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Lockheed Martin announced Tuesday that it recently completed assembly of the 200th C-130J transport aircraft, representing a significant achievement for the airlifter program. "The C-130J proves itself on a daily basis while engaged in combat, peacekeeping, humanitarian, and disaster-relief operations," said Ross Reynolds, Lockheed's C-130 vice president. This 200th airframe was the second HC-130J rescue tanker being built for Air Combat Command. The Air Force is buying the HC-130Js to replace its current 40-year-old fleet of HC-130s. Lockheed rolled out the first HC-130J in April. The Air Force is also acquiring C-130J combat-delivery airframes and MC-130Js, which are optimized for special operations.

One other source you might want to try, is the Hill AFB musem. They have a lot of T.O.'s of the older airframes. Mike

Hey Bob M. can you get a couple of shots of NC-130H 65-0979 and send them to me? Mike

Bob, this is what my source said. OK, It's final disposition is still undecided; it's part of the Air Force Program - though AFMC is done with it. My forecast is that AF will have it stay in the Boneyard (make a program change) since it has so many mods and is so far behind on the type T.O.s needed to get it back to fleet duties. So I guess it has been sent to the boneyard. Mike

Bob, I did hear that the program was over and that 979 is headed to the bone yard. Trying to get an input date. Mike

See the story at: http://www.thebaynet.com/news/index.cfm/fa/viewstory/story_ID/17645

At Edwards AFB, back around 1996, we dropped the second and third stage of a Minute Man II Missile over at China Lake. Came out of the A/C fine, but when it went in to its stabilizing chute, no nose broke off. Letting the missile free fall from 10,000 feet. It made a big hole in the range.

From the Air Force Times: The new gunship for the Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command will look a lot like the old one, despite earlier, more ambitious visions that included a stealth plane equipped with a laser cannon. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have forced the Air Force to set more realistic expectations to speed things up, and the C-130J cargo plane fits the bill, according to the Air Force’s 2011 budget request. The service plans to buy 16 C-130Js to replace the last eight of its Vietnam-era gunships — converted C-130Hs called AC-130H Spectres. The decision to go with the C-130J comes after two decades of debate over the performance requirements for the next-generation gunship. The Air Force plans to set aside $1.6 billion through 2015 to buy the 16 C-130Js, according to the Air Force’s proposed budget, submitted Feb. 1 to Congress. U.S. Special Operations Command would pay for the cargo planes to be equipped with targeting sensors and ground attack weapons. The conversion cost could surpass the price of buying the basic cargo planes. The C-130Js would boost the gunship fleet to 33, adding to 17 AC-130U Spooky gunships that were introduced into the force 16 years ago. Delivery of the new gunships is planned for 2017. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, who oversaw AC-130 gunship operations as a wing commander in the mid-1990s, said the new gunship should have a single cannon and a new capability to launch precision-guided munitions. Today’s gunships have two cannons — 105mm and 40mm — but cannot fire guided missiles or drop bombs. Sensors onboard the new gunship will allow the crew to find and track targets night and day, the same as existing gunships, Schwartz said. While the C-130J looks like the older C-130s, the J-model’s glass cockpit and digital avionics mean gunship engineers must create new software to merge control of the cannon and guided weapons with the gunship’s sensors and flight controls. Plans also are underway to equip special operations MC-130W Combat Spear aircraft with a package that could include a 30mm gun, targeting sensors and the ability to release guided weapons like the Hellfire missile. The Marine Corps is pursuing a similar package for its KC-130Js.

From the Aviation Safety Network: A Nigerian Air Force Alenia/Aeritalia G-222 transport plane sustained substantial damage in a runway excursion accident at Port Harcourt Airport (PHC). The airplane was taking part in an exercise aimed at testing disaster response operations when it skidded off the runway after landing. No one was killed in the accident but ten passengers were injured.

Pretty impressive. A Marine KC-130J refueling a pair of F-18's. http://www.airspacemag.com/multimedia/videos/Refueling-Over-Iraq.html

Air Force Reserve and Air Mobility Command will be slowly ramping up the three new active associations being formed at Keelser AFB, Miss., March ARB, Calif., and Peterson AFB, Colo., says Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner, Air Force Reserve chief. "Over the next three to four years, we will do a gradual implementation to something that is considered like fully operational capable," he told reporters Feb. 19 during AFA's Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. These new partnerships were announced last October. Active duty personnel will team with Air Force Reserve Command's C-130 combat-delivery units at Keesler and Peterson and with its KC-135 tanker unit at March. He also noted that the pairing at Peterson will mark the first active duty presence in the mobile airborne firefighting mission. And, he did not exclude the possibility of active duty personnel also supporting Keesler's WC-130J weather-monitoring aircraft at some later point. From AFA.

The Air Force plans to launch an initiative in Fiscal 201l to acquire 16 new gunships based on modified, new-build MC-130J special operations tankers that are outfitted with a "precision strike package" to give them an attack capability, according to newly released budget documents and defense officials. The Air Force is requesting $1.6 billion from Fiscal 2011 through 2015 for this recapitalization. These aircraft would increase the size of the Air Force's highly taxed gunship fleet to 33 aircraft, a net increase of eight, after accounting for the planned retirement of eight aging AC-130Hs, Vice Adm. Stephen Stanley, director of force structure and resources on the Joint Staff, told reporters Monday when discussing the Pentagon's 2011 budget proposal. The first aircraft would be bought in Fiscal 2012, followed by two in Fiscal 2013, five in Fiscal 2014, and the final eight in Fiscal 2015.

A Lockeed C-130J Hercules transport plane, operated by the Italian Air Force, was destroyed when crashed and burned immediately after takeoff from Pisa-Gal Galilei Airport (PSA). All five crew members were killed. The airplane came down on a railway line, broke up and caught fire. Weather at the time of the crash (13:10 UTC, 14;10 local): LIRP 231315Z 23013KT 9999 FEW025TCU SCT040 17/09 Q1021 NOSIG [wind 230 degrees at 13 knots; few clouds at 2,500 feet, scattered clouds at 4,000 feet; temperature 17 degrees C, dew point 9 degrees C; WNH 1021 MB] http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20091123-0

11/3/2009 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFNS) -- READY FOR REVIEW After more than 30 years of flying for the Air Force, the last C-130E Hercules aircraft here set forth Nov. 2 destined for a new life. Tail number 72-1299 c/n [cn]4527[/cn], which has been at Ramstein since 2007, departed for Poland, under a Foreign Military Sales lease agreement between Air Force Materiel Command and Poland in support of our partnership and teamwork with United States allies. "We are saying goodbye as it moves forward into a new era of air power," said Master Sgt. Patrick Perry, 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron section chief, during a ceremony held on the flightline to commemorate the momentous event. As part of this partnership, members of the Polish Air Force learned maintenance techniques on the aircraft while 86th Maintenance Group personnel performed a scheduled home station check during the week leading up to the aircraft's departure. This aircraft is in addition to the five C-130Es Poland is authorized to receive from the United States in an effort to help build up Poland's airlift capability sooner and allow them to support their forces in Afghanistan. The departure of the aircraft is also part of the transition to the new, more capable and cost effective J-model C-130 aircraft, of which Ramstein will have 14. Part of the upgrade includes a new system onboard the aircraft. "The J-model is all computerized and automated," said Master Sgt. Jay Mitchell, 37th Airlift Squadron flight engineer. "So, they've done away with the flight engineer and navigator positions." But, this is no loss for navigators and flight engineers as it opens up other opportunities. For example, Sergeant Mitchell will be heading to Hurlburt Field, Fla., to fly on the AC-130 Gunships. As the aircraft taxied down the runway, Team Ramstein members saluted one last time as two fire trucks sprayed an archway of water for 1299 to pass through. "It's a day in history we will never forget," Sergeant Mitchell said. "This is an awesome aircraft. The C-130 has always been the workhorse of the Air Force and will continue that way with the J-model, but to see the last C-130E leaving here ... we're sad to see it go." Aircraft 1299 is the second C-130E to go to the Polish Air Force, as the first was delivered in March under a separate program and has flown more than 100 sorties since then.

October 6, 2009—The keel for the Air Force’s first Special Mission Hercules aircraft was laid in ceremonies at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Marietta, Ga., on Monday, marking the start of final assembly of this aircraft. This new model of the C-130J Hercules is based on the KC-130J tanker that the company has supplied to the Marines Corps, but with added features like an electro-optic/infrared sensor, enhanced cargo-handling system, and higher capacity generators. The company will build both an HC-130J search-and-rescue variant of this model for Air Combat Command and an MC-130J tanker version for Air Force Special Operations Command right on the standard C-130J production line. Previously, standard C-130s had to be heavily modified for the HC/MC missions after assembly was finished. Now, new manufacturing methods permit most of the mods to be made during production, said Lockheed’s program manager Jack O’Banion. Doing it right on the assembly line can be done for $5 million each aircraft, as opposed to $13 million apiece the old way, he said. Deliveries can also be made eight months faster. “These are lessons learned from the F-35,†for which Lockheed accommodates three variants on one assembly line, O’Banion told reporters at the plant. The Air Force has said it wants 115 new HC/MC-130Js. Of those, ACC needs 78 HC-130Js “and that’s to replace our fleet of 40-year-old HC-130s that we have out there now,†said Col. Mike Corbett, ACC’s chief of personnel recovery requirements. AFSOC needs 37 MC-130Js to replace “our 45-year-old MC-130Es, of which we have 10, and 23 of the 40-year-old MC-130Ps,†said Col. Billy Montgomery of AFSOC. The additional aircraft would help cope with dramatically expanded taskings, he said. So far, 22 of the new HC/MC-130J aircraft are funded. Two HC-130Js will be delivered in 2010—including the one for which the keel was laid—with initial operating capability in 2012, and 10 MC-130s will be built in 2011. After that, it remains to be seen how and when the aging fleets is recapitalized. “There’s a lot of competition for spaces on the C-130 line,†said Corbett. Lockheed Martin release

10/5/2009 - PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- A second C-130 Hercules airlift squadron moved to Colorado Springs Oct. 3, joining the Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson during an activation and assumption of command ceremony. The 52nd Airlift Squadron joins the 302nd Airlift Wing as part of the Air Force's "Total Force Integration" initiative that brings together active duty and Reserve Airmen under the same organization, flying the same aircraft. Through 2012, the squadron is expected to bring approximately 180 additional Airmen to the Colorado Springs area. "Total Force Integration is about efficiencies," said Col. Jay Pittman, 302nd AW commander. "The active duty Airmen coming to Colorado will fly and maintain our C-130s right alongside our Reserve Airmen. The Air Force has a need to make more efficient use of aircraft available and (the 302nd AW) is part of that equation." Lt. Col. Carlos Ortiz, a C-130 senior navigator, is the 52nd Airlift Squadron's commander. "We look forward to working and flying with the men and women of the Air Force Reserve Command and will strive to be the model for C-130 active associations," Colonel Ortiz said. "We're looking to optimize mission performance by bringing active duty and Air Force Reserve resources together." He also added, "The point of this association is how we share the aircraft. I think the high experience level of Air Force Reserve members will be an invaluable asset in training our younger active duty Airmen." While the 52nd Airlift Squadron will be assigned to the 19th Airlift Wing, an active duty unit located at Little Rock AFB, Ark., its members will be stationed at Peterson. Once activated and associated with its Air Force Reserve counterpart, the squadron will fly the same C-130s on the Peterson flightline, allowing for maximum use of the 302nd AW's equipment and resources.

The Air Force has proposed killing the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP), aiming to replace it with a less expensive alternative, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told reporters Tuesday at the Air Force Association’s Air & Space Conference. Calling the decision “largely an affordability issue,†Schwartz said service brass have pitched the idea to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Under that pitch, the AMP effort would be replaced with one that would fit airlifters with “stand-alone integrations†as opposed to the planned across-the-board avionics upgrades. Boeing had been the contractor the AMP program but was expected to compete against Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems for a new contract. Industry officials at the conference had little to say, noting the companies with a stake in the AMP program were only informed of the service’s proposed approach shortly before Schwartz talked with reporters. “The bottom line is we couldn’t afford it,†said Schwartz, whose flying career focused on conventional and special operations C-130s. He said OSD still must approve killing the AMP effort before the new plan is enacted: “No decision in this town is final.†The price of an installed C-130 AMP kit is about $9 million. Boeing was aiming to get those costs down to about $7 million, the air service’s desires price target, according to media reports. Boeing developed AMP and installed the cockpit overhaul in three planes in order for the service to evaluate the changes. The Air Force spent more than $1.5 billion over the past 10 years developing the AMP system as a way to extend the life of its aging C-130 fleet.

6/19/2009 - Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. (AFNS) -- Members of the 413th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla., and contractor Boeing recently successfully fired the high-power laser aboard the Advanced Tactical Laser aircraft for the first time in flight. The combined effort between Boeing and the 413th was instrumental to the "first light" of the high power ATL. "This successful test is a major step toward bringing directed energy capability to the warfighter," said Gary Fitzmire, vice president and program director of Boeing's Directed Energy Systems. "We have demonstrated that an airborne system can fire a high-power laser in flight and deliver laser beam energy to a ground target." During the test, the specially modified 46th Test Wing NC-130H aircraft equipped with the ATL weapon system took off from Kirtland and fired its laser while flying over White Sands Missile Range, N.M., successfully hitting a target board located on the ground. ATL is equipped with a chemical laser, a beam control system, sensors and weapon-system consoles. "We have taken technology from the laboratory to reality and have now demonstrated that directed energy is on a path toward a safe and viable option for the warfighter with very unique capabilities," said Eric Van Dorn, 413th FLTS lead flight test engineer. More tests are planned to demonstrate ATL's military utility. The system is designed to damage, disable or destroy targets with little to no collateral damage. These demonstrations support development of systems that will conduct missions on the battlefield and in urban operations. "The time and effort from the entire team exhibited the cooperation and professionalism between the U. S. Air Force and Boeing. The culmination of this event is fantastic," said Master Sgt. Scott Wollitz, mission flight engineer. "I feel extremely fortunate to have been a part of the crew for this test. The laser shot was amazing!" The ATL program is managed by the 687th Armament Systems Squadron, which is part of the 308th Armament Systems Wing at Eglin AFB, Fla., and supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Directed Energy Directorate at Kirtland. "It's another case of science fiction becoming reality," said Maj. James Stahl, 413th FLTS test pilot. "As a kid growing up I was fascinated by the lasers in the movie Star Wars; to be the first to fire this laser in flight is truly an honor." Note: NC-130H c/n [cn]4131[/cn] 65-0979

Special Operations Command plans to convert eight existing C-130 variants into multi-role gunships to support the wars in Iraq in Afghanistan. As part of the fiscal 2010 budget, the Defense Department has set aside $31.6 million to begin equipping eight MC-130Ws with limited gunship capability, according to budget documents. The additional firepower will buttress the two dozen aging AC-130H/U Spectre and Spooky gunships, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told members of Congress during a May hearing. The AC-130s are in high demand in Iraq and Afghanistan for night-time flyovers. According to the Defense Department’s special operations budget, existing MC-130s would be modified to include “an armed over-watch capability including sensors, communication systems, precision guided munitions and a single medium-caliber gun.†Gunship recapitalization has rated high on Special Operations Command’s wish list, according to analyst Roger Carstens, a former Army special operator, in a paper titled “The Future of Special Operations Forces.†The eight converted MC-130Ws would have a modular weapons system allowing the plane to be easily reconfigured for other special operations missions, unlike more traditional gunships with fixed gun positions, said Special Operations Command spokesman, Maj. Wes Ticer. The MC-130W Combat Spear flies missions that include moving assets and troops in and out of forward areas and aerial refueling of special operations helicopters. The latest plan to convert MC-130Ws is less ambitious than an earlier proposal to field a fleet of 16 C-27 gunships. The light-cargo Spartan would have been modified to act as a more agile companion to the existing fleet. Those plans were scrapped after the C-27 original buy of 75 aircraft was cut in half and the Army was dropped from the joint program. The new Air Force gunship plan has similarities with a bid from the Marine Corps to create its own modular gunship. The Corps has is soliciting a contract with Lockheed Martin to develop the three Harvest Hawks, a KC-130J with a targeting sensor, operating station, Hellfire missiles and 30mm cannon, according to a proposal from Naval Air Systems Command.

5/8/2009 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) -- Air Mobility Command here May 7 released the results of its investigation into the Jan. 30 mishap involving a C-17 Globemaster III that landed with retracted gear at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The Accident Investigation Board, convened by AMC officials, concluded the primary cause of the mishap was the failure of the pilots to lower the landing gear and confirm proper aircraft landing configuration in accordance with the before landing checklist. The AIB president also found that aircrew distractions, task saturation, reduced cockpit visual cues, failure of the flight crew to cross-monitor each other's performance, the tower's failure to transmit a required reminder, and the crew's inadvertent disabling of the ground proximity warning system alerts contributed to the mishap. The mishap occurred as the C-17 was landing at Bagram Airfield during a combat airlift mission in support of operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and Joint Task Force Horn of Africa operations. The aircraft landed on the runway centerline with the landing gear retracted and slid approximately 4,500 feet before coming to rest on the runway. Crash, fire and rescue response was immediate, and there were no fatalities, injuries or damage to other property. However, damage to the aircraft's main landing gear and fuselage underbelly was significant.

After 47 years of service without a single hit, a C-130 with the 386th Expeditionary Operations Group here has flown its last combat mission and will be retired to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Airmen in the 386th EOG and 386th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron celebrated the retirement of aircraft no. 1847 by dousing the aircraft with a deluge of water from two fire trucks as it taxied in from its final mission. "She's a good plane," said Capt. Kevin Graham, 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron aircraft commander. "We never had any problems with her." Captain Graham flew 1847 on numerous missions and was glad he was able to fly it on its final combat mission. "We flew it over its 30,000th hour mark," Captain Graham said. "It's cool that we got to fly it down here, past its 30,000th hour and its final combat mission. It's impressive that we can have an aircraft that's 47 years old and still in the fight. You can't live without them." Aircraft 1847 accumulated 30,100 hours over its 47-year career, the equivalent of flying three-and-a-half years without landing. Staff Sgt. Brad Kretschmer, 386th EAMXS, deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, spent the last three-and-a-half years as 1847's dedicated crew chief. He said the old Hercules still has plenty of fight left in her. "She's done this much for us so far; I think she's got a lot left in her," he said. "You're not going to see many of these flying around still. Most of them are retired or at (Davis Monthan AFB)." Sergeant Kretschmer said while the aircraft never had any combat damage or other major accidents, its age required crew chiefs to put a little more care into the Vietnam War-era Hercules. "This one is just older," he said. "It's got its old age going for it, so we try to take a little more care of her so she can keep flying. We catch the little stuff here and there and fix it. There's always something. She has her little gremlins." Col. Herbert Phillips, 386th Maintenance Group commander, credited the maintainers for giving 1847 the ability to rack up more than 440 flight hours over 340 sorties during this rotation. "It's above-standard-mission-capable-rate over the course of this deployment is a tribute to the maintenance crews who ensure she is ready to meet all taskings," he said. "It is particularly amazing when you consider the age of the aircraft is older than the ages of the two crew chiefs added together." Sergeant Kretschmer said the crew chiefs will spend the next few days removing mission-essential equipment from 1847 and preparing to send the aircraft back to its home base at Ramstein AB, but it won't be going home alone. "I'll be on its last flight home," Sergeant Kretschmer said. He is also preparing to finish his deployment. "I'll do my farewell on the way home."

I think it was done at the Lockheed Ft Worth plant.

You should have seen all the heads turn when we first showed up at Edwards, with that airplane, after picking it up from the Coast Guard. It\'s was a very nice flying airplane.

However General Schwartz does have YMC-130 flight time according to his bio.

C-130s may add safer loadmaster seats By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer Posted : Monday Nov 24, 2008 7:18:15 EST Loadmasters onboard the C-130 Hercules may feel safer thanks to an effort to add crashworthy chairs. Air Force Materiel Command is looking at options for installing a pair of crashworthy seats in C-130 cargo bays near the paratroop doors, according to a request sent to aircraft contractors. The command is not yet seeking bidders to build seats. Seat specifications call them to protect an airman from an impact of up to 16Gs, a requirement similar to the crash rating of the cockpit chairs. Each seat would be mounted to the aircraft fuselage but foldable so it did not get in the way of moving cargo. Today, C-130 loadmasters sit on web benches or other seats that aren’t designed to protect the airman from a severe impact. Fatal crashes of Air Force C-130s are rare. The last time an Air Force C-130 loadmaster died in a crash landing was in 2002 when an MC-130H Combat Talon II came down shortly after taking off from an improvised runway in Afghanistan. The landing impact broke loose the plane’s cargo, killing two loadmasters and a passenger.