Metalbasher

Lockheed Martin introduces LM-100J 'FireHerc' at Farnborough International Airshow July 16, 2018 (by Stephane Stinn) - Lockheed Martin today at Farnborough International Airshow (FIAS) introduced the LM-100J "FireHerc," a civil-certified firefighting airtanker variant of the proven C-130J Super Hercules that is the airlifter of choice for 18 nations around the world. Artist mockup of the Lockheed LM-100J 'FireHerc' a civil-certified firefighting airtanker variant of the proven C-130J Super Hercules. [Lockheed Martin photo] The LM-100J is the commercial freighter production model of the C-130J Super Hercules and an updated version of the legacy L-100 commercial Hercules freighter. The LM-100J is flying at and on static display at this year's FIAS. C-130s — legacy Hercules, Super Hercules and L-100s — have flown millions of hours in support of missions for military and civilian operators around the world for more than 60 years, which includes supporting firefighting missions for more than 40 years. The LM-100J FireHerc builds on this proven experience and offers advanced capabilities to support aerial firefighting requirements for decades to come. "With the presence of wildfires increasing on a global scale, there is a real-time need to provide more advanced assets to protect our people, communities and environment," said George Shultz, vice president and general manager, Air Mobility & Maritime Missions at Lockheed Martin. "As a variant of the C-130J Super Hercules, the FireHerc delivers a powerful combination of established performance advantages and innovative technology that will truly change the way we fight and defeat wildfires." The Hercules plays a vital role in firefighting by dispersing retardant to contain and control fires in locations with complex terrain and compromised operating conditions. The FireHerc's straight-wing design and turboprop power plant allows it to excel in supporting this challenging low-level, low-speed firefighting mission profile like no other large airtanker in operation. Additional FireHerc advantages include: Advanced flight deck avionics that provide outstanding situational awareness and modern safety features to protect and guide flight crews through challenging conditions. The ability to support two different retardant dispersion solutions: the gravity-drop based Coulson Aviation RADS Product Line or the pressure-type dispersal Modular Aerial Firefighting System II (MAFFS II). Both have been certified by the U.S. Forest Service on the Hercules platform to meet strict ground coverage standards. A path to support night firefighting with advanced integrated technology, allowing responders to combat fires on an unprecedented 24/7 cycle — providing an unmatched advantage against nature. Courtesy of © 2018 Lockheed Martin Corporation

Fuselage of historic rocket plane arrives in Glenville 6 July 2018 The fuselage of a rocket-boosted plane that was designed to rescue Americans during the Iran Hostage Crisis arrived just in the nick of time Friday evening at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum in Glenville, part of a piece-by-piece transfer of the historically significant craft from Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. The truck carrying the fuselage experienced difficulties on its journey. After getting hung up by a traffic light on Route 155 in Guilderland at about 1 p.m., it had to park on the roadside for hours because its permit did not allow for transport during rush hour between 4 and 6 p.m. The truck then moved swiftly to make it to the museum before sundown, as the same permit did not allow travel after dark. The truck and its State Police escorts arrived at the Schenectady County Airport moments after the sun set Friday evening. The Lockheed YMC130H, which took part in the secret operation code-named Credible Sport, “was made to land in a soccer field – to land in 600 feet and take off in 600 feet, with a full load. And it was built to rescue the hostages in Iran in 1980,” said Dan Wilson, acquisitions officer at the museum and project director of the plane’s transfer. The military-transport aircraft was one of three C-130’s retrofitted — with rocket engines and aerodynamic modifications allowing abrupt arrivals and departures — to aid the American hostages, who were held for 444 days after students supporting the Iranian Revolution seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The remaining two were no longer needed when the hostages were released moments after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in January of 1981, and one was stripped of its retrofitting and returned to regular service. The other, which arrived Friday in Glenville, has spent the ensuing years at Robins Air Force Base, which has donated it to the Glenville museum. “This is the most historic aircraft we ever got, and we’re honored to get it,” Wilson said. The plane will be reassembled this September by a team from Robins Air Force Base, he said, adding that the museum hopes to obtain assistance in its subsequent renovation from the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard, stationed at the Stratton base in Schenectady. Three tractor-trailers delivered the airplane’s wings and tail last week, Wilson said. The 97-foot-long fuselage arrived on a fourth Friday, with two more trucks coming in future weeks: one carrying four engines, the other carrying propellers. He estimates “six to eight months” of painting and renovation – to give it “a totally authentic” look adhering to the original specifications -- before the plane is put on display at the Aerosciences Museum. Its rockets will not be demonstrated live for visitors. “Uh, no,” Wilson said.

June 30, 2018 The Marines Are Transforming Their KC-130J Tankers into Missile Gunships by Sebastien Roblin Dropping bombs out of cargo planes has been a common measure of desperation for under-equipped air forces and opportunistic mercenaries throughout the history of aviation. However, in 2009 the U.S. Marine Corps found a way to make a virtue out of flexibility by developing Harvest Hawk, a kit which allowed their new KC-130J refueling tankers to double as missile-toting gunships and creepy aerial spying platforms that would put the Eye of Mordor to shame. Heavily armed Hercules transports have existed since the feared AC-130 Specter gunship debuted during the Vietnam War, and the Air Force currently operates several different types. In 2009, the Marines joined in by developing the Hercules Airborne Weapons Kit, which can be bolted on to the service’s KC-130J refueling tankers. While the Air Force and navy operate KC-135 and KC-10 tankers based on jetliners, the Marines instead adapted C-130 Hercules transport planes to serve as slower, more versatile platform that can refuel helicopters and Osprey tilt-rotors as well as fixed-wing jets. Even better, a KC-130 can top up two helicopters at a time via drogue-hoses which can pump 300 gallons a minute. A KC-130J can carry 60,000 pounds of fuel and cargo—or 84,000 pounds without cargo. Six $22 million HAWK kits were assembled, and ten KC-130Js modified to accept them. The kits added an AAQ-30 Targeting Sighting System sensor pod under the KC-130J’s left wingtip fuel tank which can spot individuals up to ten miles away; an M299 quad-launcher capable of carrying four AGM-114P2 Hellfire II anti-tank missiles (or P2A anti-personnel models) under the right wing; and a box-launcher loaded with ten smaller AGM-176 Griffon GPS-guided missile on the cargo ramp. That’s right, the beast had to lower the cargo-bay door midflight to fire the Griffons. The Hawk’s crew of seven included a pilot and co-pilot, two fire control officers operating a fire control system fixed on a cargo palette, a crewmaster and two cargomasters that double as Griffon missile operators. Harvest Hawks provide ‘overwatch’ for friendly ground troops by spending hours slowly orbiting overhead, using their sensor balls to scan huge swathes of terrain and spy on what the locals below are up to. As Hawk crewmember Major Mark Blankenbricker told defense media, “We use our cameras to look at villages, watch pattern of life and assess what is going on in the [area of operation] at that time.” No less than seven onboard radios allow close coordination with ground forces and friendly aircraft. If the grunts on the ground run into trouble, the Hawks sling guided missiles fairly precisely on top of the hostiles. A Harvest Hawk was deployed by Marine Air Refueling Squadron 352 to Afghanistan in October 2010, and first saw action at Sangin on November 4 while supporting 5th Regiment Marines, killing five Taliban insurgents with a Hellfire missile. The lone Hawk soon proved to be under constant demand by ground troops. Improved with Experience By 2012, Harvest Hawks were a reliable fixture of Marine air support over Helmand Province, Afghanistan as detailed profile by Code One Magazine in which Marine Major John Bulter of VMGR 252 shared a starting figure: “Our launch total was considerably more than Marine Harriers, Navy Hornets, and even Air Force A-10s . With only one aircraft, we shot close to half of all the kinetic weapons launched in theater in the nine months we were there.” The armed tankers averaged four flight hours a day, though could remain aloft as many as ten hours if necessary. The aircraft’s sensors reportedly could distinguish humans from animals, and even adults from children. In one incident, a HAWK crew spotted a group of Taliban firing on U.S. troops while using children “as a buffer” and to resupply ammunition. Unwilling to launch missiles, the pilots instead buzzed low overhead while spraying out a rain of defensive flares. The insurgents and their captives dispersed. Over time, the Harvest Hawks were improved. The cheaper Griffon missiles were rarely used at first because depressurizing the cargo bay to fire them was such a pain—so a new ‘wine rack’ launcher was developed poking out the side of the paratrooper jump door. The new “Derringer Door” could also launch GBU-44/B Viper Strike glide bombs—designed to deliver very precise strikes with minimal collateral damage due to their 2-pound warheads and sub-one meter accuracy. You can see the newly configured Harvest Hawk fire Griffon and Maverick missiles in this video . Additionally, new Intrepid Tiger electronic warfare pods gave Hawks the ability to jam hostile radio signals—particularly those that might trigger an IED from under the feet of troops on the ground. Marines in the field even scrounged a ground-based ROVER video receiver and installed it in the cargo bay of KC-130s, using it to collect video feed from all kinds of drones and aircraft. In 2016, the Marines formulated a major upgrade called Harvest Hawk+, and announced plans to introduce HAWK-compatibility on the sixty-nine remaining un-upgraded KC-130Js. The new format swaps out the AAQ-30 bolted on the left wing for a higher-quality L3 Wescam MX-20 sensor turret permanently installed under the nose. Additionally, an ALQ-23 Intrepid Triger II electronic warfare pod allows selective jamming or spying on different radio frequencies, and may be eventually upgraded for area radar jamming capability. Finally, compatibility was added for the AGM-114P4 Hellfire, which has improved maneuverability for hitting moving vehicles. In June 2018, the Harvest+ successfully completed a five-week live-fire training at the Naval Weapons Station at China Lake. Compatibility with additional weapons such as Small Diameter Bombs, 70-millimter guided rockets, a more prodigious Hellfire missile rack, or a long-promised but long delayed 30-millimter side-firing cannon, could eventually follow. An Osprey Hawk? Intriguingly, the Marine Corps also declared in 2016 its interest in upgrading its fleet of MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft with many of the Hawk+ systems. The very flexible, but expensive and accident-prone Osprey was criticized for its lack of effective armament when delivering troops to hot drop zones in Iraq. The laundry list of proposed upgrades would turn the Osprey into a true multi-role platform: aerial refueling capability with other Ospreys, a self-defense jamming pod, a Forward Looking Infrared Sensor for both scanning for hostiles and assisting in landing, a laser designator for targeting precision-guided munitions, an MX-20 sensor ball under the chin, and even capability to guide Switchblade kamikaze drones that can be literally chucked by hand out the side door. Of course, whether funding will materialize for such an ambitious and expensive upgrade is to be determined. The Harvest Hawk has worked so efficiently because it operates in “permissive” environments where adversaries lack the anti-aircraft weapons to effectively shoot back. In these situations, the speed and defense capabilities of expensive, fuel-gulping jet fighters is superfluous, and a lumbering cargo plane can virtually hover in place in relative safety while benefiting from greater endurance and payload. On the other hand, the Hawk mission may reduce KC-130 availability for the aerial refueling missions, which has already suffered due to the grounding of the majority of the Marine’s older KC-130T tankers after a deadly crash in July 2017 . The Hawk thus is an investment not in conventional warfighting capability, but in providing both ISR and close air support capabilities for counter-insurgency missions—a need which unlikely to go away soon as Washington doubles down on military commitments in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan. http://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/marines-are-transforming-their-kc-130j-tankers-missile-gunships-24697/page/0/1

SAS unit in Hercules crash during daring secret mission against ISIS SAS soldiers on a secret mission against Islamic State in Syria had a lucky escape when their plane crashed on landing. By Joe Hinton / Published 1st July 2018 ALAMY The £65million Hercules C-130J was badly damaged The RAF special forces plane ran off the runway in darkness at more than 100mph. The £65million Hercules C-130J was badly damaged and has now been written off as an operational loss. Its crew have been hailed heroes after they managed to control the plane and bring it to a halt. The incident happened at their base in northern Iraq, the Daily Star Sunday can reveal. “It was so badly damaged the MoD have written it off.” Operating with the call sign “Jezebel” the plane from 47 (Special Forces) Squadron is understood to have been carrying an SAS assault force. RAF crews assigned to special forces have regularly landed at remote airstrips in Syria to airlift SAS troops back to base. Details of the sensitive operations have been kept under wraps but a report highlighted the crash in a routine summary of incidents. According to a senior source, the Hercules had landed at a remote desert airstrip in Syria last August to pick up UK and US troops after a major attack on Islamic State forces near the town of Raqqa. He said: “A force of more than 100 had been on the ground for some days and been engaged in a fight with the remnants of IS as Kurdish-backed coalition forces moved into Raqqa. “They were loaded into the Herc along with two four-wheel drive vehicles, but the plane is only designed to carry 88 personnel and a pallet of ammunition and water. “It may be that the aircraft burst or damaged a tyre or tyres as it lifted out of the Syrian desert, but whatever happened they were all lucky to get out with their lives. “Be in no doubt that the pilots and aircrew did a fantastic job. “The aircraft screamed off the end of the runway on landing and made what can only be described as a heavy stop. “It was so badly damaged the MoD have written it off.” The aircraft has been stripped of its engines but the remains of the aircraft were still at Erbil airport in May. A Board of Inquiry into the crash is due to report next month. While the Erbil crash is the first to involve the new variant of the C-130, the RAF have lost six Hercules since 1999 when one crashed in Albania. In January 2005, a Hercules was shot down by insurgents in northern Iraq with the loss of 10 personnel. In May 2006 a C130 loaded with SAS soldiers hit a mine when it landed at a remote airstrip in Afghanistan. The aircraft caught fire and burned out. And in 2007 a Hercules was damaged when it hit a mine in Iraq’s Maysan Province and a couple of months later another was damaged beyond repair when it made a heavy landing at a remote airstrip in Afghanistan. The most recent crash involved a Hercules at Brize Norton in 2010. The aircraft made a belly landing and was regarded as being beyond repair. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/713361/sas-unit-hercules-crash-syria-mission-islamic-state

Acft has left Robins and headed for a New York Museum. Was told it left 25 June. Posted on June 26, 2018 by Yadkin Ripple Historic plane passes through Yadkinville News, Top Stories Yadkinville Police Department captured these images on Tuesday of a plane being hauled through town. Though still attempting to confirm all the details, the hauler told police officials that the plane was one of two MC-130E’s used to rescue hostages in Iran, outfitted with additional JATO rockets to be capable of taking off in 300 feet. The plane is on its way to New York to be restored for a museum. YPD said they believe the plane was part of President Jimmy Carter’s Operation Eagle Claw, an MC-130E, USAF 8th Special Operations Squadron. Due to its size, the hauler must follow a specific route to New York, avoiding certain bridges and overpasses. A secondary road was missing a road sign and they missed a turn, winding up in Yadkinville, authorities said.

Heard the other day that YMC-130H # 74-1686 (c/n 4669) located at Robins has had a museum express interest in acquiring the aircraft for a museum display. No word on the specific museum; just good to see something happen to it besides sitting in the elements and being used for battle damage repair practice.

To bad everyone doesn't see it that way or understand what it means to veterans... https://www.theindychannel.com/news/state-news/indiana-va-hospital-temporarily-removes-military-flags-to-fly-lgbt-pride-flag

A PR ANG acft that was at Savannah for Mx, not a Savannah ANG acft. Acft was headed for final flight to AMARG according to FAA records. News already reporting two fatalities.

Pete is the USAF C-130 Program Office Chief Engineer now.

C-130 crashes near Libyan oilfield April 29, 2018 (by Asif Shamim) - A Libyan C-130 Hercules crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday April 29th after departing an airfield near El Sharara oilfield, killing three people, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced. Civilian L100-30 #5A-DOM Chartered by Akakus Oil crashed during take-off, 2km from the Sharara oilfield, after delivering 18 tonnes of catering and maintenance supplies. on April 29th, 2018. [Unknown photographer] The C-130 (believed to be #5A-DOM) aircraft had been chartered by Akakus Oil, which operates Sharara, and had just delivered 18 tonnes of catering and maintenance supplies to the southwestern field. The two pilots and a flight assistant were killed in the crash, the NOC said. A fourth crew member was flown to the capital, Tripoli, for medical treatment. The plane crashed and exploded in the desert about 2 km away from the oilfield’s facilities. NOC said the circumstances of the crash were being investigated. The Chairman of the National Oil Corporation Mustafa Sanallah expressed his deepest sorrow and solidarity with the families of the victims and to the Air Force Chief of Staff, offering sincere condolences on behalf of the NOC for this great tragedy. According to the last list I have from Bob Daley, #5A-DOM (prod # 4992) was registered to the Libyan AF.

CANCER SUCKS! Sorry to hear this news. I too as so many others have related knew Bob from email correspondence and this forum only, never met face to face but I'm sure we could meet one day and sit down and have cold beverages like we were long lost friends reuniting. Rest easy Bob, rest assured you truly touched many and made a difference. Thank you for your service! Here is the last list I got from Bob back in Sept 2017. All Herks Status -Unoffical as of 1 Aug 2017.xlsx

USAF workload already shifted to WR/ALC starting in FY18. USN workload has started too, WR/ALC suppose to first USN acft in the next few months but the entire workload transition is suppose to be a 5-yr transition.

Suppose to be in FY 19...although they are suppose to initially operate their first three-four tails out of Wright Patt until facilities etc at Pittsburgh can be updated to accommodate the new acft.

According to Bob Daley's spreadsheet, LMCO # 4132, tail # 65-0980 is at Robins, "withdrawn from use". I know there are a few out here sitting on the ramp that have been here for a long time as well as a few that were here/at the museum and moved to Warrior Air Base for ABDR training etc.

Two units at Keesler, 815th Airlift Sqd (C-130Js) and the WC-130J Hurricane Hunters. The unit at Elmo is ANG...not active duty...transitioning now from HC-130Ns to HC-130Js Still have Ramstein (C-130Js)

Never knew about all this stuff...might have to go to the link below to check out the photos of all this stuff. http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15713/this-is-all-the-stuff-you-can-hang-out-of-a-c-130s-rear-paratrooper-doors This Is All The Stuff You Can Hang Out of a C-130's Rear Paratrooper Doors Various kits use those openings to mount surveillance systems, communications antennas, firefighting gear, and more. By Joseph TrevithickNovember 2, 2017 Columbia University After more than five decades of steady service, it’s safe to say that Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules family, as well as the civilian L-100 and now LM-100J models, has proven to be an especially versatile design. Its widespread use has prompted a whole associated industry of third party upgrades and add-ons, including one modular system called the Special Airborne Mission Installation and Response (SABIR) in particular, that can turn the aircraft’s rear paratrooper doors into surveillance arrays, communications nodes, even a radio and television broadcast antennas and more. Airdyne, an engineering firm based on Calgary, Canada, has been actively developing SABIR, one of the better known systems, and expanding on what it can do since 2007. Its subsidiary, Airdyne Aerospace, handles the sales and marketing of the equipment, as well as repairs, from its headquarters in Florida. Rather than one single piece of equipment, SABIR is a modular kit that includes a new door, a retractable “arm” able to carry a store weighing up to 400 pounds, and an equipment rack and work station with a seat so a member of the crew can operate the systems now attached to the aircraft. The USAF Tested an Advanced, Modular Sensor Pod on a Vintage AirlinerBy Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone Marines To Turn Super Hercules, Osprey Fleets Into Missile Slinging Electronic Warfare PlatformsBy Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone This Mysterious Military Spy Plane Has Been Flying Circles Over Seattle For DaysBy Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone USAF Has Dispatched Its Air Sprayer C-130s To Texas In Response To Hurricane HarveyBy Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone The USAF Finally Gives Its AC-130W Gunship The Big Gun It Desperately NeedsBy Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone Relatively easy and quick to install, crews can substitute the rig for either the left or right rear paratrooper doors on any C-130, or both. Airdyne's website says it initially developed the setup for the Hercules specifically, but that it is “platform independent” and able to fit on other aircraft, though the Hercules still appears to be the primary platform. The company says that an aircraft with this rapidly reconfigurable kit could be useful in a variety of military, law enforcement, and civilian roles. Its website lists more than a dozen possible mission sets, including surveillance missions, border patrol, search and rescue, and scientific research. Airdyne Airdyne itself offers a number of modular pods that fit onto the extendable strut, the AS-4 and AS-18, both of which can accept a variety of different sensors, including electro-optical and infrared still and video cameras, imaging and surface search and surveillance radars, laser imaging equipment, and signals intelligence suites. Another option is a wide-area surveillance system that incorporates multiple video cameras to capture imagery across a large swath of land or sea. Analysts can then put imagery together in a large mosaic making it easier to spot routine patterns of enemy movement or changes to the landscape over an extended period of time. Multiple users can exploit different parts of the imagery at one time, and vehicles and even people can be tagged tracked, including "rewinding" past footage and tracing their steps over a period of time. With the retracting arm, which only takes approximately one minute to extend or fold back up, the crew can position the pod well below the aircraft’s fuselage, as well. This reduces physical obstructions and other interference that might limit the range, field of view, intensity, or other capabilities of the sensors on board. Airdyne says that the full SABIR system works with nearly 170 different sensor packages. Airdyne We at The War Zone have written numerous times in the past about the immense value of modular sensor packages, especially for cash-strapped military forces and civilian agencies who might have limited numbers of actual aircraft available, but the need to perform a wide variety of missions. In July 2017, while exploring the U.S. Air Force’s new AgilePod system specifically, I wrote: “This level of modularity makes perfect sense. If the AgilePod works as intended, during actual operations, crews on the ground could quickly swap out gear to better fir the situation at hand rather than having to prepare an entirely different aircraft or even just install a completely different pod. This would reduce the total number of aircraft a unit might need to be able to perform the different mission sets, as well as potentially speeding up the process of getting the appropriate equipment into the air. It would be especially useful for units at forward locations where existing infrastructure and resources may be otherwise limited. … “Of course, individual manned or unmanned aircraft would only be able to perform the missions that the pod is configured for at any one time. However, the multiple stations inside the AgilePod would allow it to carry more than one type of sensor during each mission, which would still provide additional flexibility over some existing configurations. ARFL already has a number of examples within the Air Force and elsewhere in the U.S. military it can look to for evidence of the benefits of similar modular architecture.” So it’s not surprising that SABIR is already in service across the U.S. military, including with the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, as well as U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air National Guard. A number of other countries around the world also operate the system. The Air National Guard in particular has been steadily exploring the versatility of the concept to handle less typical missions. In 2006, the New York Air National Guard turned to Sandia National Laboratories to develop an X-band radar for its LC-130H Hercules, already specially configured to support U.S. government activities in extreme cold weather locales such as Greenland and Antarctica. The 109th Airlift Wing had suffered a number of accidents when crews tried to land on what appeared to be stable ice, only to have the aircraft run into a hidden crevasse. USAF An LC-130H sits snagged in the ice in Antarctica after hitting a hidden crevasse during a landing in December 1998. With the X-band radar, crews could see beneath the top sheet of ice and make sure their impromptu runway was safe before touching down. The 109th used SABIR to attach the equipment to the aircraft. Afterwards, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation and Colombia University, the unit began helping test the “IcePod,” which could carry the radar, along with various other sensors for research purposes. The final design had multiple visual and infrared cameras, radars, and a GPS navigation system, and was able to gather data on ice depth and density and air and surface temperatures, among other information. USAF The IcePod on one of the 109th's LC-130s. The Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 193rd Special Operations Wing also had a unique requirement, but one that didn’t involve sensors at all. The unit flies the EC-130J Commando Solo variant, a psychological warfare platform that can beam out propaganda radio and television broadcasts over warzones, urging civilians to avoid certain areas or implore them to give up any support they might be giving to the enemy. The only problem was that the Commando Solo conversions were complicated, costly, and would only ever apply to a small fleet. In 2008, the U.S. military decided to trim back the planned fleet from an already paltry six aircraft, down to just three. This left the 193rd with three “slick” C-130 airframes, plus an additional spare, that it suddenly had no idea what to do with. The unit subsequently combined SABIR carrying a pod with a version of a U.S. Army psychological operations broadcasting system. The cost-effective combination meant that these EC-130J aircraft, though less complex than the Commando Solos, could still transmit FM radio, analog and digital television, and even SMS text messages. via ThinkDefence One of the 193rd Special Operations Wing's "slick" C-130s with SABIR system. The psychological warfare mission highlights SABIR versatility beyond just modular sensor packages. Along with the broadcast equipment, the arm could just as easily accommodate a communications or data sharing hub to help pass information between friendly forces on the ground and in the sky. This could be an especially important capability for smaller militaries that cannot afford to field dedicated aircraft for this mission, such as the U.S. Air Force’s fixed wing E-11 or EQ-4B drone, both of which carry the powerful Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN). Off the battlefield, this capability could be especially useful for more civilian authorities, in particular during a natural disaster that disables a significant amounts the communications infrastructure, including emergency assistance hotlines, or knocks out large portions of the power grid in a particular area. A C-130 flying an orbit with a communications relay could provide a quick substitute system to get first responders and larger government disaster relief agencies back in regular contact with each other so that they can best direct their efforts and quickly share critical information about the overall situation. Airdyne The possible uses of SABIR as a datalink or communications node. With its 400 pound load capacity and a standardized bomb rack, the system could theoretically carry small munitions or other types of stores, as well. In a pinch, a C-130 with SABIR might be able to double as an attack platform or release swarms of small drones able to conduct their own myriad missions. For maritime surveillance and anti-submarine work, Airdyne already offers a sonobouy launcher that fits into the new door. This doesn’t impede the ability of the system to carry other equipment, meaning that crews could have that capability plus a surface search radar for long range patrol operations over the open ocean just on one side of the aircraft. A second SABIR setup on the other size could carry additional sensors. Airdyne According to Airdyne, that same dispenser can accommodate other manually dropped payloads, too. These include the GBU-44/B Viper Strike lightweight glide bomb and small, expendable drones. It could also likely drop research probes, such as the dropsondes storm chasing aircraft drop into hurricanes and other extreme weather patterns to gather data on temperature, wind speed, and various other data. It’s not the first time the U.S. military in particular has explored what it can do by simply swapping out the C-130’s rear paratroop doors. The U.S. Air Force Reserve flies two types of unique aerial spraying C-130s, both of which utilize that space. In the 1970s, the Air Force first started using the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, or MAFFS, consisting of five pressurized tanks than can hold 2,700 gallons of fire retardant chemicals or water. The system fits inside the the main cargo area of a C-130 and dispenses the liquid over large forest and other wildfires through nozzles that poke out through the rear paratrooper doors. In 2007, the Aero Union delivered the first improved MAFFS II, which replaced the five individual tanks with a single unit that also had a large 3,000 gallon capacity. In addition, the new system included two air compressors on board the aircraft, allowing the crew to pressurize the system themselves without the need for a separate piece of ground equipment. In addition to MAFFS, the Air Force Reserve also has a small number of C-130s fitted with the Modular Air Spray System (MASS). This configuration includes spray nozzles fitted in modified paratrooper doors and under the wings. Unlike the fire-fighting MAFSS, MASS crews primarily spray chemicals to control harmful insects or invasive plants. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the aircraft headed to Texas to help control a potentially dangerous explosion in the mosquito population. The planes have have also gone to work after other natural and man-made environmental disasters, including spraying oil dispersing chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010, which you can see in the video above. In the 1980s, the Air National Guard began flyingh C-130s with a special signals intelligence system called Senior Scout, as well. While, the bulk of the equipment fit inside a container that slides into the main cargo bay, new paratrooper and landing gear bay doors held the antenna farm necessary to spot and monitor enemy emitters. via ThinkDefence Replacement doors bristling with antennas on a C-130 fitted with the Senior Scout system. Ground crews could relatively quickly install all of the equipment onto any C-130 or remove it to put it back to work as a regular airlifter. The modular nature of the system meant that the Air Force built up a few versions, called Senior Warrior, for the U.S. Marine Corps to use on its KC-130 tanker transports during the first Gulf War. The Air National Guard appeared to have retired its remaining Senior Scout systems by 2013. More recently, the U.S. Marine Corps added a new paratrooper door to its KC-130 fitted with the Harvest Hawk weapons kit. Nicknamed the “Derringer Door” for its two weapons launch tubes, crews could fire various lightweight precision guided munitions, include the GBU-44/B and the AGM-176 Griffin missile, from inside the aircraft. Earlier Harvest Hawks had a larger launcher on the rear cargo ramp, but that meant the crew had to depressurize the main cargo compartment in order to use it. Lockheed Martin The inside of the Derringer Door on a KC-130 Harvest Hawk. A Harvest Hawk could conceivably expand its capabilities by using SABIR to combine the stores release capability with a sensor or other additional equipment. At present, the gunships use a modular sensor turret system that fits onto the rear of one of the aircraft’s under wing drop tanks. SABIR could also offer a quick, bolt-on electronic warfare capability, especially when combined with something such as the U.S. Marine Corps' Intrepid Tiger precision jamming pod. Many of these systems can double as electronic intelligence suites since they have to be able to locate and monitor enemy signal sources. Intrepid Tiger itself makes use of so-called "open architecture" software that will allow engineers to quickly install upgrades and add new capabilities as time goes on, including potentially radar jamming and even the ability to launch cyber attacks. In June 2017, Lockheed Martin unveiled a special operations configuration for the C-130J, the C-130-SOF. The concept art the company showed included a 30mm cannon firing through the left-side paratrooper door. This is a simpler, more modular arrangement than the purpose-built gun mount in the forward fuselage on the U.S. Air Force's AC-130W and AC-130J gunships. You really can hang a lot of stuff out of those rear paratrooper doors. More than six decades after its first flight, the C-130 is still going strong and it seems unlikely we’ve seen everything you can do with that space.

Never knew about all this stuff... http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15713/this-is-all-the-stuff-you-can-hang-out-of-a-c-130s-rear-paratrooper-doors This Is All The Stuff You Can Hang Out of a C-130's Rear Paratrooper Doors Various kits use those openings to mount surveillance systems, communications antennas, firefighting gear, and more. By Joseph TrevithickNovember 2, 2017 Columbia University After more than five decades of steady service, it’s safe to say that Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules family, as well as the civilian L-100 and now LM-100J models, has proven to be an especially versatile design. Its widespread use has prompted a whole associated industry of third party upgrades and add-ons, including one modular system called the Special Airborne Mission Installation and Response (SABIR) in particular, that can turn the aircraft’s rear paratrooper doors into surveillance arrays, communications nodes, even a radio and television broadcast antennas and more. Airdyne, an engineering firm based on Calgary, Canada, has been actively developing SABIR, one of the better known systems, and expanding on what it can do since 2007. Its subsidiary, Airdyne Aerospace, handles the sales and marketing of the equipment, as well as repairs, from its headquarters in Florida. Rather than one single piece of equipment, SABIR is a modular kit that includes a new door, a retractable “arm” able to carry a store weighing up to 400 pounds, and an equipment rack and work station with a seat so a member of the crew can operate the systems now attached to the aircraft. The USAF Tested an Advanced, Modular Sensor Pod on a Vintage AirlinerBy Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone Marines To Turn Super Hercules, Osprey Fleets Into Missile Slinging Electronic Warfare PlatformsBy Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone This Mysterious Military Spy Plane Has Been Flying Circles Over Seattle For DaysBy Tyler Rogoway and Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone USAF Has Dispatched Its Air Sprayer C-130s To Texas In Response To Hurricane HarveyBy Tyler Rogoway Posted in The War Zone The USAF Finally Gives Its AC-130W Gunship The Big Gun It Desperately NeedsBy Joseph Trevithick Posted in The War Zone Relatively easy and quick to install, crews can substitute the rig for either the left or right rear paratrooper doors on any C-130, or both. Airdyne's website says it initially developed the setup for the Hercules specifically, but that it is “platform independent” and able to fit on other aircraft, though the Hercules still appears to be the primary platform. The company says that an aircraft with this rapidly reconfigurable kit could be useful in a variety of military, law enforcement, and civilian roles. Its website lists more than a dozen possible mission sets, including surveillance missions, border patrol, search and rescue, and scientific research. Airdyne Airdyne itself offers a number of modular pods that fit onto the extendable strut, the AS-4 and AS-18, both of which can accept a variety of different sensors, including electro-optical and infrared still and video cameras, imaging and surface search and surveillance radars, laser imaging equipment, and signals intelligence suites. Another option is a wide-area surveillance system that incorporates multiple video cameras to capture imagery across a large swath of land or sea. Analysts can then put imagery together in a large mosaic making it easier to spot routine patterns of enemy movement or changes to the landscape over an extended period of time. Multiple users can exploit different parts of the imagery at one time, and vehicles and even people can be tagged tracked, including "rewinding" past footage and tracing their steps over a period of time. With the retracting arm, which only takes approximately one minute to extend or fold back up, the crew can position the pod well below the aircraft’s fuselage, as well. This reduces physical obstructions and other interference that might limit the range, field of view, intensity, or other capabilities of the sensors on board. Airdyne says that the full SABIR system works with nearly 170 different sensor packages. Airdyne We at The War Zone have written numerous times in the past about the immense value of modular sensor packages, especially for cash-strapped military forces and civilian agencies who might have limited numbers of actual aircraft available, but the need to perform a wide variety of missions. In July 2017, while exploring the U.S. Air Force’s new AgilePod system specifically, I wrote: “This level of modularity makes perfect sense. If the AgilePod works as intended, during actual operations, crews on the ground could quickly swap out gear to better fir the situation at hand rather than having to prepare an entirely different aircraft or even just install a completely different pod. This would reduce the total number of aircraft a unit might need to be able to perform the different mission sets, as well as potentially speeding up the process of getting the appropriate equipment into the air. It would be especially useful for units at forward locations where existing infrastructure and resources may be otherwise limited. … “Of course, individual manned or unmanned aircraft would only be able to perform the missions that the pod is configured for at any one time. However, the multiple stations inside the AgilePod would allow it to carry more than one type of sensor during each mission, which would still provide additional flexibility over some existing configurations. ARFL already has a number of examples within the Air Force and elsewhere in the U.S. military it can look to for evidence of the benefits of similar modular architecture.” So it’s not surprising that SABIR is already in service across the U.S. military, including with the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, as well as U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air National Guard. A number of other countries around the world also operate the system. The Air National Guard in particular has been steadily exploring the versatility of the concept to handle less typical missions. In 2006, the New York Air National Guard turned to Sandia National Laboratories to develop an X-band radar for its LC-130H Hercules, already specially configured to support U.S. government activities in extreme cold weather locales such as Greenland and Antarctica. The 109th Airlift Wing had suffered a number of accidents when crews tried to land on what appeared to be stable ice, only to have the aircraft run into a hidden crevasse. USAF An LC-130H sits snagged in the ice in Antarctica after hitting a hidden crevasse during a landing in December 1998. With the X-band radar, crews could see beneath the top sheet of ice and make sure their impromptu runway was safe before touching down. The 109th used SABIR to attach the equipment to the aircraft. Afterwards, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation and Colombia University, the unit began helping test the “IcePod,” which could carry the radar, along with various other sensors for research purposes. The final design had multiple visual and infrared cameras, radars, and a GPS navigation system, and was able to gather data on ice depth and density and air and surface temperatures, among other information. USAF The IcePod on one of the 109th's LC-130s. The Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 193rd Special Operations Wing also had a unique requirement, but one that didn’t involve sensors at all. The unit flies the EC-130J Commando Solo variant, a psychological warfare platform that can beam out propaganda radio and television broadcasts over warzones, urging civilians to avoid certain areas or implore them to give up any support they might be giving to the enemy. The only problem was that the Commando Solo conversions were complicated, costly, and would only ever apply to a small fleet. In 2008, the U.S. military decided to trim back the planned fleet from an already paltry six aircraft, down to just three. This left the 193rd with three “slick” C-130 airframes, plus an additional spare, that it suddenly had no idea what to do with. The unit subsequently combined SABIR carrying a pod with a version of a U.S. Army psychological operations broadcasting system. The cost-effective combination meant that these EC-130J aircraft, though less complex than the Commando Solos, could still transmit FM radio, analog and digital television, and even SMS text messages. via ThinkDefence One of the 193rd Special Operations Wing's "slick" C-130s with SABIR system. The psychological warfare mission highlights SABIR versatility beyond just modular sensor packages. Along with the broadcast equipment, the arm could just as easily accommodate a communications or data sharing hub to help pass information between friendly forces on the ground and in the sky. This could be an especially important capability for smaller militaries that cannot afford to field dedicated aircraft for this mission, such as the U.S. Air Force’s fixed wing E-11 or EQ-4B drone, both of which carry the powerful Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN). Off the battlefield, this capability could be especially useful for more civilian authorities, in particular during a natural disaster that disables a significant amounts the communications infrastructure, including emergency assistance hotlines, or knocks out large portions of the power grid in a particular area. A C-130 flying an orbit with a communications relay could provide a quick substitute system to get first responders and larger government disaster relief agencies back in regular contact with each other so that they can best direct their efforts and quickly share critical information about the overall situation. Airdyne The possible uses of SABIR as a datalink or communications node. With its 400 pound load capacity and a standardized bomb rack, the system could theoretically carry small munitions or other types of stores, as well. In a pinch, a C-130 with SABIR might be able to double as an attack platform or release swarms of small drones able to conduct their own myriad missions. For maritime surveillance and anti-submarine work, Airdyne already offers a sonobouy launcher that fits into the new door. This doesn’t impede the ability of the system to carry other equipment, meaning that crews could have that capability plus a surface search radar for long range patrol operations over the open ocean just on one side of the aircraft. A second SABIR setup on the other size could carry additional sensors. Airdyne According to Airdyne, that same dispenser can accommodate other manually dropped payloads, too. These include the GBU-44/B Viper Strike lightweight glide bomb and small, expendable drones. It could also likely drop research probes, such as the dropsondes storm chasing aircraft drop into hurricanes and other extreme weather patterns to gather data on temperature, wind speed, and various other data. It’s not the first time the U.S. military in particular has explored what it can do by simply swapping out the C-130’s rear paratroop doors. The U.S. Air Force Reserve flies two types of unique aerial spraying C-130s, both of which utilize that space. In the 1970s, the Air Force first started using the Modular Airborne Firefighting System, or MAFFS, consisting of five pressurized tanks than can hold 2,700 gallons of fire retardant chemicals or water. The system fits inside the the main cargo area of a C-130 and dispenses the liquid over large forest and other wildfires through nozzles that poke out through the rear paratrooper doors. In 2007, the Aero Union delivered the first improved MAFFS II, which replaced the five individual tanks with a single unit that also had a large 3,000 gallon capacity. In addition, the new system included two air compressors on board the aircraft, allowing the crew to pressurize the system themselves without the need for a separate piece of ground equipment. In addition to MAFFS, the Air Force Reserve also has a small number of C-130s fitted with the Modular Air Spray System (MASS). This configuration includes spray nozzles fitted in modified paratrooper doors and under the wings. Unlike the fire-fighting MAFSS, MASS crews primarily spray chemicals to control harmful insects or invasive plants. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the aircraft headed to Texas to help control a potentially dangerous explosion in the mosquito population. The planes have have also gone to work after other natural and man-made environmental disasters, including spraying oil dispersing chemicals in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010, which you can see in the video above. In the 1980s, the Air National Guard began flyingh C-130s with a special signals intelligence system called Senior Scout, as well. While, the bulk of the equipment fit inside a container that slides into the main cargo bay, new paratrooper and landing gear bay doors held the antenna farm necessary to spot and monitor enemy emitters. via ThinkDefence Replacement doors bristling with antennas on a C-130 fitted with the Senior Scout system. Ground crews could relatively quickly install all of the equipment onto any C-130 or remove it to put it back to work as a regular airlifter. The modular nature of the system meant that the Air Force built up a few versions, called Senior Warrior, for the U.S. Marine Corps to use on its KC-130 tanker transports during the first Gulf War. The Air National Guard appeared to have retired its remaining Senior Scout systems by 2013. More recently, the U.S. Marine Corps added a new paratrooper door to its KC-130 fitted with the Harvest Hawk weapons kit. Nicknamed the “Derringer Door” for its two weapons launch tubes, crews could fire various lightweight precision guided munitions, include the GBU-44/B and the AGM-176 Griffin missile, from inside the aircraft. Earlier Harvest Hawks had a larger launcher on the rear cargo ramp, but that meant the crew had to depressurize the main cargo compartment in order to use it. Lockheed Martin The inside of the Derringer Door on a KC-130 Harvest Hawk. A Harvest Hawk could conceivably expand its capabilities by using SABIR to combine the stores release capability with a sensor or other additional equipment. At present, the gunships use a modular sensor turret system that fits onto the rear of one of the aircraft’s under wing drop tanks. SABIR could also offer a quick, bolt-on electronic warfare capability, especially when combined with something such as the U.S. Marine Corps' Intrepid Tiger precision jamming pod. Many of these systems can double as electronic intelligence suites since they have to be able to locate and monitor enemy signal sources. Intrepid Tiger itself makes use of so-called "open architecture" software that will allow engineers to quickly install upgrades and add new capabilities as time goes on, including potentially radar jamming and even the ability to launch cyber attacks. In June 2017, Lockheed Martin unveiled a special operations configuration for the C-130J, the C-130-SOF. The concept art the company showed included a 30mm cannon firing through the left-side paratrooper door. This is a simpler, more modular arrangement than the purpose-built gun mount in the forward fuselage on the U.S. Air Force's AC-130W and AC-130J gunships. You really can hang a lot of stuff out of those rear paratrooper doors. More than six decades after its first flight, the C-130 is still going strong and it seems unlikely we’ve seen everything you can do with that space. http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/15713/this-is-all-the-stuff-you-can-hang-out-of-a-c-130s-rear-paratrooper-doors

Completely understand what you're saying...different requirements for different users. Like you said, best thing is to write it up and let owner hash it out, to fix or not to fix. In the end, sounds like it worked out for the best.

Those look like drill chuck marks from when the holes were initially drilled in the structure. Structure technicians not paying attention and/or not using drill stops when drilling holes...just punching holes. Sad to say, not uncommon to see but typically of little concern unless in primary structure, i.e. longerons, end fittings etc where stress is high. In my 30 years experience as structural technician, I would not be too concerned about it, possibly blend out the deeper ones but that would be the extent of it, no straps etc. However, I don't work for your company and I'm not your engineer.

Anyway to get a photo of the area in question? It can be sanitized, i.e. fairly close so as not to divulge geographic location, owning nation etc, just the damage. Sounds like an external doubler or strap would likely do to resolve the problem. Fairly straight forward, thickness of the doubler/strap would depend on the original skin thickness as well as size of fasteners currently installed or what will be installed (if you have to upsize them).

Looks similar to what the NC ANG unit at Charlotte made for air shows etc. This was built on a golf cart or small car and can carry kids around the flightline etc. The plexiglass props even turn!!!

Paul Meyer, CC that stole C-130 from Mildenhall.pdf

Lockheed Martin is anticipating its forthcoming LM-100J aircraft to garner demand for some unique missions, including oil spill clean-ups among other roles. The aerospace and defense manufacturer will also make a major announcement regarding its latest non-military aircraft program at next week's Farnborough International Airshow. In February, Lockheed announced it will be pursuing an amended type certification from the FAA for the LM-100J. The aircraft is a modern version of the L-382J—which was a commercial variant of the C-130J Super Hercules that went out of production in 1992. Lockheed Martin is anticipating its forthcoming LM-100J aircraft to garner demand for some unique missions, including oil spill clean-ups among other roles. The aerospace and defense manufacturer will also make a major announcement regarding its latest non-military aircraft program at next week's Farnborough International Airshow. In February, Lockheed announced it will be pursuing an amended type certification from the FAA for the LM-100J. The aircraft is a modern version of the L-382J—which was a commercial variant of the C-130J Super Hercules that went out of production in 1992. Now, the company is ready to re-enter the commercial airframe market, and is working closely with the FAA on a project-specific certification plan, according to Ray Fajay, director of air mobility business development at Lockheed Martin. "Following the type design update, we envision the LM-100J serving a range of customers as broad as the aircraft’s multi-role capabilities," Fajay said in an interview with Avionics Magazine. "Growth provisions built into the LM-100J enable it to support a variety of operations that include: oil spill clean-up, oil exploration logistics, mining logistics, aerial firefighting and delivery, humanitarian relief and aerial spray for oil spill response." According to Fajay, the military components and capabilities of the C-130J "are removed for this civil variant." If Lockheed keeps the latest glass cockpit avionics setup from the C-130 for the LM-100J, it will feature flight management systems, displays, autopilot, weather radar, and a Traffic Alert Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) from Rockwell Collins. The LM-100J will also be in the "stretched" configuration of the C-130J with a cargo floor measuring 55 feet in total length. That could lead to the most demand for the aircraft coming from air cargo operators, Fajay said. "We anticipate the demand for the LM-100J to exist in the air cargo market," said Fajay. "The LM-100J is designed to support - with minimal material handling equipment — rapid on-load and off-load of cargo at truck-bed height." Lockheed expects flight testing of the LM-100J to begin in 2017, followed by entry into service in early 2018. View full article

Not sure about that. Guess it would all depend on how the schedule shakes up. Having a PDM at one point and then 2-3 years later an opening in the CWB replacement schedule opens up. Doing a full PDM 203 years after it was already completed upsets the 72 month inspection calendar etc.

My understanding is the MC-130J will not be fully capable to replace the MC-130H until late 2019/2020 due to radar upgrades, etc. But that is dated info so it might have changed and moved up.