U.S. Coast Guard press release
Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, received its second HC-130J long-range surveillance aircraft, CGNR 2014, Jan. 21. The advanced capabilities of the HC-130J – especially the 40 percent increase in range over the HC-130H aircraft it is replacing – are critical in serving the vast area of the Pacific covered by the air station, including Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa.
The increase in the range comes from the HC-130J’s more advanced engines and propellers, which also provide a 20 percent increase in speed and altitude over the legacy aircraft. Another notable difference is the liquid oxygen system, which allows crews to fly at higher altitudes, providing a better vantage point for many missions. The HC-130J has a modernized glass cockpit, the capability to execute GPS approaches, and is outfitted with the Minotaur Mission System Suite, which provides increased capabilities for use of the sensors, radar, and intelligence-gathering equipment.
To put the increased capabilities into perspective: Air Station Barbers Point recently completed a maritime surveillance patrol in Oceania at the request of a partner nation concerned about illegal activity in its exclusive economic zone. With an HC-130J, the crew was able to make it to and from Guam in one leg each way, while the HC-130H range necessitates an overnight stop while en route to Guam.
Air Station Barbers Point is scheduled to receive two additional HC-130J Super Hercules to complete its transition, which is anticipated by the end of 2022. Air stations Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and Kodiak, Alaska, have already transitioned to the HC-130J.
The service’s HC-130Js carry out many Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, cargo and personnel transport, and maritime stewardship, as well as providing critical support to DHS partners. The aircraft also can serve as a command and control or surveillance platform capable of identifying and classifying objects and sharing that information with operational forces.
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About HC-130J Aircraft
The USGC HC-130J Super Hercules long-range surveillance aircraft provide heavy air transport and long-range maritime patrol capability. Each aircraft is capable of serving as an on-scene command and control platform or as a surveillance platform with the means to detect, classify and identify objects and share that information with operational forces.
The Coast Guard is acquiring a fleet of 22 new, fully missionized HC-130J aircraft to replace its legacy HC-130Hs.
The HC-130J has a more advanced engine and propellers, which provide a 20% increase in speed and altitude, and a 40% increase in range over the HC-130H. The new aircraft also features state-of-the-market avionics, including all-glass cockpit displays and improved navigation equipment. The HC-130J’s suite of command, control, communication, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) equipment helps to extend the fleet’s mission capabilities.
The Coast Guard is integrating Minotaur mission system architecture into its fixed-wing aircraft. Missionization includes post-production modification of new C-130J aircraft to incorporate the specialized equipment necessary to carry out Coast Guard missions. All aircraft with the legacy mission system have completed Minotaur retrofits, and all-new aircraft are Minotaur missionized before they are delivered to the fleet.
HC-130J Characteristics
- Length: 97 feet 9 inches
- Wingspan: 132 feet 7inches
- Height: 38 feet 11 inches
- Maximum Weight: 155,000 pounds
- Cruise Speed: 320 knots true airspeed
- Range: 4,900 nautical miles
- Endurance: 20+ hours
- Standardized Minotaur mission system across all Coast Guard fixed-wing aircraft (under development)
- Real-time tracking and Rescue 21 integration to enhance common operating picture and maritime domain awareness
- Advanced radar and electro-optical/infrared sensors for search and rescue, law enforcement and intelligence gathering missions; the Coast Guard’s Super Hercules is the first HC-130 aircraft in the world with a 360-degree, belly-mounted, multimode surface search radar
- Commonality of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance components and capabilities with those on the Coast Guard’s medium range surveillance aircraft
