillis in a statement said that the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would move nine upgraded C-130H aircraft to Pope Airfield at Fort Bragg. They would replace the six aircraft that the Air Force plans to remove, Tillis said. The Air Force plans to inactivate the air wing as a budget-saving move. The 440th Air Wing, which supports global response and special operations units, is staffed by more than 1,000 R…
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Captain Katie Higgins is a native of Severna Park, Maryland, and graduated from W.T. Woodson High School in 2004. She attended the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science in 2008, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. Katie then attended Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., and graduated with a Masters of Arts in International Security in 2009.Katie reported to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, for aviation indoctrination in November 2009. She completed primary flight training in the T-6B Texan II at NAS Whiting Field, Florida, and completed intermediate and advanc…
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Two of the world’s biggest bushfire-fighting aircraft have landed on Victorian soil ahead of what is expected to be a scorching summer. The C-130 Hercules and the RJ85 are among the 47 water bombers that have been brought in from overseas for the bushfire season. They will join another 100 aircraft in the $23.3 million bushfire defence fleet that can be called on to fight blazes this summer. Minister for Emergency Services Jane Garrett inspected the fleet at Avalon Airport and said the aircraft were key to keeping Victorians safe. “The large air tankers are game-changers when it comes to fighting bushfires,’’ she said. “The air…
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CHEYENNE, Wyo. - By the end of October 2015, Wyoming Air National Guard's 153rd Airlift Wing, will return to its original fleet of eight C-130 aircraft, losing four that it gained nine years ago. In 2006, the 153rd Airlift Wing welcomed the 30th Airlift Squadron to its ranks, making it the first guard-based unit in the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command to gain an active duty associate unit. With the active-associate, came personnel, missions, and four aircraft, upping the size of the Cheyenne-based unit's C-130 fleet to 12. Lt. Col. Todd Davis, 153rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander, is overseeing the C-130 transfers from Cheyenne to the Nevad…
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MARIETTA, Ga., Dec. 11, 2015 – Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) delivered the 2,500th C-130 Hercules from its production line here today. This landmark Hercules is an HC-130J Combat King II personnel recovery aircraft assigned to the U.S. Air Force’s 71st Rescue Squadron, which is part of the 347th Rescue Group. A U.S. Air Force crew ferried the HC-130J to its new home at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia. “This milestone delivery is a source of pride for our team and the global C-130 community,” said George Shultz, vice president and general manager, C-130 Programs at Lockheed Martin. “The Hercules is a global asset and versatile workhorse that is truly without e…
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PARIS — France has set aside an extra €1.5 billion (US $1.7 billion) to acquire additional equipment, including the C-130 Hercules, and maintain weapon systems over the next four years, reflecting the intense operations of the armed forces in sub-Saharan Africa, defense officials said Wednesday. The fresh funds are part of the €3.8 billion increase in military spending for 2016-2019 that President François Hollande announced April 29 after a meeting of the high-level defense council. Helicopters, transport and inflight refueling aircraft, intelligence gathering, cyber defense and maintenance of equipment are the key elements, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in …
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C-130J 10-5771 c/n 5771 was delivered to the 61st Airlift Squadron 9 July. The last of 19th AW's 28 programmed C-130Js is scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2016. Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Harry Brexel, Little Rock AFB Facebook Page View full article
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The Israeli Air Force is likely to upgrade its old Hercules transport planes in a bid to modernize their avionic systems suitable for modern warfare, The Jerusalem Post reported last Saturday.The Hercules transport planes first came into service 40 years ago.“Lockheed Martin’s C-130H aircraft are reaching the end of their operational lifespan. Work has begun to extend their lifespan and modernize their electronic systems,” the news daily quoted an unnamed Lt Col with the IAF as saying.The officer further said that “the upgrade has two focuses, one to replace the wing box connecting the wings of the airframe which can enable the aircraft to fly for more decades longer than…
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