Sunday, February 19, 2017

C-130 Getting A Massive Technological Overhaul



Scout Warrior: Air Force Massive Upgrade of the War-C-130

The Air Force is progressing with a massive technological overhaul of its warzone-tested C-130 aircraft, giving the platform new radios, digital avionics, collision avoidance technology and reinforced "wing-boxes."

C-130 Modernization

The Air Force is progressing with a massive technological overhaul of its warzone-tested C-130 aircraft, giving the platform new radios, digital avionics, collision avoidance technology and reinforced "wing-boxes," service officials said.
The Air Force remains vigilant about its C-130 fleet to ensure the airframes, wingboxes, avionics and communication systems remain safe and operational well into the 2030s and beyond. This is particularly true of the older 1980s-era C-130Hs, Air Force developers explained.

“The thing that causes the greatest risk to the airplane is the life of the wing. We monitor the wing of the aircraft and as the wings get past their service, life we bring the airplanes back in and bring in new structures -- with the primary focus being the center wingbox which is the area where the wings mount to the fuselage,”Col. Robert Toth, Chief of Tactical Aircraft, Special Operations and Combat Search and Rescue Division, told Scout Warrior in an interview several months ago.

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WNU Editor: It is hard to imagine that they can make these gunships even more lethal than what they are ..... but apparently they can.

1 comment:

RussInSoCal said...

What the article states about the C-130 wing box is true. As the AC-130 turns on a continuous tight left axis when firing. Lots of stress there. There's a horrific video of the wings peeling off of a civilian water-tanker C-130 during fire fighting ops.

But as far as new weapons, no news there yet. Lethal as it is already. Just new avionics and structure upgrades. (needs MOAR 25mm Gatling gun)