RAF C-130J's to be retired early?
Last edited by ExAscoteer2; 2nd Mar 2021 at 18:35.
Off-the-shelf... ok, I'll have a go:
- Long Range Deep Insertion (ie the job at hand)
- Land on a typical light-aircraft strip / beach / frozen lake / jungle clearing / riverbed (the enemy may be less helpful than RAF movers if you arrive at their air terminal)
- Can carry SF vehicles, 'civilian' vehicles, quads, snowmobiles, boats (as SF don't like to walk, swim or ski absolutely everywhere)
- Ruggedised against small-arms, credible MANPAD defence systems, ESM / RF countermeasures (customer actually wants to get there or get back)
- Secure comms, datalinks, IFF, IDM, BFT etc (as the customer has moved-on from pigeons and invasion stripes)
- Pump fuel and provide rearming for helicopters that don't go very far on their own (see aversion to walking and swimming above)
- Provide airdrop from stupidly high to stupidly low (see both getting there and living there above)
- Provide interoperability with and for a select few international allies
- Do it all by day or by night in the most demanding of terrains
I could add a few more but I'd guess that off-the-shelf starts to look like a C-130 very quickly. No doubt a classified list would be considerably larger than the broad strokes above.
Of course, I am just a bloke typing stuff on the internet.
- Long Range Deep Insertion (ie the job at hand)
- Land on a typical light-aircraft strip / beach / frozen lake / jungle clearing / riverbed (the enemy may be less helpful than RAF movers if you arrive at their air terminal)
- Can carry SF vehicles, 'civilian' vehicles, quads, snowmobiles, boats (as SF don't like to walk, swim or ski absolutely everywhere)
- Ruggedised against small-arms, credible MANPAD defence systems, ESM / RF countermeasures (customer actually wants to get there or get back)
- Secure comms, datalinks, IFF, IDM, BFT etc (as the customer has moved-on from pigeons and invasion stripes)
- Pump fuel and provide rearming for helicopters that don't go very far on their own (see aversion to walking and swimming above)
- Provide airdrop from stupidly high to stupidly low (see both getting there and living there above)
- Provide interoperability with and for a select few international allies
- Do it all by day or by night in the most demanding of terrains
I could add a few more but I'd guess that off-the-shelf starts to look like a C-130 very quickly. No doubt a classified list would be considerably larger than the broad strokes above.
Of course, I am just a bloke typing stuff on the internet.
Last edited by Just This Once...; 3rd Mar 2021 at 05:48.
Off-the-shelf... ok, I'll have a go:
- Long Range Deep Insertion (ie the job at hand)
- Land on a typical light-aircraft strip / beach / frozen lake / jungle clearing / riverbed (the enemy may be less helpful than RAF movers if you arrive at their air terminal)
- Can carry SF vehicles, 'civilian' vehicles, quads, snowmobiles, boats (as SF don't like to walk, swim or ski absolutely everywhere)
- Ruggedised against small-arms, credible MANPAD defence systems, ESM / RF countermeasures (customer actually wants to get there or get back)
- Secure comms, datalinks, IFF, IDM, BFT etc (as the customer has moved-on from pigeons and invasion stripes)
- Pump fuel and provide rearming for helicopters that don't go very far on their own (see aversion to walking and swimming above)
- Provide airdrop from stupidly high to stupidly low (see both getting there and living there above)
- Provide interoperability with and for a select few international allies
- Do it all by day or by night in the most demanding of terrains
I could add a few more but I'd guess that off-the-shelf starts to look like a C-130 very quickly. No doubt a classified list would be considerably larger than the broad strokes above.
Of course, I am just a bloke typing stuff on the internet.
- Long Range Deep Insertion (ie the job at hand)
- Land on a typical light-aircraft strip / beach / frozen lake / jungle clearing / riverbed (the enemy may be less helpful than RAF movers if you arrive at their air terminal)
- Can carry SF vehicles, 'civilian' vehicles, quads, snowmobiles, boats (as SF don't like to walk, swim or ski absolutely everywhere)
- Ruggedised against small-arms, credible MANPAD defence systems, ESM / RF countermeasures (customer actually wants to get there or get back)
- Secure comms, datalinks, IFF, IDM, BFT etc (as the customer has moved-on from pigeons and invasion stripes)
- Pump fuel and provide rearming for helicopters that don't go very far on their own (see aversion to walking and swimming above)
- Provide airdrop from stupidly high to stupidly low (see both getting there and living there above)
- Provide interoperability with and for a select few international allies
- Do it all by day or by night in the most demanding of terrains
I could add a few more but I'd guess that off-the-shelf starts to look like a C-130 very quickly. No doubt a classified list would be considerably larger than the broad strokes above.
Of course, I am just a bloke typing stuff on the internet.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...ansport-part-1
cheers
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With the likelihood that the C130 will get binned into todays defence cuts what the chance that the MOD / RAF will look buy some 2nd hand A400M's from the Germans, French or Spanish? A quick calculation on cargo capacity indicates that the current 14 Hercs could be replaced by 5 A400M's
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With the likelihood that the C130 will get binned into todays defence cuts what the chance that the MOD / RAF will look buy some 2nd hand A400M's from the Germans, French or Spanish? A quick calculation on cargo capacity indicates that the current 14 Hercs could be replaced by 5 A400M's
Indeed, this is the misplaced reasoning that got the UK originally replacing 50 C-130s with 25 A400Ms (twice the payload or twice the range). Doesn't matter how capable a platform is, it can only be in one place at a time.
Reading an article on the Dutch Air Force Hercules replacement, they have already rejected the A400 as its "less operationally agile", which I presume means its too big for many of the tasks.
Other A400 operators obviously think the same as the Germans intend to keep the C130, the French also intend to keep the C130 & also operate the C235M, Spain, Turkey and Malaysia also operate the C235M
I'm sure there is a market for 2nd hand RAF C130s especially after fitting of new centre wings, but in a volatile world, politically and environmentally the C130 is still an aircraft much needed by the UK.
Unless the Hercules are replaced this is the transport fleet been cut not modernised
Other A400 operators obviously think the same as the Germans intend to keep the C130, the French also intend to keep the C130 & also operate the C235M, Spain, Turkey and Malaysia also operate the C235M
I'm sure there is a market for 2nd hand RAF C130s especially after fitting of new centre wings, but in a volatile world, politically and environmentally the C130 is still an aircraft much needed by the UK.
Unless the Hercules are replaced this is the transport fleet been cut not modernised
Last edited by A4scooter; 23rd Mar 2021 at 08:08.
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As much as half?!?!
