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Harvest Hawk Gives Marines Peace of Mind (Source: US Marine Corps; issued April 2, 2012) KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --- A modified KC-130J flies over Afghanistan ready to unleash a tremendous amount of firepower for the Marines it supports. Equipped to fire Hellfire and Griffin missiles, the aircraft known as the Harvest Hawk, provides close-air-support (CAS) for Marines conducting ground operations. “We can give the commander on the ground peace of mind knowing he has these assets in the sky,” said Capt. Dusty Cook, a pilot for the Harvest Hawk. Cook, a native of East Bernard, Texas, said the aircraft has...

Functional laser weapons are just five years away. Advocates hope that won’t always be the case. The Air Force has been working on airborne laser weapons for more than 40 years, but a fielded system remains elusive. Experts also warn that the US does not enjoy a commanding lead in laser research. And the Air Force’s flagship laser weapon program, the Airborne Laser (later called the Airborne Laser Testbed) was terminated late last year and is now being dismantled. Still, service and industry experts predict there is plenty of reason for realistic optimism. Operational laser systems that can perform a...

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The Marine Corps Harvest Hawk isn’t the average KC-130J Hercules. C-130 aircraft have been used by the U.S. military for more than 50 years. The Marines in Afghanistan use the KC-130J Hercules for aerial resupply, aerial refueling, battlefield illumination, and troop and cargo transport. In addition to its ability to accomplish traditional Hercules missions, the Harvest Hawk comes loaded with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and an infrared targeting system. The Marines in Afghanistan use this versatile variant of one of the Corps’ most venerable aircraft to provide close-air support and surveillance for ground troops. “We provide overwatch...

Jul 20, 2011 — Will the Texas governor elbow his way into the crowded presidential race? Longtime Perry watcher Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune talks about why he thinks Perry will run and what kind of candidate he'd be. [snip] We spoke with the Texas Tribune's Evan Smith about the man he has followed since the early 1990s. A former editor of Texas Monthly magazine, Smith says he's convinced Perry will make a run at the White House, and tells us why other Republican hopefuls should be worried.

KC-130J Harvest Hawk: Marine Corps Teaches Old Plane New Tricks in Afghanistan (Source: U.S Marine Corps News; issued April 1, 2011) CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan --- One of the U.S. military’s most seasoned aircraft has found a new purpose as a one-of-a-kind weapon for the Marine Corps in support of troops on the ground in Afghanistan. The U.S. military has relied on the C-130 Hercules platform for a variety of tasks including air-to-air refueling, and cargo and troop transportation for more than 50 years. But the Marine Corps, in partnership with Lockheed-Martin, has recently created a unique variant of its KC-130J...

U.S. Air National Guard C-130H crews are being given increased situational awareness during airlift, airdrop and other operations by Northrop Grumman. The company said it had been given a $12.7 million cost-plus fixed-fee contract from the Defense Micro-Electronics Activity to integrate software and hardware that will enable real-time tactical information to be displayed in the C-130H cockpit and navigator station. The displays will provide information obtained from Joint Range Extension Applications Protocol and Situational Awareness Data Link communications, allowing the C-130 crew to not only see the theater tactical picture but also electronically identify its position to others within the...

US F-16 fighter jets and Hercules transport aircraft will be deployed in Poland on a rotating basis as of 2013, Poland's Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said Thursday. "Poland has decided to accept the US proposal of hosting rotations of F-16 and Hercules aircraft and their crews" on its territory, Klich told Poland's TOK FM commercial radio station. "I hope this will begin in 2013," he added. "The Americans will come, conduct exercises with Poles and return home. Then, they will return periodically to Polish soil," the minister said. Klich added the F-16 and Hurcules rotations will be similar to those...

Singapore's air force has received its first modernized C-130 featuring Rockwell Collins avionics upgrade. The company's Flight2TM upgrade included an improved flight management system allowing access to precision Global Positioning System approaches, preferred air traffic control routings and search-and-rescue patterns; multifunction displays featuring active matrix liquid crystal display technology; a central engine instrument display replacing analog gauges; improved voice communication; an enhanced digital autopilot and flight director; and an advanced digital weather radar.

Indonesia should make a decision on a mid-life upgrade for its Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs in 2011 or 2012, but could also buy an additional batch of six Block 50/52 fighters. If the upgrade takes place it will extend the service life of the Indonesian air force's current F-16s from 4,000 to 8,000 flight hours, and make them as capable as new-build models, says an industry source. An upgrade to all 10 aircraft is likely to cost around $150 million. Modernisation work would take one year per aircraft, with the work to be conducted in Indonesia using kits provided by Lockheed,...

Engineers with the 418th Flight Test Squadron are currently testing a C-130H3 cargo plane equipped with Hamilton Sundstrand NP 2000 propellers. The new eight-bladed composite propellers are shaped to provide additional thrust in the takeoff and low airspeed range while using the current C-130 engines. Regular C-130 "legacy" planes use four-blade propellers. With eight blades, the NP 2000 props are designed to perform with more power and efficiency. "A major limitation propellers have is the wave drag generated by shockwaves when the propeller tips go supersonic," said Dustin Marschik, a 418th FTS performance and flying qualities engineer. "Newer propeller designs...

The launch of an all-new airlifter development for the US Air Force could start in 2014. The new aircraft could become operational 10 years later. The aircraft would replace the 450-aircraft C-130 fleet, but the USAF may buy no more than 250. Even after at least five years of discussion, the USAF still does not know whether it wants a fixed-wing, tiltrotor, rotorcraft or airship. These are possible implications inside a capabilities request for information document posted earlier today by the USAF's Aeronautical Systems Center about the Joint Future Theater Lift (JFTL) program . It is, of course, dangerous to...

Obama proposes to sell China C-130s Source: Global Times [02:22 October 11 2010] By Hao Zhou US President Barack Obama has proposed to Congress terminating the suspension of C-130 cargo aircraft export licenses to China, according to a letter published Friday on the White House's website. This proposal, which is regarded by some Chinese analysts as blandishments to China after the US stiffly pressed China to revaluate its yuan, is still subject to review and approval by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The White House didn't release the quantity or price of the C-130s in the proposal....

1962 war hero Hercules to make a comeback Manu Pubby Posted online: Mon Jul 05 2010, 03:49 hrs New Delhi : Almost 50 years after an earlier version of the military transport aircraft provided a crucial air bridge to transport troops and equipment to the Chinese frontier during the Sino-Indian war, the hardy ‘Hercules’ is making a comeback to India. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to get the first of its six C 130 J Super Hercules on order from the US in February 2011, in time for the Aero India air show and two months ahead of...

I am researching something on future airlifters and wanted artwork on the stealthy super-STOL tactical transport Boeing windtunnel tested under the US Air Force Research Laboratory's Speed Agile program. I asked Boeing if they had a releasable image. No, they said. I asked AFRL. No, said they. So there I was passing the time browsing the US Patent and Trademark Office website and what do I find but this: The patent is here and it's Speed Agile, or close to it based on the one image of a 2008 windtunnel model that I do have, from a presentation by the...

Turkey has acted to address its urgent need for more attack helicopters and is looking at a possible interim deal to bridge the gap until the availability of its delayed Airbus Military A400M transports. To fill the first requirement, Turkey's Undersecretary of Defence Industries (SSM) has decided to buy nine secondhand AgustaWestland A129s from the Italian army. The Turkish army has an active fleet of 28 Bell AH-1s in the P, S and W variants, as listed by Flightglobal's HeliCAS database. It mainly uses the aircraft in the south-east of Turkey against PKK militants, but urgently needs to replace the...

s“During a bilateral meeting, the Indonesian government expressed its interest to purchase F-16 and C-130H Hercules [cargo] aircraft to complete its squadrons,” Defense Ministry spokesman I Wayan Midhio said on Wednesday. Indonesian Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates discussed the potential sale during the Shangri-La defense dialogue in Singapore last month, Wayan said. The US welcomed Indonesia’s proposal to buy more US-made military equipment, he added. The US also pledged US$15.7 million to Indonesia in 2010 and $20 million in 2011 under the aegis of capacity-building programs to help “modernize” the Indonesian Military (TNI), Wayan...

Boeing will upgrade cockpits for US Air Force C-130Hs and KC-10 tankers under separate deals announced on 24 June. The USAF has cleared Boeing to launch low-rate initial production (LRIP) for the C-130 avionics modernization programme (AMP). Boeing will deliver five of 20 kits ordered by the USAF during the first lot of LRIP, with the balance produced by the Warner Robbins Air Logistics Centre and also by an unnamed competitor. Boeing developed the AMP kit under a $1.4 billion development programme awarded in 2000 that endured cost overruns and schedule delays until a final restructuring in 2007. Last year,...

Israeli C-130 (click to view full) In July 2008, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Israel’s request to buy up to 9 stretched C-130J-30 aircraft, which will replace some of the aging C-130 aircraft that Israel made famous in its 1976 commando raid at Entebbe, Uganda . Appropriately, the new aircraft will also contain a number of features associated with the new HC/MC-130J Special Forces aircraft bought by India and the USA. It has taken some time, but Israel has finally become the 13th C-130J customer nation. The order is a bit smaller than expected, however...

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has authorized two Air Force Reserve C-130H aircraft to support the response to a massive oil slick that threatens wetlands and beaches along the Gulf Coast, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell confirmed today. In addition, the Navy has dispatched 66,000 feet of inflatable oil boom with anchoring equipment, along with seven skimming systems and their supporting gear to the region, Navy Lt. Myers Vasquez reported. The C130 crews, assigned to the 910th Airlift Wing’s 757th Airlift Squadron at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Ohio, had prepositioned in Mississippi in anticipation of the tasking. “We...

.S. Air Force Chief of Staff has delivered first of 28 Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules to the 317th Airlift Group at Dyess Air Force Base. "The delivery of this C-130J and others like it is a step toward modernising our airlift inventories , we’ll continue to make progress in this area over the next few years,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz said in an Air Forse official new release. The 317th Airlift Group will replace its existing Dyess fleet of 33 aging C-130 from the newly developed aircraft C-130J Lockheed will complete the final delieveries...