Forest Green
ACCESS: Above Top Secret
- Joined
- 11 June 2019
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You actually lose a bunch of STOL capabilities that way. Compare C-130 and KC390.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.
It is my favorite way to deal with idiots.Fire training with high pressure water jets might be a solution on a cold day
I kinda suspect that the next C-130/replacement will be an ESTOL design. Won't be a VTOL, but 1000ft/330m takeoffs fully loaded.Correct. C-130 next generation should focus on popularizing improvised runway/STOL operations while still mixing conventional capabilities. It will stand as his own niche in term of cost and performances for a long time.
C-130 Keeps Getting Better: The Block 8.1 Super Hercules Has Arrived
The United States Air Force's combat aircraft like the B-52 and F-35 often get all the glory, but a fact remains that the U.S. military relies on aircraft like the Lockheed C-130 Hercules more than most people probably realize. Since it first entered service nearly 70 years ago, the turboprop...nationalinterest.org
Type | ACN @ MTOW | ACN @ min weight |
C-17 | 54 | 28 |
C-141 | 52 | 15 |
C-130 | 29 | 12 |
Il-76TD | 27 | 11 |
C-5 | 27 | 10 |
Transall | 8 | 4 |
DC-3 | 7 | 4 |
DHC-5 | 6 | 3 |
Skyvan | 3 | 3 |
DHC-4 | 3 | 2 |
Hi,
The Lockheed had old project called C-130J,it was developed
from C-130E with increase aileron and rudder chords, wider u/c
track, improved braking system and additional armored protection;
do you have a drawing to it ?,(of course I know there was a new project
to Lockheed in 1996 called C-130J ).
No drawing survivor to this old project ?.
Im honestly wondering how useful that laser been if they mod it for anti drone use.The Lockheed AC-130J was set to get the first operational airborne laser weapon, but that plan is over as the gunship changes to ensure its relevance. IMHO, the Lockheed AC-130J will add more capacity to launch more precision-guided munition and (suicide) drones.
Source:
https://www.twz.com/air/ac-130-gunships-laser-weapon-cancelled-105mm-howitzer-may-be-removed
Oh, FFS, just buy a couple of Shinmaywa US2s!C-130 Floatplane Program Put 'On Pause' By Special Operations Command
The grand on again, off again plan for putting a special operations MC-130 on floats is not moving forward.www.twz.com
In 2021, SOCOM did issue a contracting notice regarding a Stand-Off Precision Guided Weapon Program Cruise Missile outlining interest in a weapon of this type with a range of between 200 and 400 nautical miles (around 230 and 460 miles or nearly 370.5 and almost 741 kilometers) that could fit inside a standardized cylindrical Common Launch Tube (CLT). CLTs are in widespread use within the U.S. special operations community, as well as the rest of the U.S. military, as a means for launching various munitions and other payloads from different crewed and uncrewed fixed-wing aircraft, as well as helicopters. The CLT can accommodate payloads up to 42 inches in length and 5.95 inches in diameter, and has a 100-pound weight limit, according to a separate SOCOM contracting notice issued around the same time. It is unclear how feasible it would be to design something that meets these requirements with a 200-nautical-mile range, let alone the ability to hit targets out to 400 nautical miles.
The Stand-Off Precision Guided Weapon Program Cruise Missile notice also called for the system to "include, at threshold, an EO/IR [electro-optical/infrared] seeker and as an objective incorporate a multi-mode seeker package able to acquire and/or reacquire targets in flight." Furthermore, the weapon "at threshold... shall have a removable payload section that can accept 13lbs of warhead or other desired payload (objective of 37 lbs), compatibility with an X-Net radio, electric propulsion, and an INS/GPS (M-Code) capability."