Fri, Apr 13, 2007
Comprehensive Avionics Mod Program For Stalwart Transport
Boeing told ANN this week the second C-130 Avionics
Modernization Program (AMP) aircraft flew for the first time late
last month, marking a significant step forward in what Boeing calls
the most comprehensive C-130 avionics modification ever
conducted.
The C-130 AMP aircraft, H2.5, successfully completed its maiden
flight from Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio, TX on
March 25. Boeing test pilot Mike Leone and US Air Force pilot Maj.
Adam Faulkner conducted the 1.3-hour flight.
This is the second C-130 to undergo trial installations. Boeing
began modifying the aircraft in April 2005, after accepting it from
the Kentucky Air National Guard in Louisville. Boeing delivered the
first C-130 AMP aircraft, an H2 model, to the US Air Force last
November.
Boeing reports the first C-130H aircraft to be modified with an
advanced avionics suite is ahead of its planned ground and flight
test programs, which began at the Air Force Flight Test Center at
Edwards AFB on November 28, 2006.
The U.S. Air Force initiated the modernization program to
simplify multiple C-130 configurations in its fleet. Awarded in
2001, the program is more than 60 percent through its design and
development phase, which will consolidate four mission design
series into one common core avionics suite for the combat delivery
type aircraft.
The C-130 AMP provides enhanced digital avionics that
significantly increases situational awareness for the warfighter.
Upgrade commonality brought by the AMP offers additional
flexibility in assigning aircrews regardless of the model design
type.
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