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Marine "A"C-130s AKA "Harvest Hawk"

MettGT

Registered User
pilot
This topic has been recently discussed here. Use of the AW search function will get you the information you're looking for.
 

Herc_Dude

I believe nicotine + caffeine = protein
pilot
Contributor
You already seem to be overwhelmed finding an LZ do you really think you could find a target?
Nice...

Harvest Hawk is coming ... eventually ... the 8 hr time on station for all you FAC/JTACs out there will make the wait worth it.
 

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
You already seem to be overwhelmed finding an LZ do you really think you could find a target?

Ouch. Don't know where that's coming from, but I'll take it under advisement. Then again, it is a little harder to find it from 300'/200+ knots than from the speed of cold in an overhead BP.
 

skidkid

CAS Czar
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
Most was good natured community smutting but as always there is truth in jest. It gets tiresome listening to the "our system can put the nose wheel within inches of a grid" chest thumping when the same guy wants illum an izlid and a talk on to make the zone. Besides if you average the ingress speed wuth the 4min hover over the spot it all evens out. There would be a smile here if i belived in such things.
 

Nordo

New Member
C-130_hellfire_1.jpg


kh06.jpg
 

Herc_Dude

I believe nicotine + caffeine = protein
pilot
Contributor
FYI - those pictures are not of Harvest Hawk, they are from a test from a few years ago. However, they did prove the concept.
 

HeyJoe

Fly Navy! ...or USMC
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
getthumbnail.aspx


AIR FORCE PLANT 42, Calif. - Test pilots and aircrew from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20 take off in a KC-130J "Super Hercules," belonging to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 during its first flight with the new Harvest Hawk mission kit at Air Force Plant 42, Aug. 29. Lockheed Martin manufactured the mission kit and intends to produce two more by early 2010 . (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Christopher O'Quin)(Released)


Harvest Hawk mission kit brings new era in Marine aviation
9/11/2009 By Cpl. Christopher O'Quin , 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing


AIR FORCE PLANT-42 PALMDALE, Calif. ? Marine Corps aviation took the next step in battlefield capabilities, when a KC-130J ?Super Hercules? from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 tested a new surveillance and weapons system, Aug. 29.

Personnel from Navy Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 20, took off from Air Force Plant 42 on its first flight with the new ?Harvest Hawk? mission kit. Since the introduction of the original C-130 more than 50 years ago, the Harvest Hawk mission kit program marks the first time the Marine Corps will have the capability to fly an armed Hercules into the fight.

The $22 million mission kit provides Super Hercules aircrew first strike ability, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities with a Hellfire weapons system and targeting sight system.

The retrofitted KC-130J will use an AN/AAQ-30 Targeting Sight System located under the left wing?s external fuel tank to give the fire control operator eyes on target from more than several thousand feet away. Lockheed Martin equipped the aircraft with a AGM-114P Hellfire II weapons rack, in place of the left-hand aerial refueling pod, that can carry a maximum of four air-to-ground Hellfire missiles for close-air support.

A fire control operator will manage the new targeting sight system and weapons from a removable cargo platform mounted fire control station. The flexible design feature allows Marines to take off the mission kit and mount it onto another modified Super Hercules between flights. This means the squadron can still provide surveillance and close air support if only one modified aircraft is available.

?The Harvest Hawk mission kits will usher in a new era of Marine aviation, bringing a more versatile aircraft into the fight,? said Maj. Jeffrey P. Pellegrino, the KC-130J requirements officer, Aviation Requirements Branch, Headquarters Marine Corps. ?It?s a flying Swiss Army knife, and we must continue to take advantage of its versatility. This mission kit will bring tremendous agility and flexibility to the MAGTF commander.?

The right wing can still carry fuel for aerial refueling while the left wing carries the kit, retaining the Marine Corps? standard of versatility. The Corps intends to provide three systems to each KC-130J squadron. However, Lockheed Martin plans to retrofit the Marine Corps? fleet of KC-130J aircraft with the necessary wiring to carry the new system.

The aircrew conducted a three-hour check flight to examine systems that did not pertain to the additions. In the fleet, aircrew perform operational check flights on the aircraft that have not flown for 30 consecutive days to ensure the main systems function properly. Not only was it the first time the Marines flew it with the new kit, it was also the first time Marines operated it since VMGR-352 brought the KC-130J to Palmdale in May.

?It was a good flight, I couldn?t even tell the difference with the new system on,? said Maj. Steve D. Puckett, a test pilot with VX-20 and one of the first pilots to fly with the Harvest Hawk kit. ?We had to make sure there were no surprises and evaluated what?s been developed so Marines operating in the fleet know how it works.?

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AIR FORCE PLANT 42, Calif. - Cpl. Sean W. Coleman and Lance Cpl. Jeremiah M. Poffenbarger, both ordnance technicians with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 prepare to load Hellfire missiles onto a KC-130J "Super Hercules," carrying the new Harvest Hawk mission kit at Air Force Plant 42, Aug. 29. The squadron will train the aircrew and ordnance technicians when they receive the first Harvest Hawk mission kit in October. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Christopher O'Quin)(Released)
 

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
Does this kit include its own laser designator, or is it reliant on a ground spot?
 

scoober78

(HCDAW)
pilot
Contributor
I wonder what the "reconnaisance, intelligence and suveillance" capabilities are? Can anyone say EP-3 replacement?

I know that the Great EP-3 Replacement Search (version 3.0) is on and that alot of folks have suggested the C-130 as a cost effective and viable alternative...

I know that I for one, would be on the blue to green short list to take this guy into theatre.

It's amazing to me how some programs seem to be able to cut through yards of aquisition tape when others languish for years. If this works...BZ USMC.
 

SynixMan

HKG Based Artificial Excrement Pilot
pilot
Contributor
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