Latest news with #MC-130J
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Kirtland AFB offers sneak peek of aircraft that will be on display during Air Fiesta event
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –They're some of the most powerful technologically advanced planes and helicopters in the world flying over the skies of Albuquerque and now Kirtland Air Force base is giving a front row seat showing how airmen refuel aircraft in the middle of the sky. Story continues below New Mexico Insiders: Leader Of Albuquerque FBI Steps Down Trending: Family of 105-year-old Bataan Death March survivor shares his story Crime: New Mexico correctional officer caught by husband for bringing drugs to inmate, court docs show Community: Poll: Where is the best place to go camping in New Mexico? A routine for some in the air force going up thousands of feet and holding on for a bumpy ride to complete another mission. 'The best way I could describe it was if you've ever sat on a washing machine with an uneven load for about 30 minutes, that gives you an estimate of what we go through every day,' said Major Matthew Olivero, with Kirtland Air Force Base. Wednesday airmen at Kirtland Air Force Base let KRQE News 113 tag along on a special operations command aircraft known as the MC-130J where crews practiced the mid-air refueling of a CV-22 Osprey. 'So, it can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour, depending on how much fuel that they need, how bumpy the track is, or if it's just training, we might go up and down the track to get them practice,' said Maj. Olivero. A combat systems officer on the MC-130, Maj. Olivero has been flying this aircraft for nearly a decade. 'I absolutely love it. To me it's the best job in the world when you get to look out of the aircraft window and see the terrain that's right there and all the different mission sets that we do,' said Maj. Olivero. The MC-130J costs around $114 million. It's designed for transporting troops and supplies or refueling missions for special operations. In Albuquerque the aircraft is often used for special night training. 'Every day. We have sorties flying every day, Monday through Friday, day and night. But primarily, all of our operations do happen at night,' said Nicholas Holguin, pilot on the MC-130. The HH60 will be one of six different aircrafts that people will be able to get up close and person on May 31. That soon to happen up close look will come with Kirtland's Air Fiesta, something that hasn't happened in six years. 'The only thing I would say is come out to the air show and enjoy. It'll be a great time,' said Maj. Olivero. The two-day air show will start May 31-June 1. The base is expecting roughly 20,000 visitors to show up. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
More data, comms, countermeasures needed for Special Ops aircraft
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways TAMPA, Fla. – Special operators are looking to industry for a suite of upgrades to their fixed-wing aircraft, such as radio frequency countermeasures, new methods for aerial refueling and improved networking. At the annual Global SOF Foundation Special Operations Forces Week, Special Operations Command officials who develop aircraft shared these and other updates that are needed from its largest to smallest platforms. For one key platform program, the MC-130J Combat Talon III, operators envision the aircraft as a nexus in the battlefield, connecting the lowest-level operator on the ground with space, air and even commands in the homeland. To do that, the MC-130J will need some new capabilities. They are currently testing terrain following and avoidance technology that includes dynamic retasking. They'll also need networked data from the aircraft systems to work with satellite communications, radio signals, data links and data fusion across multiple platforms. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the aircraft requires upgraded radio frequency countermeasures and considerably more processing power for all of the data streaming in. Next steps include a capability release that will include tactical mission route replanner technology, along with tactical flight management and defensive countermeasures, as well as embedded training systems to simulate more complex missions. Beyond those capabilities, operators are looking to extend the range and reach of the aircraft, improve its communication systems, advance its defensive systems, increase its payload capacity for diverse mission sets and precision airdrop and landing capabilities, said Lt. Col. Andrew Sturgeon, head of mobility for Program Executive Office-Fixed Wing. The recently named OA-1K Skyraider II is also on the upgrade list, as SOCOM wants modular sensor payloads and weapons enhancements for the propeller-driven airplane, said Lt. Col. Shawna Matthys, who heads the integrated strike program. For both the Skyraider and the AC-130J Ghostrider, officials are looking for longer-ranging weapons systems for contested environments, air-launched loiter munitions and collaborative weapons options, Matthys said. Across the entire strike portfolio, which touches nearly every fixed-wing platform, Matthys said those munitions need increased automation and autonomy, advanced navigation and sensing and secure, resilient communications, along with modular payload effects. That gives operators more options for targeting and destroying targets on various missions. For its drones, such as the MQ-9A and the MQ-1C, special operators seek hardened data links and communications, 'easily adaptable autonomous behavior profiles,' the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to reduce data link bandwidth requirements and the use of autonomy for the entire kill chain, said Brandi Evans, head of airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance for PEO-Fixed Wing. Beginning this month, the office's adaptive airborne enterprise program will look to give operators multi-aircraft control interface software, increase survivability and integrate autonomy onto existing systems, Evans said. For manned ISR platforms, such as the U-28 and DHC-8 (STAMP), officials are looking to improve sensors, integrate all-weather capabilities and automate aspects of aircraft operation to reduce crew workload, as well as edge data processing.
