Lockheed C-130 Hercules Prototypes, Variants & Projects

Just stumbled across this 'official' Lockheed Fort Worth Texas C-130 with fin-mounted radome and Aim-54 Phoenix LRAAM's.

(Source: John Freeman. 'The Greatest Planes That Never Were')

Regards
Pioneer
 

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RavenOne said:
AFSOC wishlist for amphibious MC-130J could turn into reality.

www.thedrive.com

Amphibious MC-130J Transport Is On Special Operations Command's Wishlist

There have been proposals for a waterborne C-130 Hercules in the past, but the U.S. special operations community might just make it a reality.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com

Cheers
Click to expand...
Even non engineers could understand, this proposal is idiotic. The boundry layer effects on water takeoff UAVs expends nearly a 1/3 of stored energy just to take off. This is beyond that. Landing in difficult sea states limits where this albatross could even land in the ocean.

As stated, a nuke powered SES micro-carrier would be a start and then contemplate aircraft for the carrier. Inter-service rivalry will prevent this from ever happening.
 
jsport said:
RavenOne said:
AFSOC wishlist for amphibious MC-130J could turn into reality.

www.thedrive.com

Amphibious MC-130J Transport Is On Special Operations Command's Wishlist

There have been proposals for a waterborne C-130 Hercules in the past, but the U.S. special operations community might just make it a reality.
www.thedrive.com www.thedrive.com

Cheers
Click to expand...
Even non engineers could understand, this proposal is idiotic. The boundry layer effects on water takeoff UAVs expends nearly a 1/3 of stored energy just to take off. This is beyond that. Landing in difficult sea states limits where this albatross could even land in the ocean.

As stated, a nuke powered SES micro-carrier would be a start and then contemplate aircraft for the carrier. Inter-service rivalry will prevent this from ever happening.
Click to expand...
warspot.ru

Быстрые, дорогие, невостребованные

Британские и американские проекты авианосцев на воздушной подушке
warspot.ru warspot.ru
A article on Micro Fast carriers...would argue that small enough hide/maneuver in large rivers and marsh would greatly enable USSOCOM.
 
Pioneer said:
I've really got to the point of asking 'what the hell is Britain up to'? Does it really know what it wants it's military to do?
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Probably not, but neither does the USA. I'm having a hard time thinking of any notable powers that really do; my top answers would be China, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, and the ROK, as they have either the continuity of government and policy, or a stark strategic situation that mostly answers the question.
 
gtg947h said:
Pioneer said:
I've really got to the point of asking 'what the hell is Britain up to'? Does it really know what it wants it's military to do?
Click to expand...
Probably not, but neither does the USA. I'm having a hard time thinking of any notable powers that really do; my top answers would be China, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, and the ROK, as they have either the continuity of government and policy, or a stark strategic situation that mostly answers the question.
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Good analogy, for which I concur!

Regards
Pioneer
 
Pioneer said:
Just stumbled across this 'official' Lockheed Fort Worth Texas C-130 with fin-mounted radome and Aim-54 Phoenix LRAAM's.

(Source: John Freeman. 'The Greatest Planes That Never Were')

Regards
Pioneer
Click to expand...

Tomcules ? (sounds very bad !) - Hercat ?
 
French AF's C-130H avionics upgrade by Sabena Technics and Collins-Aerospace:

toulouse.latribune.fr

Collins Aerospace utilise des innovations dernier cri pour rénover les avions de l'Armée de l'air

Les équipes toulousaines de Collins Aerospace pilotent le chantier de rénovation de la flotte des avions C-130H de l'Armée de l'air française en collaboration avec les effectifs bordelais de Sabena Technics. Ces avions militaires dont le design date des années 50 ont bénéficié d'un saut...
toulouse.latribune.fr toulouse.latribune.fr
 
Crew members of Marine's KC-130J that survived a crash collision with an f-35B awarded DFC:

Pilot interview:
www.dvidshub.net

2d MAW Marine, Maj. Cory Jones, awarded Distinguished Flying Cross medal

An interview with U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Cory T. Jones, a KC-130J Super Hercules pilot with Fleet Replacement Detachment, at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Feb. 28, 2022. Jones, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross medal for...
www.dvidshub.net www.dvidshub.net

www.militarytimes.com

Distinguished Flying Cross for Marine’s heroic piloting in KC-130J collision

The pilot thought they were goners, as he didn't know any C-130 midair collisions in which the crew survived.
www.militarytimes.com www.militarytimes.com
 
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LC-130H's are being modernized with the T56 Series 3.5 engine, when combined with the eight-bladed propeller they no loner need JATO bottles for takeoff.

The new T56-8-15A 3.5 engines, combined with the LC-130H’s NP2000 eight-bladed propellers, are the answer to beginning to shift away from JATO bottles.
“The updated features allow the aircraft to create the same thrust as JATO bottles but at lower operating temperatures, making them more eco-friendly,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Candido, a propulsion specialist with the 109th. “We’re looking at an efficiency of about 20 percent more fuel efficiency compared to the 3.0 engine.”
Click to expand...

www.af.mil

Empowered Airmen from 109th AW modernize LC-130 for future fight

Propulsion specialists with the 109th Airlift Wing assembled the first Air National Guard-built T56 3.5 turbo engine. The modification is part of an Air Force initiative to update C-130 aircraft.
www.af.mil
 
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April 1, 2022
Lockheed just announced an upgrade kit that allows C-130 Hercules to carry up to 90 paratroopers at a time, up by half from the previous maximum load of 60 paratroopers. The kit slides into stock C-130 cargo rails and ceiling rails. It allows adding an additional 30 paratroopers to sit in the new upper deck. It also includes a new floor panel that extends the full length of the cargo compartment from the front bulkhead to the rear edge of the lower ramp. This fully utilizes the other-wise wasted space above the regular seats. Just think of it as the upper bunk bed in barracks.

The first 60 paratroopers sit in the regular fabric troop seats and exit via side doors. The only difference is reduced headroom over those seated along the center row of seats. But this minor inconvenience disappears as soon as they stand up.
The additional 30 paratroopers walk down a central aisle and exit single-file through the opened top half of the tail ramp. This increases troop density by 50 percent to reduce assembly time on contested objectives. In the event that enemy AAA gunners are successful, the new high-density configuration reduces flail injuries in the event of an unscheduled pre-mature arrival on the objective.
The Indonesian paratroopers who participated in initial trials declined to comment on comfort issues. It seems that the Indonesian language lacks the correct adjectives to describe the experience.
Lockheed has offered to license the new technology in the form of retrofit kits for military transports from other manufacturers.
 
Well if they were smart, they would have rows of a paratroopers seating over the wings and fuselage. This way they could carry much more than a paltry 60 - 60 more outside the fuselage, plus 60 seating per wing, and voilà - 4*60 = 240 paratroopers on an Hercules: as much as a freakkin' C-17 or An-124...
 
Archibald said:
Well if they were smart, they would have rows of a paratroopers seating over the wings and fuselage. This way they could carry much more than a paltry 60 - 60 more outside the fuselage, plus 60 seating per wing, and voilà - 4*60 = 240 paratroopers on an Hercules: as much as a freakkin' C-17 or An-124...
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Not sure the US Army wants to put that many troops in one airplane, other than for training (maybe not even then). Same reason they do not want to put more than a squad and enablers on one assault helicopter. Although it might be of value for training as it reduces the number of aircraft needed for training jumps. I know that they use C-17 for training, but the probability that they would be used in a real combat mission is exceeding small. Even in Afghanistan they used C-130 to drop in the Rangers.
 
riggerrob said:
Lockheed just announced an upgrade kit that allows C-130 Hercules to carry up to 90 paratroopers at a time, up by half from the previous maximum load of 60 paratroopers. The kit slides into stock C-130 cargo rails and ceiling rails. It allows adding an additional 30 paratroopers to sit in the new upper deck. It also includes a new floor panel that extends the full length of the cargo compartment from the front bulkhead to the rear edge of the lower ramp. This fully utilizes the other-wise wasted space above the regular seats. Just think of it as the upper bunk bed in barracks.
Click to expand...
The funniest part about this is that the upper deck contraption actually exists for the Il-76!
feitoffake.wordpress.com

The Ilyushin Il-76 has an upper deck! I bet you did not know!

Many people know the Airbus A380 has two passenger decks. The Boeing 747 Jumbojet has an upperdeck. A few people know a few L1011 TriStars had a lower deck. But did you know the IL-76 cargo aircraf…
feitoffake.wordpress.com feitoffake.wordpress.com
1648915784070.png
 
AFAIK the concept of TACAMO is for the critical deciders to escape incoming destruction of their headquarters.
Nuclear destruction most likely.
Then it raises the question: Do you really want to be in a C-130 puttering around at 400mph, when that happens?
 
After a 12hr stint in the back of a Hercules, you'll be rooting for the end of days! An EC-130(Y? - surely it will get an unique designator? How many different Js can you have?) is obviously cheap and readily available but I wouldn't say it's an outstanding platform for the role. Cruising speed has been mentioned and it's service ceiling isn't great either, is it? I also have to wonder why the ostensibly newer E-6B has to go while it's RC-135 elder kissing cousins are good for the 22nd century, give or take.

Surely a 767-derivative would be ideal.....forget I said that!
 
The trick is deploying the VLF antenna. It is miles long and has to be nearly vertical to work. The TACAMO plane has to fly a tight, highly banked turn to make it hang down properly. Cruise speed is irrelevant. A C-130 derivative also opens up a much larger number shorter auxiliary airfields for dispersal, too. I've never heard how the ride is in the C-130J variants with the six-blade props, but likely a little better (lower vibration) than the earlier models with four-blade props.
 
Hank58 said:
Cruise speed is irrelevant
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Well for an aircraft that may have to scramble and clear datum in the event of a nuclear exchange, jet performance is a hell of a would-be-nice. How often will it have to do that, you ask? Only once but what a once!

Service ceiling is a far more important metric for me, though. I can only imagine that VLF propagates better at @40kft than @25kft and the E-6B can climb over weather that a C-130 can not. If crew comfort doesn't matter when busy weighing the weight of the world then I would argue something has gone wrong. I'm not saying the Hercules can't do the role, of course it can but it is not the most obvious candidate. Other platforms are available and quite frankly 1988 is no age for a Boeing four-piper! EC-130Q > E-6A > E-6B > EC-130XYZ isn't the most intuitive progression!
 
Opportunistic Minnow said:
An EC-130(Y? - surely it will get an unique designator? How many different Js can you have?) is obviously cheap and readily available but I wouldn't say it's an outstanding platform for the role.
Click to expand...
When the E-6 was introduced, going from a C-130 airframe to a 707 airframe was seen as a huge step forward for the TACAMO force in capability. It allowed the USN to consolidate operations to a single central US base, thanks to the higher speed and greater endurance, and allowed more capable equipment, and more of it, to be carried.

In that light, it's hard to see going back to the C-130 as anything other than a retrograde step.
 
RLBH said:
In that light, it's hard to see going back to the C-130 as anything other than a retrograde step.
Click to expand...
Exactly. It must be a budget-driven (constrained if you prefer) decision. I cannot believe it was the preferred option. When you watch the USN burn green on the likes of Zum-a-walts, Literal-Crap Ships and Ford Pintos in straitened times, it strikes as odd to skimp on the nuclear deterrent now.

If this and coming FYs are too chock-full then why can't the Mercury be run on? The USN recently bought an E-3D to serve as trainer so fatigue is clearly a concern for the E-6 fleet but to belabour the point, I saw a KC-135R yesterday with twenty years on the E-6 and an Extender whose daily MTOW would make an E-6 blush, still going strong. They must be some thunderstorms in Oklahoma!

ETA: An effort to keep the C-130J line ticking over perhaps?
 
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133rd Airlift Wing Welcomes First Eight-Bladed Propeller C-130​

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www.dvidshub.net

133rd Airlift Wing Welcomes First Eight-Bladed Propeller C-130

The 133rd Airlift Wing received their first C-130 Hercules with an updated eight-bladed propeller on May 11, 2022.
www.dvidshub.net www.dvidshub.net

The 133rd Airlift Wing currently flies eight C-130H3 Hercules model aircraft out of the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. Last year the Wing launched a three-phase modernization process by introducing the electronic propeller control system (EPCS).

The Wing is currently in the second phase of the modernization process, which includes transitioning the C-130s from four-bladed propellers to eight-bladed propellers. The eight-bladed propellers will deliver more power and efficiency while reducing maintenance. Due to increased thrust for takeoff and climb-out, they are also helpful in cold weather and arctic operations. The completion of this phase is projected to end in September 2023.

The third phase will introduce a T56 3.5 turbo engine and will kick off in the fall of 2023.
Click to expand...
 
C-130 upgrade is well alive and now includes guided shells and air launch "electric" mini-cruise missile:

To make that work, Foertsch said, personnel are eyeing air-delivered munitions primarily for the “best lethality.” An example of this approach, he explained, is an integrated weapons data link added to a 50-pound warhead class last year.

Foertsch called the data link an “incredible capability” that allows the crew to fire and then communicate with the round in flight, issuing instructions.

The link gives the user a “dud” command option, which can render the weapon inert midflight if a strike needs canceled.

But that still needs improving, he said. To do, that they’re looking to industry to provide guidance and next-generation sensors that can work in GPS-denied environments.

“We largely do laser targeting now,” he explained, and even that’s not enough. They are also looking for optical or automated target recognition in modular, open systems.

But they want to do that by dropping in capabilities to their existing forms, rather than adding another, purpose-built round. And they want greater range and standoff.

Work on that front is being done with two small business research grants, he said. Those involve testing a miniature cruise missile with electrical propulsion that fires past 100 nautical miles, and another small cruise missile that can go twice that distance.
Click to expand...

www.militarytimes.com

Lasers, water landings, crewless ops: Upgrades are coming for the C-130 family

The 1960s-era design continues to transform.
www.militarytimes.com www.militarytimes.com
 
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All the brains can go into munitions with consumer electronics rendering air assets as trucks. Now for drone biplane dogfights controled from gunships. Drones can fly in forests now.
 
Cannot fathom that a twin turbofan version is still not in the works. Turboprops are great and all, but they are maintained by iPads and contractors these days. Would rather have more options for maintenance than the current sole source arrangement.
 

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