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Information is very fragmented at this time, so details are bound to change, but reports state that a military aircraft has crashed somewhere near the Salton Sea in Southern California. Witnesses said they saw things dropping from the sky, possibly under parachutes, not long before an aircraft impacted the ground. We reached out to NAF El Centro, which is located nearby in the Imperial Valley, who told us that military and law enforcement air assets are on the scene, but they do not know specifically what crashed or even if it was one of the many Navy and Marine...

“The aircraft involved in the mishap had launched from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni and were conducting regularly scheduled training when the mishap occurred.” A total of seven personnel were believed to be on board the two aircraft, according to ABC News’ Elizabeth McLaughlin. No further information was yet known on exactly how many service members were aboard the two aircraft at the time or what their current status is.

Marines Identify Remains Recovered from KC-130J Salvage Operation By: Megan Eckstein June 26, 2019 10:08 AM The Marine Corps has identified the remains of three Marines recovered during a recent salvage operation to retrieve a KC-130J that crashed in December during a refueling mishap off of Japan. Five Marines assigned to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152 were onboard the aircraft when it crashed last year, and all were killed. The Marine Corps conducted a salvage effort that spanned May 27 to June 7, and during that effort the remains of three of the Marines were found. After sending...

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...

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...

The first U.S. Marine Corps "instant gunship" arrived in Afghanistan two months ago. Last month, it fired one of its weapons (a Hellfire missile) for the first time (killing five Taliban). Called "Harvest Hawk," the "instant gunship" system, enables weapons and sensors to be quickly rolled into a C-130 transport and hooked up. This takes a few hours, and turns the C-130 into a gunship (similar in capabilities existing AC-130 gunships). The sensor package consists of day/night vidcams with magnification capability. The weapons currently consist of ten Griffin missiles and four Hellfires. A 30mm autocannon is optional.

The Harvest HAWK equipped KC-130J Hercules completed Phase One testing here on Apr. 10 and departed for the West Coast for required maintenance and to continue testing on NAVAIR's ranges at China Lake, Calif. Harvest HAWK is a modular roll-on, roll-off weapons system for the KC-130J consisting of a Fire Control Console in the aircraft's cargo compartment, the Target Sight Sensor (TSS) mounted in the left under wing fuel tank and a launcher for four Hellfire missiles mounted on the left hand refueling pylon. NAVAIR is working a complimentary effort to test and deploy the Standoff Precision Guided Munition (SOPGM)...