2016
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Germany and France announced plans on Tuesday (Oct 4) to share an air base and transport planes as part of a military shake-up in the wake of Britain's vote to quit the European Union. The two countries signed an agreement with a view to sharing C-130J Super Hercules military transport planes, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in Paris. His German counterpart Ursula von der Leyen, in Paris to sign the deal, told reporters both countries wanted to have the new arrangement in place by 2021. France ordered four C-130Js from US company Lockheed in January. Germany was looking to acquire between four and six of the same aircraft and to base th…
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A successful first flight test was recently completed for the C-130H (Hercules) transport aircraft upgraded by Elbit Systems for the Israeli Air Force (IAF), under an agreement signed with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. This initial flight test was the first in a series of flight tests, and future flight tests were agreed upon and will be performed in the coming months. During the flight tests, the aircraft's systems performance was tested in various modes of operation and in a variety of flight altitudes and conditions, in both day and night. The test demonstrated “out of the window” flight, in which live video was displayed on the head-up display (HUD), presentin…
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The 440th Airlift Wing has dropped its last paratroopers into the skies above Fort Bragg. The Air Force Reserve wing, slated for inactivation later this year, quietly conducted it's last airborne operation with Fort Bragg soldiers Wednesday. As the sun set, both literally and figuratively, on the wing's mission to support Bragg troops, about 330 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers were dropped from one of the wing's remaining C-130H planes. After a nearly two year fight to save the wing, many believe the battle is over and the 440th -- first slated to be closed in the 2015 Air Force budget -- will be inactivated this fall. Despite sever…
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Robins Air Force Base could soon earn the title of Center of Excellence for C-130 maintenance. Congressman Austin Scott of the 8th District says the House Armed Services Committee included language in the National Defense Acquisition Act that would protect the work done by Air Force depots, particularly on the C-130. Scott says the original version of the bill included language that "attacked the depots" and questioned their limited capacity to handle the workload and suggested moving the work out of the depots. He says he fought to remove that language. Instead, the approved version of the bill asks the Air Force to provide a report on the capacity at a…
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Lockheed Martin is focusing increased attention on Africa as a market for its C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, in the face of stiff competition from the Airbus Defence C295, and the Alenia C-27J Spartan. The C-130J is an advanced new-build derivative of the original C-130A-H. Its new 4,637shp Rolls Royce AE2100D3 engines and Dowty Propellers’ six-blade R391 propellers provide dramatic all-round performance improvements, as well as reduced operating costs. The C-130J’s new engines provide 30% more power than the 4,590shp Allison T56-A-15 or Allison AN501-D22A turboprops used on the C-130 and L-100. This, in turn, ensures that the Super Hercules is 10…
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Members of Congress are moving forward on attempts to protect the training of Fort Bragg paratroopers, even as Air Force leaders say they are on track to increase their support to Fort Bragg when compared with last year. Reps. Renee Ellmers and Richard Hudson have filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would create additional congressional oversight when it comes to airborne operations on Fort Bragg, to ensure the Air Force is providing the promised support. The House version of that bill already includes a provision aimed at protecting funding for the Global Response Force, which is largely composed of the 82nd A…
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ABOARD AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER OVER JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — In mere seconds, the WC-130J springboards past 1,000 feet. It’s the extra push the J-model aircraft — first delivered to the Air Force Reserve “Hurricane Hunters” — gets on takeoff. It’s that kind of power the aircrew relies on to propel through a storm. With hurricane season just beginning, the five airman-crew from the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron expects a busy few months. Twenty aircrews belong to the squadron stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi — the Defense Department's only manned weather reconnaissance unit. Of the 53rd’s 10 WC-130Js, three can fly in different storms sim…
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More than 100 of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Wing members returned from a four-month deployment in Kuwait last week in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Their focus was to support the C-130H “Hercules” tactical-airlift mission, contributing to the operation aimed at militarily defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria and working alongside more than 60 partners as part of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. “We did what we went there to do,” said Lt. Col. Michael Cummings, the deployment commander and commander of the 144th Airlift Squadron. “We delivered food, water, ammo, whatever [the U.S. Army …
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Air Force officials have been saying they would inactivate the 440th Airlift Wing for more than two years. On Friday, they officially notified Congress that they would move forward on shuttering Fort Bragg's lone airlift wing. According to Rep. Renee Ellmers' office, Air Force leaders said they began efforts to move the wing's 12 C-130H aircraft on Friday, the end of a 90-day waiting period required by law. While the news was expected, Ellmers said it was still hard to stomach, citing the Air Force's inability to fully support Army airborne forces at Fort Bragg, the home to the nation's airborne and quick reaction forces. …
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A brand new C-130J aircraft delivered to Little Rock Air Force Base June 20, 2016, marks the beginning of a modern legacy of global reach capabilities. With this aircraft delivery, which is the final C-130J to arrive from the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia, the 19th Airlift Wing is now the first U.S. Air Force active-duty unit to complete its transition from the H-model to the newer J-model aircraft. Known as “The Home of Combat Airlift,” the 19th Airlift Wing began transitioning from older C-130H cargo aircraft to newer C-130J models in 2004. The ongoing airframe conversion enables Airmen to improve strategic and tactical airlift abilities. …
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Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $20 million U.S. Air Force contract modification for engineering change proposals on the C-130J Super Hercules. The work will incorporate five engineering change proposals into the production baseline of the C-130J multi-year fleet. Work will be performed in Georgia and is expected to be completed by January 2020. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the contracting activity. The versatile Super Hercules can touch down on austere landing strips and is often the first aircraft to arrive to provide humanitarian relief after disaster missions, Lockheed Martin said. It has been used for combat, humanitarian,…
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For the first time ever, a Royal Canadian Air Force plane has entered the Benefield Anechoic Facility. A team of engineers, operators and defense scientists from Canada, are wrapping up electronic warfare testing of an RCAF CC-130J Hercules transport plane. Canada is updating its fleet of legacy CC-130H aircraft with the J model, which are the same as the U.S. Air Force C-130Js and used for tactical airlift of troops and supplies. The team has conducted multiple tests in the past couple of weeks focusing on the ALR-56M radar warning receiver and its integration with the rest of the Defensive Electronic Warfare Suite and aircraft mission computer. "The BAF is…
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Maintaining the C-130J Super Hercules fleet here became a more efficient process for the 403rd Maintenance Squadron Isochronal Inspection Dock. The ISO Dock received new maintenance stands April 14. The first aircraft to undergo an inspection using the new stands is enabling maintainers to test out their new equipment, said Master Sgt. Steven Dahl, 403rd MXS flight chief. “This aircraft is riddled with heavy maintenance tasks such as removal of the number one engine change, left outboard flap, and all four main landing gear; which is enabling us to completely test the new stands in almost every possible maintenance scenario we will cross all at …
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Staff at Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge have been helping support Armed Forces Day after completing a special paint scheme on one of the RAF's Hercules aircraft. Armed Forces Day comes as Marshall celebrates its 50th anniversary of supporting the Hercules fleet and the 100th anniversary of 47 Squadron which operates the C-130J aircraft. The Hercules was given a special paint scheme on its fin and fuselage to mark the centenary and was seen taking part in the fly-past for the Queen's 90th birthday. A spokesman for Marshall, which has been supporting the Hercules transport aircraft since 1966, said: "It is important to recognize those who serve in t…
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The 815th Airlift Squadron “Flying Jennies”, an Air Force Reserve unit assigned to the 403rd Wing here, flew a four-aircraft training exercise today, their first multi-element training mission since the squadron found out in 2015 that it was no longer scheduled for inactivation. The 815th AS is a tactical airlift unit that uses 10 C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to transport supplies, equipment and personnel in a theater of operation. The four aircraft flown for this mission were training on performing airdrops to a forward operating base and employing countermeasures to avoid enemy fire. Maj. Mark Suckow, 815th AS pilot, said that normally for this type of missi…
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There were many happy reunions on Monday at the Delaware Air National Guard Base when about 60 airmen returned home from their recent deployments serving overseas. Families and friends dotted the tarmac to greet the members of the 166th Airlift Wing as they returned home from taking part in Operation Freedom Sentinel. The group was comprised of pilots, crew, and maintenance teams operating the C-130s that transport personnel and cargo. Staff Sgt. Matthew Secamiglio embraced his children and wife after he got off the plane. He said the family had tried to stay in touch using technology and social media, but that didn't compare to reuniting in person. "Everythin…
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Robins Air Force Base could soon earn the title of Center of Excellence for C-130 maintenance. Congressman Austin Scott of the 8th District says the House Armed Services Committee included language in the National Defense Acquisition Act that would protect the work done by Air Force depots, particularly on the C-130. Scott says the original version of the bill included language that "attacked the depots" and questioned their limited capacity to handle the workload and suggested moving the work out of the depots. He says he fought to remove that language. Instead, the approved version of the bill asks the Air Force to provide a report on the capacity at a…
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What started out as an aircraft used by the Coast Guard will soon end up in the hands of the U.S. Forest Service. A C-130H that has been maintained by the 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron is in its final stages of programmed depot maintenance here, having just wrapped up functional test procedures. The aircraft’s final visit will be to corrosion control where it will receive a new paint job before it leaves. Although the aircraft has remained at Robins longer than anticipated, due to the transfer to the Forest Service and unforeseen production issues while on station, it is scheduled to fly out in August when it will serve a different role – fighting fires as its…
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More than 100 members of the 179th Airlift Wing are returning Wednesday afternoon. At approximately 2 p.m., the 179th Airlift Wing will welcome home the final rotation of returning deployed members from a historic mission with the C-130H Hercules aircraft. This is the first the unit has deployed with the C-130H Hercules since the aircraft returned to the 179th Airlift Wing following a mission conversion from the C-27J Spartan back to the C-130H Hercules. Members have been deployed from three to six months in support of tactical airlift missions throughout the middle-east. The first rotation of this deployment consisting of around 56 airmen and two aircraft …
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More than 70 Airmen from the 94th Airlift Wing recently took part in Maple Flag 49, an annual international air exercise, at 4 Wing Cold Lake in Alberta. Each year, allied forces from around the world seek to prepare their service members for tactical global operations. They came together from May 30-June 10 for air-to-air, air-to-surface and close air support operations in a simulated combat environment. Participating for the third time, the wing sought to invest its resources into its future fighting force. Lt. Col. Thomas Moffatt, the 700th Airlift Squadron director of operations and 94th AW Maple Flag mission commander, designed a detailed plan to meet that o…
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The US Air Force has awarded StandardAero a contract estimated $43 million to upgrade Rolls-Royce T56-A-15 engines powering its fleet of C-130H aircraft. The upgrade involves the overhaul and repair of engine compressor and turbine modules and the installation of the Series 3.5 engine upgrade hardware. The upgrade will be performed at StandardAero’s engine MRO facility located at Port San Antonio, Texas and will run through 2018. This marks the second T56 contract award of 2016 for StandardAero San Antonio. In January, the U.S. Navy awarded StandardAero with a one- year contract for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of the Navy’s fleet of T56 engines…
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The C-130 Hercules, a behemoth of an aircraft, shook as it raised, causing a deafening roar. Everyone wore earplugs, and everyone was well aware of where the barf bags were. Local media were invited aboard the Hercules as part of a search and rescue demo on Thursday, but it felt pretty real -- especially when some members of the media lost their lunch and some members of the Canadian Air Force 424 Squadron, based out of Trenton, parachuted out of Hercules at roughly 2,000 feet. The scenario involved a local pilot of a C-185 Amphib Float Plane C-GCYS on a Visual Flight Rules plan that was en route from Killarney direct to Sudbury. Shortly after taking off, he rep…
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Airmen and ski-equipped aircraft from the New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing have started their annual journey to Antarctica. Two ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft and 23 Airmen left Stratton Air National Guard Base on Tuesday, October 18 to participate in the wing’s 29th season supporting Operation Deep Freeze, the military component of the U.S. Antarctic Program, which is managed by the National Science Foundation. The first LC-130 to leave Stratton departed Oct. 14 and is now in Christchurch, New Zealand – the last stop before Antarctica. Two more planes are scheduled to depart Stratton within the week. Throughout the season, which runs thr…
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Lockheed Martin recently delivered two C-130J Super Hercules aircraft: one HC-130J long range surveillance/search and rescue aircraft to the U.S. Coast Guard and an MC-130J Commando II Special Operations tanker to the U.S. Air Force. The Coast Guard’s HC-130J was originally delivered in 2015 and received post-production modifications at Lockheed Martin’s Greenville, South Carolina, facility. It was ferried from Greenville on May 10 by a Coast Guard crew. The MC-130J was ferried from here today by a U.S. Air Force crew. It is assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The C-130 Hercules is the standard for tactical airlif…
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Air Force Research Laboratory officials have said they plan to have a program of record for air-fired laser weapons in place by 2023. Ground testing of a laser weapon called the High Energy Laser, or HEL, was slated to take place last year at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., service officials said. The High Energy Laser test is being conducted by the Air Force Directed Energy Directorate, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. The first airborne tests are expected to take place by 2021, Air Force officials have said. The developmental efforts are focused on increasing the power, precision and guidance of existing laser weapon applications with the hope of mo…
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