GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
Extra funding required to convert aircraft for intended long-range maritime mission
The US Coast Guard will become the latest operator of the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules next month, when it formally accepts delivery of the first four of six aircraft on order. The aircraft - the fourth of which will be the 100th C-130J off the line - will be used for airlift missions until the USCG can secure funding to modify the C-130Js for their intended role as long-range maritime patrol aircraft.
US Congress added money to the 2001 budget to buy six aircraft, but did not provide funds for their modification with surface search radar, forward-looking infrared sensor and other mission equipment. The USCG is lobbying for the funding, but the earliest that missionised aircraft could be available is 2008. Until then, the Js will be used as transports, freeing Hs for more maritime patrol missions.
"In the interim, the aircraft will be used in a limited operational role for airlift," says US Coast Guard C-130J programme manager Capt Larry Hall. "It will take conversion to make them truly useful."
The aircraft are being delivered to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where a programme office will be set up next month to operate and support the C-130Js. The last two will arrive in October and November and the aircraft are expected to be based in Alaska.
Hall says the Coast Guard sees the C-130J as a replacement for the C-130H, of which it operates 27. "We are thinking about additional aircraft, but we have not set a requirement," he says.
The advantages of the J over the H include the two-crew cockpit, which will reduce manning requirements. When fully modified, the C-130J will have a crew of four, compared with six in the C-130H, which carries a pallet in the cargo bay with communications, navigation and sensor operator stations.
Source: Flight International
