2016
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Hidden away in the 62nd Airlift Wing history office, works a Vietnam Veteran and retired lieutenant colonel. While working daily to preserve McChord and Air Force history, Dr. Robert Allen, 62nd AW historian, holds a rich history of his own. Allen grew up as an Army brat in the 1950’s. His father was a signal officer in the Army and was stationed at various overseas bases including Stuttgart and Mannheim, Germany throughout his childhood. Living in Germany following World War II, as a child Allen witnessed the consequences of war up close. “There was still much rubble in the city from the war,” said Allen. “My friends were living in bombed out basements …
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The Defence Ministry today approved the buying of one C-130 J Super Hercules aircraft, worth about Rs 900 crore, to replace the one that had crashed in 2014 killing five crew members, including four officers. The decision to purchase a new one was taken by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The aircraft, worth over Rs 900 crore, had crashed while practising a tactical operation along with another C-130J Super Hercules aircraft after taking off from Agra on March 28, 2014. The IAF had inducted six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft which were bought from the US at a cost of around Rs 6,000 crore (USD 1 billion) in 2010. In…
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SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 18, 2016 — The California Air National Guard’s 146th Airlift Wing has activated two C-130J Hercules aircraft, joining state and local authorities supporting firefighting efforts across the state at the request of Cal Fire. Each aircraft is equipped with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System, which can discharge 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant in less than five seconds. “The air tankers of the 146th Airlift Wing are a proven asset in California’s fight against wildfires,” said Army Maj. Gen. David S. Baldwin, adjutant general for the California National Guard. “Their capacity to drop thousands of gallons of water and retard…
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The first LM-100J (5818) commercial freighter continues to make significant progress, reaching major production milestones at the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) facility here. The LM-100J is the commercial version of Lockheed Martin’s proven C-130J Super Hercules aircraft — the unmatched airlifter of choice for 16 nations. The LM-100J will perform as a commercial, multi-purpose air freighter capable of rapid and efficient cargo transport. The first LM-100J (5818) commercial freighter continues to make significant progress, reaching major production milestones at the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) facility here. The LM-100J is the commercial version of Lock…
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Lockheed Martin could deliver up to 100 more C-130Js plus services and support equipment to US and foreign customers under a new contracting vehicle awarded on 19 August. The five year ordering contract (FYOC) accommodates orders placed by international and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) tells FlightGlobal. The contracting vehicle also could include new orders from the US government, the AFLCMC says. The FYOC is the second major acquisition announcement involving the C-130J in the last eight months. Last December, the USAF also ordered 78 C-130Js under a $5.4 billion multi-year procurement (M…
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C-130 News: Ooh Rah! U.S. Marine Corps Receives 50th KC-130J Super Hercules Aerial Refueler
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The U.S. Marine Corps accepted delivery of its 50th KC-130J Super Hercules aerial refueler at the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) facility here on Aug. 18. This KC-130J is assigned to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California. The Marine Corps has the distinction of operating the largest KC-130J fleet in the world. As a member of the proven C-130J Super Hercules family, the KC-130J is battle-tested and delivers unmatched tanking capabilities — delivering fuel to a multitude of platforms, from helicopters to the F-35B Lightning II, the world’s most advanced 5th generation multirole fighter. “The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the most visible KC-130J operators in the…
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Lockheed Martin Corp. secured a $287.2 million contract modification Friday for five more C-130J transport planes — a program that has been scoring a lot of wins as of late. These five aircraft are being tacked onto a $5.4 billion, multi-year contract for various C-130Js. That contract, which was awarded in November 2015, called for the delivery of up to 83 C-130J variants over the next five years. This most recent award ups that figure to 88. The additional five were "added during congressional budget submittals,” that have come out of defense budget negotiations on Capitol Hill, an Air Force spokesman wrote in an email. Sponsored by …
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The engine cranked on as vibrations coursed through the cargo bay. Outside the small windows, he could see the propellers spinning into action as his C-130 taxied out for departure from the 136th Airlift Wing at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base, Texas. Secured to one side of the bay, he acclimated to the constant hum of the aircraft and as they took off, he braced and prepared for the bumpy ride to destinations unknown. For the rest of the aircrew, this occurrence was a regular day at the office, but for Airman 1st Class John Karley, 136th Maintenance Squadron propulsion technician, this was all a first. Karley had worked on C-130’s for more than two yea…
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Painting a C-130H with a new glossy paint scheme doesn’t happen very often in the Corrosion Control Flight at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex. Most of the time its professional cadre of aircraft painters spray on the customary flat gray color familiar on many a surface of weapon systems that visit Robins from across the globe. But earlier this month things turned a bit more colorful inside one hangar on the flight line, thanks to a visit from one particular aircraft making its way through the final stages of programmed depot maintenance here. During its visit here, the Coast Guard aircraft received a new center wing box, replacement of its outer…
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The Air Force Reserve’s 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron flew a fix mission Sept. 1 out of Keesler Air Force Base into Tropical Storm Hermine, which was upgraded to a hurricane mid-flight. In the afternoon, Hermine had max wind speeds of 70 mph at the surface, with a center about 110 miles due south of Panama City Beach, Florida, and was heading north, northeast at 16 mph. Hermine is the first named storm to hit the Gulf in the 2016 hurricane season and the first to hit the Florida coast since 2005. This mission was flown at 5,000 feet above the surface of the ocean at an average of 350 mph to collect data for the National Hurricane Center. The top of a typical …
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While post tropical storm Hermine has been downgraded from its previous status as a hurricane, it is still producing strong winds and dangerous riptides as it now sits in the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast. That's why special weather observation planes are now based at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station to help monitor the storm. 2 On Your Side spoke with their crew members earlier Monday. C-130 cargo planes are a common sight at the Niagara Falls airbase but these particular C-130 J weather planes are known as Hurricane Hunters. They are actually from an Air Force Reserve unit in Mississippi and they've been brought to the Falls to track the storm system kn…
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The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to invest GBP350 million (USD465 million) to keep its Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules transport fleet flying through to the type's recently revised out-of-service date (OSD) of 2030, the government disclosed on 5 September. Answering questions in parliament, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, Harriett Baldwin, said the investment would be made to support the 14 of the 24 aircraft that were extended from 2022 to 2030 in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015. "The SDSR 2015 announced an OSD extension of 14 C-130J [C4 variant] aircraft from 2022 to 2030. This does not constitute an extension o…
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C-130 News: Indonesia Acquires Nine Australian Used C-130H Aircraft And Full Mission Simulator
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The Indonesian Air Force has recently taken delivery and accepted for training a CAE-built C-130H full-mission simulator that was previously in-service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The Indonesian Air Force has acquired nine ex-RAAF C-130H aircraft along with the CAE-built simulator as part of a government-to-government agreement established several years ago. Airbus Group Australia Pacific, the prime contractor responsible for delivery of five of the C-130H aircraft along with spares and simulator, subcontracted CAE Australia to relocate the C-130H simulator and to provide the training facility to house it, CAE said in a statement Wednesday. The C…
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The Air National Guard unit at Reno completed its first training activation operating the U.S. Forest Service’s Modular Airborne FireFighting System last week and the first of the unit’s C-130s equipped for MAFFS arrived at the base Thursday, September 8. In April the Reno 152nd Airlift Wing became one of the four bases designated to operate MAFFS units. They are replacing the 145th Airlift Wing of North Carolina that is transitioning from the C-130 to the C-17. The other MAFFS bases are at Cheyenne, Colorado Springs, and Channel Islands in California. The USFS has 8 MAFFS units that can be slipped into a C-130 in just a few hours, converting it to a 3,000-gallo…
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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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The long, sad goodbye is coming to an end. The few remaining members of the 440th Airlift Wing will case the colors this weekend. Ceremonies on Fort Bragg and in downtown Fayetteville will bid the unit farewell. The formality of inactivating Fort Bragg's last resident airlift unit will come sometime before the end of this month. It will nearly coincide with the end of the federal fiscal year, which is appropriate, because it appears that the Air Force decision to close the wing was related to federal budget woes. Military budgets are still subject to the blind, meat-ax cuts required by Congress' budget sequestration law, the insane mandate of across-the-board sp…
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440th Airlift Wing members, Airmen from around the country, soldiers and community members gathered together yesterday to honor generations of 440th Airmen and pay tribute to the legacy of the Air Force's third oldest unit, the Air Force Reserve's 440th AW, at its inactivation ceremony, September 18. Though members of the 440th Airlift Wing have been planning and arranging for the closure of the wing's doors for months, little could truly prepare those gathered for the emotional ceremony; the heavy fog of both pride and sadness that would accompany the furling of the 440th Airlift Wing's flag. "I am honored to have spent my entire career with the 440th Airlift Win…
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The 50th C-130J Super Hercules empennage assembly has been delivered by a Tata-Lockheed Martin joint venture, Lockheed announced Monday. The assembly was delivered by the enterprise, known as Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited, from its Hyderabad, India, facility, the company said in a statement. The venture was established in 2010 and began producing the aircraft's components in late 2011. Lockheed said the effort follows along the lines of the Indian government's "Make in India" program and has become the single global source of C-130J empennage assemblies included on all new Super Hercules aircraft produced in Marietta, Ga. Empennage assem…
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The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Rolls-Royce in Indianapolis a more than $20 million contract. The announcement comes on the same day that the U.S. Air Force has named Rolls-Royce a "Superior Supplier" for the third consecutive year. The contract calls for the production of spare engines for the C-130J aircraft. Work will be performed in Indianapolis and is expected to be complete by the end of December 2017. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia is the contracting activity. The Air Force recognizes top suppliers each year after companies are rated in Contractor Performance Assessment Reports and then categorize…
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Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Marietta, Georgia, has been awarded a $55,521,060 modification (P00581) to previously awarded contract FA8625-11-C-6597 to definitize an undefinitized contract action for one C-130J aircraft. The location of performance is Marietta, Georgia. This modification is 100 percent unclassified foreign military sales to Israel. The work is expected to be completed by April 30, 2018. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Source: http://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/951753/source/GovDelivery View full article
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Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group is celebrating the 20th anniversary of supporting the Royal Netherlands Air Force C-130 fleet. In 1996 Marshall was awarded the contract to support the Royal Netherlands Air Force fleet of C-130H’s and throughout the development of the C-130 fleet Marshall has continued to support the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Marshall completed the CUP (Cockpit Upgrade Programme) in 2005 which was followed by the groundbreaking TACAMO contract where two ex-US Navy EC-130Qs were converted to C-130Hs which included the CUP configuration. 2006 also marked the establishment of the engineering office in Leiden, the Netherlands. Further ca…
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The group that supports Robins Air Force Base held its first meeting in nine months Thursday, and heard some potentially good news. It was the first meeting of the 21st Century Partnership under the leadership of Dan Penny, the new president. He told the members that talks are in progress for Robins to get more C-130 work. “It hasn’t been approved by the Air Force but there is somebody working on it, I can tell you that,” he said. “It will take probably at least two years for that to happen.” But he explained it in a way that sounded hopeful. Robins currently does most of the heavy maintenance on C-130s, but some of it is done at Hill Air Force Base i…
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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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“The conversion process is complete,” Smith said. “Today marks our first day since the end of conversion. We sent up an official memo to the Guard Bureau yesterday that we have completed our conversion and are now a fully operational C-130 wing.” Brig. Gen. Bryan Fox, Assistant Adjutant General – Air, Montana National Guard, Brig. Gen. Pete Hronek, Vice Chief of Joint Staff for the Montana National Guard, and State Command Chief Master Sgt. Tim Zumbrun were shown the progress made on the hanger construction project and the new unimproved landing zone. Smith said now that the unit has completed its conversion the Airmen of the Montana Air National Guard are able to b…
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Germany is set to buy and operate four to six Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft in a joint effort with France, German reports say on Tuesday 4 October. Berlin with such a move clearly shows it doesn’t have much faith in the Airbus A400M, which is now being delivered to the German Luftwaffe at a painfully slow rate while also showing shortcomings for which Berlin seeks compensation. The Hercules aircraft are to be delivered in 2021 and based in France, according to sources. They would be fitted especially for special operations and be able to operate from unpaved runways. Signal If anything, the purchase is a clear signal to Airbus that t…
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