Posted on 04/04/2011 8:11:36 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
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 by outfitting an existing plane with what has been dubbed the Harvest Hawk weapons system.
“It’s a brand new capability for the Marine Corps and it’s proving itself very well,” said Capt. Joel D. Dunivant, a KC-130J aircraft commander with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. “I’ve been a KC-130 pilot my whole time in the Marine Corps, but this is a new capability for us to support the Marines on the ground.”
The Harvest Hawk system includes a version of the target sight sensor used on the AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter as well as a complement of four AGM-114 Hellfire and 10 Griffin missiles, a modular, precision-guided missile system typically employed on unmanned aerial vehicles. The system expands the role of the KC-130J for 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) beyond its traditional level of support to include close air support against enemy positions and providing surveillance to disrupt improvised explosive device emplacements.
“Harvest Hawk, for me, is an opportunity to help the guys on the ground,” said Capt. Bradley C. Stadelmeier, with VMGR-352, a co-pilot for the Harvest Hawk equipped KC-130J.
Even with its expanded capabilities, Harvest Hawk crewmembers said the aircraft retains its original capabilities in refueling and transportation. Crewmembers said the Harvest Hawk KC-130J has been used to refuel other coalition aircraft in Afghanistan, and that the entire system can be removed in less than a day if necessary.
The Harvest Hawk first saw service in the Afghan skies in late 2010. Nearly six months since its inception, the aircraft has spent hundreds of hours in the air supporting coalition troops.
“I was highly skeptical of this program until I was on the ground side,” said Capt. Christopher Klempay, the air officer for 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment. “Now, my opinion is that this is one of the best missions the Hercules can provide the ground force commander.”
Supporting Marine Corps ground forces and coalition partners is one of the primary missions for the Harvest Hawk equipped KC-130J, and both aircrew and Marines on the ground said its ability to stay in the air for long periods of time, providing both surveillance and close-air support is a primary reason for its success.
“It’s great to be a part of something that helps Marines get home safely at night,” said Cpl. Jessica M. Egan, a crew chief with VMGR-352, who serves with the Harvest Hawk detachment.
Additionally, the aircraft’s laser-guided weapons allow for pinpoint accuracy, helping to ensure insurgents are neutralized with minimal impact on the Afghan people and their property.
“The Harvest Hawk is the close air support platform of choice for counter insurgency in Marjah, where collateral damage is a major concern,” said Klempay. “The fire control officers, who sit in the back of the Hercules, are the best in town because they have the ability to devote 100 percent of their attention looking for the enemy on their video imagery and talking to the forward air controllers.”
In addition to its standard complement of officer and enlisted crew, the Harvest Hawk equipped KC-130J is manned by two fire control officers to monitor and control the weapons and surveillance systems. These Marines, either AV-8B Harrier pilots or F/A-18 Hornet weapon systems officers, bring their expertise in close air support and serve as a vital link between the Marines on the ground and the aircraft supporting them.
“The tools are a little different, but the job is similar,” said Maj. Marc E. Blankenbicker with VMGR-352, the lead fire control officer for the Harvest Hawk detachment, whose primary duty in the Marine Corps is as an F/A-18 weapon systems officer. “It’s very rewarding to take a skill set from one aircraft and translate it to another aircraft.”
Both Marines in the air and Marines on the ground have cited a recent mission as a hallmark of the Harvest Hawk equipped KC-130J’s effectiveness. On March 14, the aircraft stayed airborne approximately 10 hours, expending its entire complement of Hellfire missiles providing close air support for multiple Marine Corps units operating across Regional Command Southwest.
“That Harvest Hawk was on a general scan for IED emplacers. They found four individuals digging in the road, saw them drop something heavy into a hole in the road, and the battalion determined these individuals to be hostile,” said Klempay of one of the requests the Harvest Hawk KC-130J supported that day. “The Harvest Hawk launched a Hellfire, neutralizing the enemy threat.”
Blankenbicker explained the KC-130J supported two other Marine battalions operating the same day, eliminating a number of enemy fighters.
“The Harvest Hawk is a great platform. I can talk directly to the pilot and we can improve each other's situational awareness on the spot,” said 1st Lt. Charles Broun, a platoon commander with Kilo Company, 3rd Bn., 5th Marine Regiment. “Throw in the precision ordnance it carries and it is an outstanding combat multiplier.”
“Being in the aviation community, as an aircrew, gives you a unique perspective as what the infantry battalions do every day,” said Blankenbicker. “You see where they live; you see the villages where they work. We see firsthand the efforts of the units that we’re here to support.
“Whenever you are enabling a Marine battalion to better do their job,” added Blankenbicker. “That’s a good feeling.”
-ends-
Semper Fi!!
That’s all the weaponry it carries? Yee Haw!
There plenty of room left in that thing for a bar, a hot tub and a sun roof.
It's been done...
Sorry... the rest of the payload is taken up by fuel and 30mm ammo. This bird can pack a lunch and stay all day. :D
That'd be the Air Force version.
Liam, videos please!
LOL!!
And then the ANG version adds some hammocks, etc :-)
LOL
I saw pictures on the news last night with people pushing the interior lining back up into position.
Must have been one hell of a flight.
E-Ticket...
Doesn’t go fast enough for the Air Force.
bttt
I would venture to guess you cannot “Un-configure” the AC-130 to do other things, whereas it sounds like you can with this. In these days of strained budgets...that is big.
Sounds like all they need is a big kit flow in, next day you have a gunship!
I don’t get it, an MQ-9 Reaper can carry the same load (not the gun) and do the same job, while on station for 30 hours, and more cheaply. What’s the rationale for using a C-130 airframe and crew for that?
And this is the first time I’ve heard of this Griffin missile.
a lot less weaponry, but still multimission capable.
AC-130U (latest version) is a purpose built gunship that carries a heck of a lot of firepower:
AC-130U Spooky II
1× General Dynamics 25 mm (0.984 in) GAU-12/U Equalizer 5-barreled gatling cannon
1× 40 mm (1.58 in) L/60 Bofors cannon
1× 105 mm (4.13 in) M102 howitzer
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC-130
By contrast, the KC-130J is a refueler that has got bits and pieces of an AH-1Z helicopter gunship weapon system mounted on its wings and in the spare room in its fuselage (which is mostly full of the fuel tank, pumps, and plumbing needed to carry out its refueling mission).
Seems to me this is the attraction. They probably only have so many AC-130 platforms in a theater at any time, and they have to be split up with the Army, probably on the whim of Air Force tasking decisions.
That never sits well with the Marines, and I don’t blame them. I think this is a win-win for everyone.
The MQ-9 Reaper is a medium-to-high altitude, long endurance unmanned aircraft system.
The MQ-9 is a system, not just an aircraft. A fully operational system consists of several air vehicles (with sensors and weapons), specially trained ground crews, a ground control station, or GCS, a Predator Primary Satellite Link, or PPSL, and spare equipment along with operations and maintenance crews for deployed locations.
The basic crew consists of a rated pilot to control the aircraft and command the mission and an enlisted aircrew member to operate sensors and weapons plus a mission coordinator, when required.
This 130 creates a new category for 130's, that of a multi role, easily and quickly re-configurable platform. Not to mention, this 130 carries it's fire officers on board, with them having a real human eye of the ever evolving ground situation.
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