MOORESTOWN, N.J., March 6 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has handed over its first missionized HC-130J maritime patrol aircraft to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Lockheed Martin described the HC-130J Super-Hercules as a "long-range surveillance maritime patrol aircraft. The aircraft's new mission equipment and sensor packages are designed to deliver enhanced search, detection and tracking capabilities to perform maritime search and rescue, maritime law enforcement and homeland security missions."
"The most capable aircraft in the Coast Guard's history is now in our inventory," said Coast Guard Capt. Matthew Sisson, Deepwater aviation program manager.
Lockheed Martin said it was "working under a fixed-price contract to deliver three missionized HC-130Js and is on schedule to complete the aircraft this month. A contract modification is expected in the coming weeks to begin work on the fourth aircraft. The contract modification will also include options for missionizing the remaining two aircraft to round out the Coast Guard inventory of six HC-130Js."
"Expectations run high as the fleet prepares to exploit the capabilities of the fully-missionized HC-130J," said Cmdr. Tim Schang, HC-130J platform manager with the Coast Guard's Office of Aviation Forces.
"The aircraft modifications include installation of a belly-mounted surface search radar, a nose-mounted electro-optical infrared sensor, a flight deck mission operator station and a mission integrated communication system. The mission system installed on the HC-130J is derived from the same software series developed for the mission system pallet on board the HC-144A maritime patrol aircraft concurrently in testing," Lockheed Martin said.
"The missionized HC-130J is ideal for multi-tasked operations," said Rich Lockwood, vice president of Lockheed Martin's Coast Guard Systems business. "In addition to its new command and control and surveillance capability, the aircraft retains the full cargo carrying capability."
Lockheed Martin said it "leveraged the breadth of the corporation by bringing together its Maritime Systems & Sensors and Aeronautics companies to perform the work for this important component of the Coast Guard's Deepwater program."
"Integrated Coast Guard Systems, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, was awarded the Deepwater contract in June 2002 and has been renewed through January 2011," Lockheed Martin said.
