Page 88 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

88 AIRPOWER C-130J-30 HERCULES
FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
questions, a Defence spokesperson said only that the final aircraft will be delivered in time to coincide with the exist- ing fleet drawdown.
“Defence is seeking approval from the US Government to procure the expanded fleet through FMS. The Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) provides not-to-exceed val- ues, with actual costs refined as part of contract negotia- tions. Under FMS, the US Government is responsible for the contracting process,” the spokesperson said.
“The final number of the C-130 fleet will be approved by the Australian Government in 2023.”
However, in early November the Commonwealth re- leased a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a sustainment partner under the Prime Contractor Sustainment Model (PCSM) and the document provides further detail, includ- ing the possibility of a second squadron being raised. The tender documentation predicts a Rate of Effort (ROE) of 612 hours per airframe each year, equating to around 14,700 hours across the 24 aircraft fleet.
By comparison, the recent Defence Portfolio Budget Statement for 2022-23 documents the ROE of the current 12 C-130Js collectively as just 6,000 hours over the last fi- nancial year, but this is expected to grow and remain con- stant at 7,300 hours per year over the four-year Forward Estimates period.
The sustainment RFP further calls for 18 aircraft to be available at any given time, 14 of which are to be in a fully mission capable configuration.
DEFENCE
“THE FINAL NUMBER OF THE C-130 FLEET WILL BE APPROVED BY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT IN 2023”
The document also gives an idea of the timeline for Air 7404, predicting the first four aircraft will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2027, aircraft five to eight in Q1 2029, 9-11 in Q2 2030 and Initial Opera- tional Capability (IOC) in the fourth quarter of 2030.
ABOVE: A Royal Australian Air Force C-130J-30 Hercules takes off at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam during Operation Christmas Drop 2022
Life Wing’ – will extend the life of type of the replacement aircraft,” the spokesperson said.
THE FUTURE OF HERCULES
For its part, Lockheed Martin is considering a number of further upgrades to the baseline C-130J Hercules, includ- ing increased internal fuel capacity, a predictive mainte- nance capability, new or upgraded engines and propellers and avionics systems.
“In the last couple of years, we’ve been doing a study of what we call C-130 Next, which really addresses the capabilities that need to be on the C-130 in the future,” Vice President of Business Development for Lockheed Martin’s Air Mobility, Special Operations and Maritime Programs Tony Frese said.
“In order to keep it relevant and attractive for our cus- tomers going forward we’ll be looking at propulsion sys- tems, any avionics or flight deck upgrades that make sense – like touch screen panels instead of mechanical control panels – and we’re certainly exploring open mission sys- tems architecture capabilities.”
Frese explained that Lockheed Martin is also seeking to increase the range of the baseline C-130J, utilising avail- able space in the existing integral wing fuel tanks, under its Increased Wing Fuel project.
“We’ve discovered that there’s room in the existing inter- nal tanks that we can actually add 5,000 pounds (2,270kg) of fuel. We’re actively working on that and we hope to have it finished and available in the next couple of years. That would give our customers another hour of endurance, or 300-400 nautical miles of range,” he said.
Frese added that Lockheed Martin is also working with vi- sion systems manufacturers to enhance the capabilities of the C- 130J. This is in addition to the digital Head Up Displays (HUDs) that have been incorporated into production in the last couple of years and he also revealed that, with Collins Aerospace, Lock- heed Martin has been working towards demonstrating an En- hanced Vision System (EVS) in the near future. ■
Disclaimer: The writer travelled to Fort Worth as a guest of Lockheed Martin
Presumably IOC will also mark the completion of draw- down of the current Hercules fleet.
The RFT further states that aircraft 12-15 are expected to be delivered in Q2 2031, 16-18 in Q2 2033, 19-21 in Q3 2034 and 22-24 to be delivered in Q3 2035. Final Operational Ca- pability (FOC) is given as the fourth quarter of 2036.
In answer to questions in Senate Estimates about why the C-130J was selected as what the Defence release referred to as “the only option that meets all of Australia’s capability requirements”, Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chip- man reiterated that the Hercules was the clear winner.
AM Chipman also revealed that the Airbus A400M, Embraer C-390 Millennium, and Kawasaki C-2 were also evaluated.
“We had a look at those four aircraft over 22 different requirements. They related to aircraft performance, certi- fication across the roles in which we expect to utilise the aircraft and the ease with which we might transition the aircraft into service,” he testified.
Defence says the new Hercules will feature a structur- ally upgraded centre wing section. “The new centre wing structure – commonly referred to as an ‘Enhanced Service