New Delhi: The C-130 Hercules is a mid-sized transport airplane designed to airlift people or cargo around a theater of operations. It dates back to the Korean War, when the Air Force decided that it needed a next generation ("NextGen") transport plane. In 1951, it asked for designs, and Lockheed won the competition. The first C-130s were delivered three years after the war ended. The C-130J is the newest tactical inter-theater transport aircraft fielded with several international air forces including India, capable of flying higher, farther and faster than previous C-130 models while carrying more cargo. Over 40 models and variants of the Hercules serve with more than 60 nations. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history. In October 2006 AMC declared Initial Operational Capability for the C-130J. This approval followed successful demonstration of specific requirements for the C-130J. The Maryland Air National Guard's 135th Airlift Group was the first combat delivery squadron to reach full PAA and also fulfilled the IOC manning requirement. The C-130J is crewed by two pilots and a loadmaster. The new glass cockpit features four L-3 display systems multifunction liquid crystal displays for flight control and navigation systems. The cargo bay of the C-130J has a total usable volume of more than 4,500ft³ and can accommodate loads up to 37,216lb - for example, three armoured personnel carriers, five pallets, 74 litters (stretchers), 92 equipped combat troops or 64 paratroops. The bay is equipped with cargo handling rollers, tie-down rings, stowage containers and stowage for troop seats. It is equipped with the ATK AN/AAR-47 missile warning system uses electro-optic sensors to detect missile exhaust and advanced signal processing algorithms and spectral selection to analyse and prioritise threats. Sensors are mounted near the nose just below the second cockpit window and in the tail cone. It has the Northrop Grumman MODAR 4,000-colour weather and navigation radar is installed in the upward hinged dielectric radome in the nose of the aircraft. The weather radar has a range of 250nm. It's C-130J is equipped with four Allison AE2100D3 turboprop engines, each rated at 4,591 shaft horsepower (3,425kW). The all-composite six-blade R391 propeller system was developed by Dowty Aerospace. The aircraft can carry a maximum internal fuel load of 45,900lb. An additional 18,700lb of fuel can be carried in external underwing fuel tanks. The refuelling probe installed on the centre of the fuselage has been relocated on the C-130J to the port side, over the cockpit.
Updated on: August 26, 2014 7:52 IST
