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	Director, Operational Test & Evaluation
	FY98 Annual Report

SYSTEM DESCRIPTION & CONTRIBUTION TO JOINT VISION 2010

The C-130J Hercules II is a medium-range, tactical airlift aircraft designed primarily for the transport of cargo and personnel within a theater of operations. The cargo area must be adaptable to accommodate a combination of passenger, cargo, and/or aeromedical airlift missions. Variants of the C-130J will perform missions including psychological operations (EC-130J), weather reconnaissance (WC-130J), and aerial refueling (KC-130J).

The C-130J retains many structural characteristics of the C-130H, having the same overall interior/exterior dimensions. However, the C-130J is more than 70 percent unique, relative to older models. Significant differences include an advanced integrated digital avionics system, a redesigned flight station to facilitate a two-person cockpit, a new propulsion system providing improved performance, and cargo compartment enhancements.

The C-130J supports the concept of focused logistics for Joint Vision 2010.

The C-130J aircraft is a contractor-initiated substitute for the C-130H-3. Creation of a C-130J acquisition program was directed to provide United States Air Force oversight of aircraft development. The C-130J aircraft procurement is proceeding under a commercial acquisition strategy.

Contractor DT&E commenced in spring 1996 and should conclude in early 1999. It entails evaluation of aircraft requirements defined in the model specification. Government qualification test and evaluation (QT&E) to evaluate military utility began at Edwards AFB in March 1998. Besides the originally defined military utility testing, an additional block of testing, deemed the Follow-On Test Program (FOTP), will be required by the Air Force to permit evaluation of formation airdrop, the towed-parachute retrieval system, defensive systems, and survivability. This additional testing will be conducted prior to the commencement of qualification operational test and evaluation (QOT&E).

LFT&E is required on the C-130J since this aircraft is intended for combat. LFT&E concerns include wing dry-bay fire, composite propeller ballistic vulnerability, engine and engine bay fire, vulnerability to man-portable air-defense system threats, and mission abort vulnerability.

A TEMP, submitted for approval in January 1996, returned disapproved because the operational test program that it defined was not executable due to a lack of funding and the live fire program was deemed insufficient. The TEMP is still under revision as of the end of FY98. It will be submitted for approval when evolving details from DT&E and QT&E and an acceptable delivery schedule are fully defined.

Contractor and government testing, which at the beginning of FY98 was expected to conclude before the end of the year continued to slip. Items impacting testing included an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirement to conduct in-flight natural icing tests and a design change to the bleed air system to alleviate concerns over ice accretion by directing hot air onto the vertical stabilizer and numerous other deficiencies discovered during flight test.

Contractor DT&E completed in 1998 included in-flight icing, heavy gross weight takeoffs, airdrop, loadmaster workload, and climatic laboratory testing. Remaining contractor testing, including interoperability will likely conclude in late 1998. Some deficiencies and limitations noted in DT&E could further delay formal government acceptance of aircraft. Government QT&E is approximately 40 percent complete. Remaining testing includes airdrop, TEMPEST and defensive air systems, and additional FOTP testing required by the Air Force.

Lockheed Martin was granted a FAA Type Certificate for their civil version of the C-130J-30 aircraft (a stretch model designated as the 382J, which currently exists only on paper) on September 9, 1998; however, a significant number of C-130J military requirements were not included in the certification. This necessitated additional testing required by the Air Force.

DOT&E and the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force signed a LFT&E program agreement for the C-130J in March 1998. The non-traditional acquisition of the C-130J resulted in an agreement to conduct C-130J LFT&E as part of the C-130 Vulnerability Reduction Program, using a combination of Air Force and DOT&E funding. The C-130 Vulnerability Reduction Program Detailed Test Plan (Phase IA-Wing Dry Bay Fire Extinguishing Agent Evaluation, Wing Leading Edge Dry Bay Testing) was approved by the Director in September 1998. This test plan is part of an Air Force generic vulnerability reduction program with applicability to all C-130 aircraft, including the C-130J. Wing dry bay fire test article design and manufacturing have been the focus of 1998 activities.

Major issues confronting the C-130J program include funding, aircraft deficiencies, and development/refinement of an integrated program schedule. These issues will affect the program

as it moves toward QOT&E and subsequent fielding of operational aircraft.

The single, most critical ongoing issue impacting both OT&E and user implementation is the lack of funding for logistics support. The logistics shortfall will render the C-130J not operationally supportable. Interim contractor support, reparable items, logistics and maintenance data, and maintenance training will all be impacted with fielding of the first aircraft next year. So significant and immediate is the impact, that new acquisition of C-130J aircraft has been halted until support requirements are addressed. Although the program is funded for FY99, it is not funded for FY00 or FY01.

Numerous aircraft deficiencies have been discovered during QT&E, affecting various facets of aircraft operation including throttle-lever movement, navigation, personnel and cargo airdrop, and basic flight. Difficulties with the throttle-lever assembly make it difficult for the pilot to locate the ground-idle position. This has the potential for causing throttle overshoots into reverse-idle and large resultant excursions from the runway centerline if there is an engine failure. Multiple software anomalies within the communication/navigation/identification computer, affecting both logic and integration, are impacting navigation and automatic (hands-off) airdrop, while a paratroop retrieval system hardware limitation is limiting the capability to retrieve hung jumpers. Lack of a continuous sideslip indicator has also been identified as a problem.

The significant number of deficiencies and the extent to which fixes are implemented and made available for assessment during QOT&E is a principle concern. In light of numerous deficiencies reported by government and contractor testers, three major upgrade phases involving both hardware and software, are planned by Lockheed Martin to bring the aircraft into model specification compliance. These upgrades will address more than 50 deficiencies, including those discussed above, with precedence given to the most critical deficiencies where possible. The upgrades are tentatively planned for late April and late fall 1999, and the spring of 2000. Upgrade number two may impact the September 1999 planned start of QOT&E, while upgrade number three will occur after completion of QOT&E. The relevance and potential impact of these changes will need to be assessed prior to commencement of QOT&E, so that an operationally representative aircraft can be evaluated.

Currently, the C-130J program does not have an approved test strategy or TEMP. The delay in developing a test strategy is due, in part, to the uncertain program structure and deployment objectives. The scope of OT to examine the multiple C-130J configurations and associated missions need to be defined soon to ensure that resources from various organizations can be programmed.

Throughout the QT&E test effort, AFOTEC has played a significant role in improving the C-130J for military use, exhibiting tremendous adaptability during their three-year presence at Lockheed Martin. AFOTEC has maintained the only permanent station Air Force presence at Lockheed Martin. Their pilots, loadmasters, maintainers, and analysts have offered operational insights, explained military functionality, and interpreted mission tasks in a manner that has been beneficial to the contractor without being directive. They have repeatedly demonstrated the benefits of the operational test community's early involvement in a program, well before concepts are formalized or designs are finalized. Many AFOTEC suggestions have been incorporated and the C-130J will be a more effective and suitable system because of AFOTEC. DOT&E will continue to work with AFOTEC as an active participant and as the C-130J program moves toward QOT&E.