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


Cheers
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.
 
AFSOC wishlist for amphibious MC-130J could turn into reality.


Cheers
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.
A article on Micro Fast carriers...would argue that small enough hide/maneuver in large rivers and marsh would greatly enable USSOCOM.
 
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?
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.
 
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?
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.
Good analogy, for which I concur!

Regards
Pioneer
 
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

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

 
Crew members of Marine's KC-130J that survived a crash collision with an f-35B awarded DFC:

Pilot interview:

 
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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.”

 
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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...
 
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...
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.
 
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 funniest part about this is that the upper deck contraption actually exists for the Il-76!
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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.
 
Cruise speed is irrelevant
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!
 
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.
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.
 
In that light, it's hard to see going back to the C-130 as anything other than a retrograde step.
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​


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.
 
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.

 
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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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