MC-130H Combat Talon II
The MC-130H conducts infiltrations into politically denied/sensitive defended areas to resupply or exfiltrate special operations forces and equipment. These missions are conducted in adverse weather at low-level and long range. The MC-130H is supported with organic depots for the aircraft, radar, radome, and mission computer.
In April 1996 MC-130H Talon II aircraft from the 7th Special Operations Squadron, RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom, deployed to Liberia in support of Operation Assured Response. Special operations troops from RAF Mildenhall evacuated more than 2,000 Americans and citizens of other countries from Monrovia following four days of intense fighting by rival militias.
While fighting raged in the Republic of Congo's capital 10 June 1997, an Air Force Special Operations Command MC-130H delivered an American military assessment team and evacuated 56 people from Brazzaville. The aircraft, from the 7th Special Operations Squadron, inserted a European Command survey and assessment team and support vehicles. The team, consisting of communications, logistics, security and other specialists will conduct infrastructure assessments and evaluate the need for further EUCOM support to the U.S. Embassy in Brazzaville.
Few people know much about or have ever even heard of Forward Area Refueling Point (FARP). It came about after the 1980 Iran hostage rescue attempt. The Air Force realized the need for a highly efficient way of transferring fuel from aircraft to aircraft in a nonstandard or hostile environment. FARP operations expand the role of Special Operation Forces (SOF) around the world by providing a means of hot refueling from a tanker aircraft to various types of fixed and rotor wing receiver aircraft. FARP missions are flown at only five bases around the world: Kadena AB, Japan; RAF Mildenhall, England; Hurlburt Field AFB, Florida; Charleston AFB, South Carolina; and Dover AFB, Delaware. Responsibility for the five teams, equipment and all FARP missions falls under the operations of HQ Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field, FL.
The MC-130H Combat Talon II deploys over 900 feet of refueling hoses in preparation for covert hot (engines running) refueling operation of two helicopters. Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) are the only means of sight as the rear of the plane is in blacked-out mode. The helicopter pilots hover-taxi their craft to within a few hundred feet of one another and the MC-130 for the refueling operation. Without any overt lighting, bonding the aircraft together and finding the refueling connections is extremely tough. The jet fuel is pumped into the helicopters to provide them with the lifeblood necessary to complete their mission. After the last helicopter leaves the area, personnel begin to break down the equipment and load it back onto the aircraft.
During the first-ever Worldwide FARP Conference held in February 1995, FARP operations were termed by the AFSOC Commander as the most dangerous job AFSOC does on a day-to-day basis. Team members go through a rigorous amount of continuous training before being qualified for duty. They must pass a class III flight physical, physiological training and then be trained in life support, intelligence, NVG, ground egress, ground crew chemical warfare and air crew chemical warfare training. After completing this training, members attend FARP training school at Hurlburt Field and complete Phase I, II and III FARP training before being certified. Additional training includes the Air Force Combat and Water Survival School at Fairchild AFB, WA, Aerial Bulk Fuels Delivery System and Air Transportable Hydrant Refueling System schools. Once team members are certified and meet all criteria, they are awarded the 035 FARP Special Experience Identifier (SEI) and receive Special Duty Assignment Pay (SDAP) after six months of experience.
A direction by Congress in 1981 to upgrade and expand the Combat Talon fleet set in motion the Combat Talon II program. Actual flight testing of the MC-130H began in September 1988. The 1275th Test and Evaluation Squadron was responsible for initial flight testing. The MC-130H arrived at Hurlburt Field in 1991 and was assigned to the 8th SOS. As of 2000 twenty-four MC-130Hs had been delivered, following an IOC in June 1993, the program achieved FOC in FY 2000.
The AN/APQ-170 Combat Talon II and AN/APQ-175 Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System (AWADS) radars were developed for the MC-130H Combat Talon II aircraft. The AN/APQ-170 multimode radar is a redundant, dual-band forward looking radar that integrates terrain-following and terrain-avoidance features, as well as ground-mapping, weather detection and avoidance, and beacon interrogation modes of operation. These special navigation and aerial delivery systems are used to locate small drop zones and deliver people or equipment with greater accuracy and at higher speeds than possible with a standard C-130. The aircraft is able to penetrate hostile airspace at low altitudes and crews are specially trained in night and adverse weather operations.
The pilot and co-pilot displays on the cockpit instrument panel and the navigator/electronic warfare operator console, on the aft portion of the flight deck, have two video displays and a data-entry keyboard. The electronic warfare operator has one video display dedicated to electronic warfare data. The primary pilot and co-pilot display formats include basic flight instrumentation and situational data. The display formats are available with symbology alone or with symbology overlaid with sensor video. The navigator uses radar ground map displays, forward-looking infrared display, tabular mission management displays and equipment status information. The electronic warfare operator's displays are used for viewing the electronic warfare data and to supplement the navigators in certain critical phases.
The MC-130H features highly automated controls and displays to reduce crew size and work load. The cockpit and cargo areas are compatible with night vision goggles. The integrated control and display subsystem combines basic aircraft flight, tactical and mission sensor data into a comprehensive set of display formats that assists each operator performing tasks. On the one hand, the MC-130H is one of the best missionized aircraft in the world. The pilot puts the cue on the dot and can fly any terrain by following profile programmed by the navigator and the aircraft system. On the other hand, it is a poor instrument aircraft. The tape digital displays make it extremely difficult to fly.
In the mid-1990s an operational flight program (OFP) release on the MC-130H was supposed to affect only the terrain-following (TF) system of the aircraft. The aircraft was released for flight under the assumption that it would operate properly as long as the TF system was not engaged. In the middle of a training flight, during an engine-out approach, the crew noticed that the "ball" (primary flight coordination instrument) was indicating sideslip in the opposite direction. Because the TF system was an integral part of the OFP, a change to the TF system software resulted in an erroneous reading in another part of the system. If this OFP had made it into the fleet, or an experienced test crew had not been flying the aircraft, it is likely there would have been a smoking hole where a multimillion-dollar aircraft once had been.
Reliability and maintainability upgrades for the APQ-170 radar include a package compilation of fixes to field reported problems, qualifications testing and lab testing fixes identified under the main MC-130H Combat Talon II production effort. Modifications are form, fit and function replacements for current radar components. All 66 radar equivalent ship sets will be retrofitted by the contractor. These 66 ship sets are comprised of 24 aircraft, six hot mock-ups, two sets in lab testing at the contractor facility, and 34 spare sets. The program funds will be used to procure the upgrade kits and perform the actual retrofit. The installation schedule will be driven by failure rates. This was originally a single year buy, now spread over three years by OUSD. An ECP to Lockheed Martin Federal Systems (APQ-170 contractor) will provide these upgrades.
The Communication Navigation Upgrade (CNU) Program provides the MC-130H Combat Talon II (CT-II) Warfighter with the increased military communication and navigation capability required for mission effectiveness in the next century. Specifically, the CNU integrates narrow band SATCOM (NBS) Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) modem capability, the ARC-222 Single Channel Ground to Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS), the HF Automatic Communications Processor (ACP) including common area fills, and a 3.5" disk drive into Combat Talon II across the 1553B data busses. In addition, the CNU adds two additional 1553B data busses, upgrades the current Cryptographic capability, and locates all TRANSEC and COMSEC fill devices in one central location easily accessible to the Warfighter. The CNU consists of all non-recurring engineering, development, flight test, aircraft installations, and support equipment upgrades necessary to support the modification. Lockheed Martin Federal Systems is responsible for the CNU non-recurring effort, trial installation, flight test, kit proof, aircraft installations, and maintenance trainer upgrade.
Two initiatives were undertaken with the Communication Navigation Upgrade Program acquisition program. First, the Government and Contractor teams worked together to develop the proposal. The unified team worked from requirements definition to proposal submittal and jointly developed the Integrated Master Plan/Schedule, wrote the Statement of Work, determined the required CDRLs and level of tailoring, wrote the terms and conditions, and even prepared the budget information. The result was a seamless transfer of requirements information to the Contractor, and contract information to the Government which avoided costly proposal revisions that previously plagued the CT-II team. Second, an internally developed "Gate Process" was used to manage proposal preparation and program risk at appropriate times. Similar to the acquisition life cycle process, the "Gate Process" identified key proposal preparation phases, milestones, and entry/exit criteria.
Another upgrade program modifies MC-130H aircraft to add aerial refueling capability, internal fuel tanks and enlarged paratroop door window. The modification provides plumbing and Operational Flight Program (OFP) update. The MC-130H Aerial Refueling System Pod project is evaluating an advanced aerial refueling capability to the MC-130H Combat Talon II. Manufactured by Flight Refuelling, Ltd. of the United Kingdom, the system provides a wing-mounted hose and drogue aerial refueling pod capable of meeting USSOCOM requirements. Special Operations Forces rotary wing aircraft do not have enough refueling support to meet mission requirements. This system is a pre-planned product improvement envisioned for the MC-130H to meet this shortfall.
In February 1998 Lockheed Martin Federal Systems, Inc., Owego, N.Y., was awarded a $5,396,764 face value increase to a firm-fixed-price contract to provide for design, development, production, and installation of an upgrade to the power distribution system on twelve MC-130H aircraft. The contract was expected to be completed May 2001.
