AFA NEWS: Assessments Present Changing C-130s into Amphibious Plane ‘Viable’
MC-130J
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NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — About 71 p.c of the world’s floor is roofed in water, and Air Power Particular Operations Command needs the flexibility to land plane on all of it.
Latest checks have proven that the plan to provide MC-130Js — the AFSOC model of the Lockheed Martin-built airlifter — amphibious capabilities are “going to be operationally viable for us,” AFSOC Commander Gen. James Slife mentioned Sept. 20.
Via digital engineering and wave tank checks, the command has give you a design for a package that may be added to the airlifters within the discipline and provides them the potential to take off and land on water, Slife advised reporters on the Air and Area Forces Affiliation annual convention in Nationwide Harbor, Maryland.
“The wave tank testing that we have finished to this point signifies that the design is performing simply the way in which we anticipated it might,” he mentioned.
Now all of the command wants is the funding to maneuver ahead, he mentioned. If the fiscal 12 months 2023 price range is handed as is, AFSOC anticipates having the funding obtainable to do some demonstration flights in calendar 12 months 2023, he mentioned.
Present operational environments are driving the necessity for particular ops amphibious plane. “The one factor all of them have in widespread is water,” he mentioned.
AFSOC needs the flexibility to take Naval particular operators such because the SEALs to the place they should go, Slife mentioned.
“The U.S. has a comparative benefit in maritime capabilities for particular operators — floor and subsurface capabilities — in our naval element,” he mentioned. “These are areas of comparative benefit to america. And so the query is, how can AFSOC assist put these Naval Particular Warfare operators nearer to their targets and extract them the place they must be extracted?”
As for the logistics, Slife mentioned the plane won’t need to go to a depot so as to add the gear essential to convert the plane to an amphib.
Unit personnel can be ready to take action within the discipline.
“This [is] discipline installable,” but it surely’s not like ‘put it on take it off’ for a specific sortie. It should take a little bit little bit of time,” he mentioned.
As for purpose-built amphibious plane, Slife doesn’t see it with the present price range limitations. There are very succesful float planes being constructed for the business market of all sizes and shapes, “however we’re not anytime within the foreseeable future going to be concerned in a brand new plane procurement program,” though there can be the potential for leasing such a platform, he added.
“I do suppose that that is in all probability a progress space, however I do not suppose it is a single plane acquisition program anytime within the within the foreseeable future,” he mentioned.
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