2015
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MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base will continue to be home to eight C-130s despite plans in President Barack Obama's 2013 budget request to move the aircraft, citing a need for greater efficiency. U.S. Representative Martha Roby (R-Dist 2) confirmed Monday the planes will be staying in Montgomery after the state's delegation sought to keep in place a temporary 2012 decision not to move forward with the transfer. The planes support more than 550 jobs in Montgomery. The U.S. Air Force suspended the planes' transfer in November 2012 after Alabama's Congressional Delegation began scrutinizing the plan, which the Obama administration said was part of ef…
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]4824[/ATTACH] BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - The Flying Jennies are staying in Biloxi. The Air Force has officially abandoned plans to deactivate the 815th Tactical Airlift Squadron at Keesler Air Force Base, which would have transferred the squadron's 10 C-130J transport aircraft to another state. The decision was formally submitted to defense committees in Congress on Tuesday. The 815th is best known for air dropping supplies and paratroopers but can also be used to provide airlift, employment operations or aero medical evacuations. The Air Force first proposed relocating the aircraft in February 2012 as a cost cutting measure. The 815th Air Squadron em…
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Sunday in the largest formation flown by the 166th Airlift Wing since its departure for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.The rare formation flight of six of the massive aircraft to New Jersey – training more than 40 aircrew members, along with uncounted maintenance and support personnel on the ground – was to include low-level flying routes and several actual airdrops.The Wing permanently is assigned eight such aircraft, but due to worldwide commitments and long-term maintenance, rarely flies more than five in a formation.Base Commander Col. Michael J. Feeley had a base-wide commander's call on the flight line before takeoff to recognize the significance of the event that …
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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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[ATTACH=CONFIG]4813[/ATTACH] CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The sweat droplets on the faces of the Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems crew members were in a tight race to hit their jaw line and fall to the floor of the flight deck. The crew had flown this mission hundreds of times, but this flight was different. The flight deck on the C-130H aircraft was overwhelmingly stuffy as Maj. Jack Berquist informed his crew that their landing gear was malfunctioning – something that has never happened on a MAFFS mission or in the unit itself. Moments after dropping slurry on fires in Utah last August, the crew circled the skies, hoping to land at Hill Air Force Base as they tro…
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]4811[/ATTACH] A British Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules (ZH867 c/n [cn]5416[/cn])has been assisting UNMISS to transport critical supplies to UN camps. It conducted over 20 flights between Entebbe, Juba and Malakal, Upper Nile State, moving on average 25 tons of cargo per day, over the last two weeks. Flying under challenging terrain conditions, a lack of air traffic radar equipment, and ongoing conflict on the ground, this is the first deployment of a UK C-130 to a UN peacekeeping operation in Africa. It has contributed enormously to the UN Air Transport Fleet by doubling its air-lift capacity. The aircraft, deployed with a support team of 13 s…
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Cascade aerospace celebrated the 100th delivery of a CC-130 Hercules aircraft to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) following scheduled maintenance on 7 April.The delivery was made from the company's Abbotsford, British Columbia base. The CC-130 will return to service as a long-range, fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft. This marks a major milestone for Cascade's multi-year contract with the RCAF as the prime contractor for programme management, engineering, maintenance, materiel and technical support for the CC-130 fleet. Canada's fleet of CC-130 Hercules, also known as the C-130 Hercules, is used for multi-mission roles including troop transport, tactical airlift, s…
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Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) on Tuesday marked the 60th anniversary of the roll out and first flight of the first C-130 (C-130A 53-3129 c/n 3001) Hercules built in Marietta, Ga.Gov. Nathan Deal reenacted the 1955 ceremony held at the Marietta plant by christening a C-130J Super Hercules (MC-130J 13-5770 c/n 5770) with a bottle of Chattahoochee River water, just as Gov. Marvin Griffin did 60 years ago. Check out the venerable aircraft and the event today in the slideshow on the right.The C‑130 production line in Marietta is the longest continuously operating military aircraft production line in history. View original article: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/n...-o…
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The AC-130J Ghostrider Will Get A Big Ass Gun Afterall It is no secret that the AC-130 fleet is changing. Once defined by their bristling cannons, the new breed of AC-130s are all about guided bombs and a slew of smart weapons, with just a single, direct fire 30mm cannon being fitted. Luckily, sharper minds have prevailed at AFSOC and now the AC-130Js will get the massive 105mm cannon they rightfully deserve. Lt. General Bradley Heithold, the head of the AFSOC, swears by the AC-130's 105mm howitzer, told Breakingdefense.com that it's both more accurate and way less expensive than the precision guided munitions it was intended to replace. He credits the gun's precision…
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The 352nd Special Operations Group was redesignated as the 352nd Special Operations Wing during a ceremony held in Hangar 814 March 23. Immediately following this, the 752nd Special Operations Group and the 352nd Special Operations Maintenance Group were activated.Consisting of six squadrons and two groups, the 352nd SOW includes more than 1,200 Air Commandos and provides support to the European theater as well as other combatant commands when necessary.“We not only support Special Operations Command – Europe, but we will also support Special Operations Command – Africa, to combat the challenges we see and the struggles we have against violent extremism. And that is not g…
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Mumbai: One of India's biggest defence cargo planes landed on the tiny runway at the Juhu Airport in Mumbai this morning.The Hercules C130J was flown to Juhu as an exercise to see if the airport in the western suburbs of Mumbai could be used in case the city's main airport is attacked.The massive transport plane, used to carry troops and supplies, stood at Juhu for 10 minutes before flying out.Most aircraft of this size require a runway with conventional dimensions of a fully functional airport, but the Hercules can land on much shorter lengths of unpaved or paved runways. The runway at the Juhu aerodrome is 3750 feet long, very short compared to the 12008 feet long runwa…
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Hercules NZ7001 c/n 4052 turns 50 today, and is spending her birthday doing what she has so often done before – delivering aid in the Pacific.Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) C-130 NZ7001 was the first of five C-130s which arrived at RNZAF Base Auckland in Whenuapai in 1965. Since then, the C-130 has been at the forefront of many New Zealand Defence Force operations, missions and exercises.The hard-working C-130 flew out of Whenuapai on Sunday morning with aid for Tuvalu and picked up more in Suva. After delivering that cargo to Tuvalu, she returned to Suva for the night.Yesterday, she took three pallets of medical supplies and 40 Fijian soldiers to Port Vila in Vanuat…
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Twenty-one years ago today, a fireball passed over hundreds of 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers at Green Ramp, killing 24 and injuring more than 100 others. It was an otherwise lovely day. A clear blue "Carolina" sky -- the perfect day for a Hollywood jump.But when an F-16 and C-130 collided in the skies over what was then Pope Air Force Base, it sent the jet into the runway, crashing into a C-141 and, ultimately, the paratroopers waiting to jump at Green Ramp.To my knowledge, there's no official ceremony this year. In years past, those have been few and far between.But its a safe bet those involved are turning their thoughts to those lost and what could have been toda…
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]4707[/ATTACH] NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will buy one more Lockheed Martin C 130J Super Hercules medium-lift aircraft apart from the 12 contracted for to make up for the loss of one plane in an accident in March. The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, told India Strategic magazine (www.indiastrategic.in ) in an interview that the induction of the C-130Js, as also the heavy-lift Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs had "brought about a paradigm shift in our airlift capabilities". The IAF had initially acquired six C-130Js, and over three-and-a-half years of operations so far, the aircraft have played a highly significant role in d…
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]4705[/ATTACH] WASHINGTON — The US Air Force is looking for allies on the Hill to rework a major C-130 upgrade program, while warning that it may look to cut entire fleets of airplanes if it does not get relief from the program over the next five years. But the service may find itself facing tough opposition, if a Wednesday hearing of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee is any indication. The C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) has become a flashpoint in recent years. While members of Congress have fought hard for the program, the Air Force has said it is too costly and slow to do the entire, wide-ranging su…
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[ATTACH=CONFIG]4703[/ATTACH] MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFNS) -- The 23rd Wing sent the Air Force's oldest C-130 to the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, for its retirement March 3. Aircraft 62-1863, an HC-130P Combat King nicknamed "Iron Horse," experienced 52 years of service and three different modifications during its tenure. "The history is rich with this aircraft," said Tim Martin, the Air Force Engineering Technical Services adviser for C-130 maintenance personnel. "This is because it is a one of a kind aircraft and there never will be another like it." Iron Horse began its Air Force career as a C-130E Hercules assigned to the 374t…
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NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will buy one more Lockheed Martin C 130J Super Hercules medium-lift aircraft apart from the 12 contracted for to make up for the loss of one plane in an accident in March. The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, told India Strategic magazine (www.indiastrategic.in ) in an interview that the induction of the C-130Js, as also the heavy-lift Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs had "brought about a paradigm shift in our airlift capabilities". The IAF had initially acquired six C-130Js, and over three-and-a-half years of operations so far, the aircraft have played a highly significant role in disaster relief, setting global standards. Acknowl…
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WASHINGTON — The US Air Force is looking for allies on the Hill to rework a major C-130 upgrade program, while warning that it may look to cut entire fleets of airplanes if it does not get relief from the program over the next five years.But the service may find itself facing tough opposition, if a Wednesday hearing of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee is any indication.The C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) has become a flashpoint in recent years. While members of Congress have fought hard for the program, the Air Force has said it is too costly and slow to do the entire, wide-ranging suite of upgrades.Instead, the service wants…
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MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFNS) -- The 23rd Wing sent the Air Force's oldest C-130 to the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, for its retirement March 3.Aircraft 62-1863, an HC-130P Combat King nicknamed "Iron Horse," experienced 52 years of service and three different modifications during its tenure. The history is rich with this aircraft," said Tim Martin, the Air Force Engineering Technical Services adviser for C-130 maintenance personnel. "This is because it is a one of a kind aircraft and there never will be another like it."Iron Horse began its Air Force career as a C-130E Hercules assigned to the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing during the Vietnam Wa…
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Fire Aviation has obtained a document produced by the U.S. Forest Service which indicates they expect to receive the seven former Coast Guard C-130H aircraft between Fiscal Years 2017 and 2019 after they have been converted into air tankers — two in 2017, three in 2018, and the last two in 2019. (The federal fiscal year begins in October.) This is a year later than information the Chief of the USFS, Tom Tidwell, provided to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in July of 2014.Last month the agency’s announced plan, until the seven aircraft have been fully converted to air tankers with conventional gravity-based retardant tanks, was to operate one C-130H in 20…
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But the Savings wouldn't pay for a single new bomberThe 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 latest 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, Afghani…
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Air Force Special Operations Command’s top officer said he wanted to explore the possibility of adding a laser or directed energy weapon to the AC-130J Ghostrider. Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, head of AFSOC, told a crowd at NDIA’s SO/LIC conference in Washington D.C. on Tuesday that he thought the technology was mature enough to install a laser weapon onto the AC-130J gunship. The Air Force has already decided it will mount a 105mm cannon onto the newest variant of the gunship after the Air Force chose to limit the W-model to smart bombs and the 30mm cannon. Heithold explained that the 105mm cannon was needed because it was more accurate and cheaper than f…
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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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India and US after renewed and enhanced Defense Framework Agreement have agreed to work on Joint development and Production of four key defense Projects and one of them is to enhance Indian air forces C-130J with specialized electronic intelligence kits called as “Senior Scout ” which is a Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system.Senior Scout, a pallet mounted communications and electronic intelligence system, built into a trailer-like container that can be rolled on and off C-130 aircrafts. Senior Scout container also accommodates operators who collect SIGINT (signals intelligence), ELINT (electronic intelligence) and COMINT (communications intelligence…
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