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RAF Still Retiring C-130K's By 2012

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miamiair (netAirspace FAA) 20 Apr 09, 10:33Post
The Royal Air Force intends to withdraw the last of its C-130Ks from service in December 2012, irrespective of delays to the Airbus A400M airlifter, with the Lockheed Martin C-130J taking over the special forces support role.

The RAF operates 17 C-130Ks, and a dozen will continue in service into 2012. All of these aircraft will have the most capable equipment fits in terms of avionics and defensive aids. The remaining eight C-130Ks will be withdrawn during the intervening period.

“There will be nine C-130Ks flying through 2012,” says a Defense Ministry official. “They will be operated on a graduated-retirement profile over the year to meet the out-of-service date of December 2012.”

The C-130K had originally been due to be withdrawn in 2008, although there was recent speculation that the RAF would retain at least a handful of the Ks beyond even 2012; but this does not appear to be an option.

The air force’s Hercules fleet has been under constant operational pressure since the turn of the decade, with a dozen or so aircraft and crew deployed on missions at a given time. The nature of the operational flying in Afghanistan and Iraq has also added to the strain: Four aircraft—three C-130Ks and one C-130J—have been lost.

The tempo has also reduced the currently projected service life of the C-130J Mk. 4 by four years, to 2026 from 2030. This is based on heavy use from January 2000 onward.

The continuing delay to the A400M (the RAF has ordered 25) has further complicated fleet-management issues. Prior to the latest slips, the air force had anticipated the A400M entering service in 2011, rather than in 2009 as previously anticipated. Even if the U.K. remains with the program, the airlifter will likely not begin to arrive until 2014-15.

The RAF’s 41-strong Hercules fleet (24 Js and 17 Ks) will be reduced to 24 by the end of 2012. The ministry, however, is looking at acquiring up to a further five C-130Js to help bridge the gap resulting from the A400M delays.

The K models are currently tasked with supporting British special forces (SF), with the two aircraft detached to Afghanistan used in this role. Project Hermes will bring J aircraft to the required “SF” standard, and also provide them with the required clearances. The C-130J should be ready to take on the SF core support tasks from the end of 2012.

Work now underway at Marshall Aerospace’s Cambridge, England, site will provide a better feel for the C-130J’s airframe life.

A collaborative project between the RAF and Royal Australian Air Force will substantiate “life of type” for the standard C-130J wing, and should play a key part in determining the airlifter’s operational sustainability. The project forms part of an information exchange between Lockheed Martin and other international partners.

“The U.K. Ministry of Defense bought a clean J wing, and we’ve put it in a jig, just like we did with a C-130K fuselage,” says a company executive. “It’s a fatigue rig for future years. One of the challenges . . . is you’ve got to be faithful in terms of how the aircraft is operated, and so we will put it through a fatigue profile. We will do years of flying in a couple of months.”

Following the completion of the cyclic fatigue tests, the wing structure will undergo a residual strength test before being torn down and inspected around 2013.

The findings will be particularly important to optimizing inspection programs and mitigating RAF projections of a possible four-year life gap for the C-130J Mk. 4 (stretched-fuselage version) based on fleet use and the fatigue life of the center wing.

Wing-life extension for the RAF’s older fleet of C-130Ks is also included under the Hercules Integrated Operational Support (HIOS) contract, which was awarded to Marshall Aerospace, Lockheed Martin and Rolls-Royce in May 2006.

HIOS ensures aircraft availability and performance at optimum levels for the life of the contract, and covers the maintenance and logistics of 15 C-130Ks and 24 C-130Js.

“We’re managing the outer wing life on the K,” says the Marshall executive. “We have some low-fatigue-life wings, and we’re fitting those as part of keeping the K fleet active until it goes out of service around 2012. We are having to ‘mix and match’ to manage the outer wings, and we’ve got a couple of sets in refurbishment and other sets that will see the fleet through; we’re probably just about there now.”

The first of two C-130Ks is undergoing re-winging with former RAF outer wing sets. The second “Delaware Wing” re-winging aircraft is expected to begin modification later this year.

Three other C-130Ks will be fitted with replacement outer wings by L-3 Communications Spar Aerospace under an $18-million contract awarded in 2008. The aircraft are scheduled to fly to Spar’s Edmonton, Alberta, facility for modification in the third and fourth quarters of 2009 and the second quarter of 2010.

Technical support for HIOS is provided via an integrated team of Lockheed Martin, Marshall Aerospace, Rolls-Royce and RAF personnel.
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
GQfluffy (Database Editor & Founding Member) 20 Apr 09, 14:56Post
This is all assuming the A400M isn't canceled. Any chance they would order more C-17s?
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