2016
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The US Department of Defense (DoD) has selected Rockwell Collins as the prime contractor for the C-130 Hercules fleet upgrade and supply of associated equipment to Pakistan. Under the terms of the $30m contract, the company will design, manufacture, integrate, train and deliver 11 C-130E model kits and five C-130B integrated avionics suites and kits to Pakistani Air Force (PAF). The contract covers the development, validation, and delivery of consolidated B/E flight manual and associated checklists, as well as maintenance supplements. Work under the contract will be carried out at PAF's Nur Khan Base, Islamabad. Delivery under the contr…
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Rolls-Royce has delivered the first T56 Series 3.5 engine upgrade kits to the US Air Force as the service introduces the improvements to its C-130H transport fleet. The Series 3.5 engine upgrade kits are already demonstrating success in a Hurricane Hunter WP-3D aircraft of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with fuel savings exceeding 12% and improved range and payload capability. NOAA flight data also shows significantly lower turbine temperatures, improved high-altitude performance and much faster engine starts. USAF and US Air National Guard C-130Hs will begin receiving the T56 engine upgrades, starting with Air National Guard units in Wyomi…
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Rolls-Royce has been contracted by the U.S. Air Force to supply spare engines and provide propulsion system sustainment for their C-130J aircraft. Under the $71 million spare engine contract, the company will provide 24 AE2100DE commercial engines for the airlifters. The order also includes foreign military sales to the government of Saudi Arabia. Rolls-Royce received an additional $76 million contract for C-130J propulsion system sustainment, which tasks the company with providing logistics and management support in addition to engineering services, spares, and technical data support for the aircraft's propulsion system. …
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Members of the Scotia-based 109th Airlift Wing were expected to fly 1,400 miles across Antarctica on Friday to pick up 35 stranded Australian researchers. The eight-person New York National Guard crew will use its ski-equipped L-C130 to extricate members of the expedition from Davis research station after a ship that was supposed to carry the Australians home ran aground in driving snow and freezing temperatures, according to the U.S. National Science Foundation. "What happened there was extremely bad weather at Mawson, an Australian station," said Peter West, spokesman for the National Science Foundation. The 109th fl…
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India is set to position its second squadron of special operations aircraft C-130J in Panagarh, West Bengal, to increase flying in areas close to the disputed boundary with China. “The second squadron of C-130J would be located at Panagarh. The flying will start by March-April 2017,” Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said here on Wednesday ahead of his retirement on December 31. The mountain strike corps being raised by the army would eventually be located at Panagarh. India currently has 13 corps – 10 defensive and 3 offensive corps – 1, 2, and 21 based in Mathura, Ambala and Bhopal. The 17 corps will be the first one to have specific capabilities to fight in the mountai…
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The U.S. Senate has added an amendment to a defense spending bill designed to have a positive impact on the future of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) co-sponsored the amendment to the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. A joint news release from the Senators says that the amendment directs the Air Force to report on how it will prioritize upgrades to new C-130J aircraft for facilities that include special mission units – such as aerial spray, airborne firefighting, and weather reconnaissance. Brown and Portman have been urging the Air Force to replace YARS’ 910th Airlift Wing’s curren…
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Those around the metro Atlanta area were treated to a unique view as six-ship C-130 formation from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia took to this skies for a training exercise July 9. The aircraft took off here at 10:30 a.m. and flew south toward the downtown area before turning north tracking the Interstate 75 corridor until reaching the Lake Acworth area and returned, landing at Dobbins ARB in the early afternoon. “For efficiency, we normally fly one or two planes together at once; however, there is value in exerting maximum effort to fully tax the operations and maintenance crews,” explained Lt. Col. Thomas Moffatt, 700th Airlift Squadron director of operations…
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Air Force Special Operations Command plans to fly small, tactical off-board drones from its AC-130 gunships in combat for the first time later this year, which will give crews better views of the battlefield. Tactical off-board sensing, or TOBS, is intended to improve AFSOC’s targeting capabilities in poor weather or other challenging conditions. Gunship crews spend a lot of time “looking at tops of clouds … [thinking], ‘I wish the weather would clear. Damn, I’d like to shoot what’s down there but damn I can’t see it,’” said Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, commander of AFSOC, at a Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict conference hosted by the National Defense Indus…
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The test aircraft has been fitted with vertical fins on each wing, called winglets. The 413th Flight Test Squadron aircrew and engineers tested the modified aircraft over eight flights. The goal of the tests was to collect data on possible fuel efficiency improvements and performance with the winglets and lift distribution control system installed. (MC-130J 11-5729 c/n 5729) See more images at link below. Source: http://www.eglin.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123472544 View full article
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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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A base wide contest was held to pick the tail flash design that represented the rich heritage of the airmen of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard and the people of Puerto Rico. Out of the seven unique and artistic tail flash designs submitted for consideration, the design selected to represent the 156th Airlift Wing was created by Staff Sgt. Luis A. Morales, aircrew flight equipment technician of the 156th Operation Group. A six member committee of varying ranks from different sections of the base evaluated the seven designs and selected Morales' design based on its ability to portray the unique spirit of the PRANG's history, heritage and culture. As the senior rankin…
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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 61st AS distinguished itself as the only C-130J squadron with at least nine crews, consisting of 85 percent of their work force, deployed throughout the year. The squadron, also known as the Green Hornets, safely executed 2,605 tactical airlift sorties, transported 9 million tons of cargo and 19,000 passengers in support of seven combatant commanders. “We were able to prepare ourselves for deployments despite the shortage in aircraft that we had available; for a great part of 2015 we had not even half of our allocated aircraft,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Westby, 61st AS commander. “We cultivated the partnerships with other wings on base in order for us to …
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The U.S. Air Force’s Hurricane Hunters, based at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, have spent, by conservative estimate, more than 100 hours inside Hurricane Matthew. You may have heard of them. A Discovery Channel show featuring the unit — officially known as the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron under the 403rd Wing of the Air Force Reserves — aired for two seasons. Or maybe you haven’t heard of them. But if you’re one of 2.5 million people in four states who evacuated their homes in advance of Matthew — or one of the millions more who may be in the storm’s path, or one of the many more people nationwide who are following news of the storm, or for that…
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The notice was short, but a community dedicated to Blue Angels still came out in force for a proper homecoming. On Thursday night, thousands took to areas of Escambia County to watch as a Marine Corps C-130 Hercules, known as "Fat Albert," returned the remains of Opposing Solo Captain Jeff Kuss to Naval Air Station Pensacola. "The way he handled what he did, he's a hero," Rick Stratmann said. "No doubt about it." From Palafox Street to Pensacola Beach, eyes turned to the sky waiting for the aerial show. A beach full of people were quick to grab the edges of the American flag, a display from the ground to tribute those flying overhead. While they held on to …
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The National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group (NMAC) at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho has mobilized two Department of Defense C-130s equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) to assist with wildfire suppression efforts in the western United States. The two C-130 MAFFS will be provided by the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, based out of Cheyenne, and the 302nd Airlift Wing, Air Force Reserve, Peterson Air Force Base, based out of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The aircraft will initially work out of Boise and are expected to be available to fly wildfire suppression missions by Wednesday, August 3. MAFFS are in…
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Imagine for a moment, our ground and coalition forces in the throes of battle. Imagine them in less than desirable conditions in the middle of nowhere. Now imagine yourself in their boots and not having the vital supplies to survive and sustain that fight. The 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and the 386th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron have two different missions, yet work together every day to ensure the single mission of the C-130 Hercules can equip and prepare our forces to stay in the fight another day. “The professionalism of total-force Airmen,” said Maj. Kenneth Jensen, 386 EAMXS maintenance operations officer. “It’s amazing to watch mem…
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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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The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded Pacific Propeller International (PPI) a five-year support contract to provide overhaul services for the Hamilton Sundstrand 54H60-117 propeller assembly and components. The 54H60-117 propeller system operates on the USCG’s fleet of C-130 Hercules Heavy Lift, Search and Rescue aircraft. The five-year contract consists of a one-year base, followed by four single-year options. PPI is an FAA authorized repair station, certified under FAR 145. For more than a half century PPI has been recognized as an accomplished global repair and overhaul facility and has enjoyed several smaller, quantity specific USCG 54H60 propelle…
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Coulson’s Tanker 131 concluded its 2016 fire season in the United States on November 30, racking up 350 hours of flight time and 520 drops for a total of 1.77 million gallons delivered over wildfires — an average of 3,404 gallons per drop. Next on its schedule is a flight down under to Australia where it will join, at least within the same country if not the same state, its sister, Tanker 132 which has been there since September 6, 2016. Source: http://fireaviation.com/2016/12/03/update-on-coulsons-c-130s/ View full article
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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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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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When Lockheed designed the C-130 Hercules in Marietta in the 1950s, company engineer Kelly Johnson said they would be lucky to sell a hundred. In 2015, Tony Frese, Lockheed Martin’s vice president and deputy program manager of C-130 Programs, delivered number 2,500. “Here we are 60 years later,” said Frese. “So we always are quite thankful that Kelly Johnson, a brilliant man, got that one piece wrong.” That engineer, Johnson, was working on sleek reconnaissance jets. The Hercules, by comparison, is clunky, with large propellers, a heavy tail and a belly big enough to fit a bulldozer. But that’s been the massive transport plane’s secret to long life. I…
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Looking through pictures of Wyoming Air National Guard aircraft over the last ten years, one picture stands out. An eight year old image of a single C-130H Hercules aircraft with eight-bladed propellers parked on the ramp at dusk, foretelling the modernization of the C-130 fleet. The wing assisted with developmental testing by providing a dedicated aircraft and additional crew members for testing with the Electronic Propeller Control System (EPCS) and NP2000 eight-bladed propellers in June 2008. This test represented an option for the Air Force and Air National Guard to modernize the C-130H fleet through a comprehensive propulsion upgrade allowing for increased performa…
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All eight of the C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft assigned to the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, took to the air for a historic event May 14. The mission was designed to validate the standards tactical airlift units are required to maintain for mass airdrop capabilities. The timing of event was also important. "We only have all of our (aircraft) here from temporary duty and deployments for about two weeks out of the year," said Col. Paul Lyman, 153rd Airlift Wing commander, adding that the event was historic and very much a team effort. "Every member of the 153rd Airlift Wing played a part," he said. Aside from the obvious participants, due to the s…
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