C-130J Upgrade Programme
 

Defense Industry Daily:

Lockheed Martin has now entered into a $110 million upgrade contract to upgrade and enhance the C-130J Super Hercules transports flown by Australia, Britain, Italy and Denmark....All four participating countries will share the cost of development, design, test and integration, while fielding the upgrades in their own chosen time frame. Known as Block 6.1, the upgrades include:

- Improved Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management systems.

- A common Flight Management System.

- Takeoff and Landing Data update enhancements.

- A Terrain Awareness Warning System for low-level/bad weather flight, with both audio and visual cues. This has been standard equipment on special forces variants for some time, but appears to be moving into the mainstream.

- Enhanced Identification Friend or Foe systems.

- An updated loading ramp, and door hydraulics system to support high altitude airdrops.

- A Safe/Gunbox/Storage unit on the aircraft.

- Development of a robust PC-based system called the Data Transfer and Diagnostics System (DTADS) to enhance aircraft diagnostics and health management.

Any news on a larger galley?;)

The Galley is being removed for the following reasons
a. The microwave's Ping was being mis-identified as an ACAWS warning.
b. The microwave's light wasn't NVG compatible.
c. The microwave failed on EMC with the new software.

The rest is being chucked as it wasn't designed in accordance with Def Stan 00-970. :)

Upgrade a C130J? Isn't that throwing good money after bad? Or is the 'upgrade' just bringing the J closer to where it should have been in the first place?

That may well be ..... good work, that is. But it does not hide the fact that the J was a duffer when it was 'sold' to its buyers. It did/does not do what it was advertised to do.

And try riding in one ..... from the UK all the way to Turkey. Be-jay-sus! You'll be deaf and your nerve endings will have been vibrated to death!

Er, doesn't that happen with all Hercules, Mr B? Or is the ride in a K better these days than the last time I went in one? The clever stuff in the J is up on the flight deck (like the microwave), but maybe they didn't show you that far forward...
:\

ROFL.......

The ride in a K is alot smoother than the J due to the fact they dont get off the ground!!!!!:eek:

Not much turbulence in the Instrument Pattern:ok:

MOG

And the' K vs J' thread spills across into yet another innocent thread.:ok:

"And try riding in one ..... from the UK all the way to Turkey. Be-jay-sus! You'll be deaf and your nerve endings will have been vibrated to death"

Once described as probably the most uncomfortable form of transport since Stephenson's Rocket.

Although that's a bit unfair - at least the Rocket's wagons had proper passenger seats, not bits of string intended for one-way meat bombs!

The noise at the prop line is beyond limits. I better not say how far...

So what is the limit for flying hours for someone with ear plugs in and wearing standard issue eardefs over the top?

Let's hope it is much much better than the 'wonderful' GMS, and I hope that the designers who come up with the program, have actually seen what goes in an F700 and how it is actually used.

Mr Bernoulli: Military tactical transport aircraft are not rated by their passenger comfort alone, especially as the passengers were meant to only be on board for part of the flight. The J does its job extremely well, particularly in the hot/ high environment, certainly when compared to the aircraft it part replaced. Unless you are J aircrew/ a test pilot etc & therefore know what you are talking about, please keep your ill informed recycled banter for the appropriate forum!

The J has done rather badly for upgrades over the last few years, for some reason all the funding for new kit has been spent on the K, so it's about time it received some. Pity there's no new defensive aids./I][/I]

Ken, stand by on that front.:)

Ken,
I like your optimism and I agree its about time some money was spent on the J the only thing is I wish it was spent on the correct things ie. things that would be of use to current ops.:ugh:

The guys with the small pot of money had very difficult decisions to make, and made the decision they thought best at the time. History has proved they were wrong as the K ran out of hours well before we expected it to. Of course, if Lockheed hadn't asked for such crazy sums of money to integrate the things we wanted, it would have been a much easier choice.

If Tony hadn't commited us to yet another conflict when we weren't really ready, the K may still be able to cope until the J was fully geared up.

The J is the way forward, as there isn't a choice. Still think they need to install a WSO to make it at capable as the K when the sh*t hits the fan.

Better still, train up the loady, so you can take two on nasty missions, and just one when you don't need to defend yourselves...

Don't even read between the lines...there is no job for a NAV.
The two guys up front do really well with a bit of help from the third bloke. Sometimes the third bloke does some useful stuff and can do with a set of eyes in both camps....

MOG

Totally agree. That's why I suggested a loadie trained to do WSO stuff. I've seen how busy it gets and can't believe two guys can cope when it's getting sporting, and then a major fault developes.