Tag Archives: lockheed

Pennsylvania’s new MC-130J Commando-2

Pennsylvania Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Alexander Farver, 02FEB2023.

On 02FEB2023, Pennsylvania’s 193rd Special Operations Wing (SOW) received its first MC-130J Commando-2: “The 193rd now offers something the U.S. military didn’t have before. Special Operations Forces based in the northeast now have a crucial air asset right in their backyard to build their combat readiness. Combatant commanders have a much more robust and versatile capability to project air power in different geographic regions.”-Colonel Gordon Frankenfield, 193rd Special Operations Group

The MC-130J can refuel other aircraft, in the air. Pennsylvania Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Alexander Farver, 15APR2023.

The MC-130J Commando-2 is used for low-level infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces, by airdrop or air-land, air refueling missions for special operations helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft, and intruding ‘politically sensitive’ or hostile territories. Most missions are flown at night.  The airdrop of propaganda leaflets is another mission the MC-130J conducts.

Pennsylvania Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Matt Schwartz, 16APR2023.

Pennsylvania Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Diana Snyder, 27JUL2023.

On 27JUL2023, Pennsylvania’s 193rd SOW became the first Air National Guard unit in the United States to get a second modified MC-130J Commando-2 aircraft. Video by Senior Airman Diana Snyder:

Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 193rd SOW now has two new MC-130J Commando-2s, on 31AUG2023 they practiced dropping supplies to Special Forces troops waiting on the ground. Video by Senior Master Sergeant Alexander Farver (edited by me):

Pennsylvania Air National Guard 193rd SOW’s new MC-130J Commando-2 shows you what it is like to be a pallet of supplies being airdropped to troops waiting on the ground. Video by Senior Master Sergeant Alexander Farver, 31AUG2023:

C-130H Hercules: NEW MILITIA COLORS FOR AN OLD FLYING YANKEE!

C-130J-30: IRAQ’S SUPER HERCULES سوبر هرقل العراق

New militia colors for an old Flying Yankee!

Connecticut Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Tamara R. Dabney, 18JAN2023.

In January 2023, Connecticut Air National Guard’s 118th Airlift Squadron ‘Flying Yankees’-103rd Airlift Wing celebrated 1-hundred years of airborne operations by giving their old C-130H Hercules some new clothes.

Connecticut Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Tamara R. Dabney, 18JAN2023.

Connecticut Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Tamara R. Dabney, 18JAN2023.

Connecticut Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Tamara R. Dabney, 18JAN2023.

Connecticut Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Tamara R. Dabney, 18JAN2023.

African Lion 2023: C-130H HERCULES

Cold War to Ukraine Crisis, 2022: EC-130H COMPASS CALL MAKES ITS LAST CALL?

U.S. Disaster: Lahaina Fire, JTF 5-0 deploys!

16 August 2023 (12:44-UTC-07 Tango 06) 25 Mordad 1402/29 Muharram 1445/01 Geng-Shen(7th month) 4721/16 Август 2023 года

Joint Task Force 5-0 (JTF 5-0) is a unit consisting of personnel from the various Department of Defense branches, and part of the U.S. Fifth Fleet command.

Hawaii Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Matthew A. Foster, 15AUG2023.

Hawaii Army National Guard video, by Staff Sergeant Matthew A. Foster, showing Lahaina fire devastation as of 15AUG2023, even the boats in the harbor burned:

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Brandon Aultman, 14AUG2023.

On 14AUG2023, Hawaiian Army National Guard personnel joined with Regular Army (RA) and Army Reserve units in deploying to Maui, under JTF 5-0, aboard a U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) KC-130J from Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Oahu, to the Kahului Airport on Maui. Hawaii Army National Guard video by Staff Sergeant Matthew A. Foster:

USMC photo by Lance Corporal Logan Beeney, 14AUG2023.

On 13AUG2023, the Hawaii Army National Guard used their Cold War era CH-47 Chinooks to transport dozens of JTF 5-0 Army National Guard, Regular Army (RA) and Army Reserve personnel from Kualoa Airfield, on the island of Oahu, to the Puunene Armory on the island of Maui. Hawaii Army National Guard video by Specialist Sean Walker & Specialist Tonia Ciancanelli (no audio at beginning of video):

U.S. Disaster, 2023: LAHAINA FIRE, HAWAII MILITIA DEPLOYS!

African Lion 2023: C-130H Hercules

The Lockheed C-130H Hercules is a Cold War era cargo plane still in use today.  The first C-130s began arriving for military service in 1956, the ‘H’ version of the Hercules began service in the mid-1970s.

1971: Prepping for our first ‘Space Available’ C-130E trip, Rhein Main AFB, West Germany. You might be able to make out my younger sister’s (Tina) head in lower right corner. Photo by William L. Hutchins.

In the early 1970s I got my first ride on a U.S. Air Force C-130E, flying from West Germany to Iran with my parents (part of the Space Available service offered by the USAF).

1977: My little brother, Ernie, enjoying his tour of a C-130 during the Edwards AFB ‘Open House’. Photo by William L. Hutchins.

In the mid-1980s I was an Iso-Dock Crew Chief for C-130Hs on Dyess Air Force Base, in Texas.  Even after my time in the USAF, as a California, and later a Idaho, Army National Guardsman I continued to catch rides on the C-130H.

Last ride on a C-130H, this time as a M1A2 TC with the Idaho Army National Guard, on the way back from a ‘friendly’ with Canadian armor in Alberta, 2002.

U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Steven Adkins, 10JUN2023.

In the above photo you see two types of C-130H; one is the older type used by the Kingdom of Morocco, the other is an upgraded type used by the United States. The older C-130H has four propeller blades per engine, the upgraded type has eight.

94th AW’s upgraded C-130H sits on the flightline of Kenitra AFB, Morocco. USAF photo by Senior Airman Jan K. Valle, 14JUN2023.

African Lion is the largest wargame on the African continent, involving the United States and other NATO members, as well as Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, from 13MAY-18JUN2023.

The 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, help show you how to setup a C-130 for medical evacuation. U.S. Air Force (USAF) video by Technical Sergeant Steven Adkins, 07JUN2023:

Emergency medical treatment onboard a C-130H. USAF video by Technical Sergeant Steven Adkins, 08JUN2023:

Moroccan C-130H cargo planes take part in para-drop during African Lion 2023, USAF video recorded by Technical Sergeant Steven Adkins, 10JUN2023:

USA video by Sergeant Christian Dela Cruz, 10JUN2023:

U.S. Air Force Reserve’s Cold War era C-130H based on Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, flew all the way to Morocco to play in the dirt! USA video by Sergeant Christian Dela Cruz, 15JUN2023:

94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, USAF report by Senior Airman Jan Valle:

For all you happy taxpayers, African Lion wargames have been conducted since 2008.

African Lion 2023: ARTILLERY

SNAKE RIVER M1A2 SEP, BORESIGHT MOROCCO!

NATO Vehicle I-D, 2018:

U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King Junior, 11JAN2018.

THAT’S NOT A C-130J, IT’S STILL THE OLD C-130H!

Kawaii, 2013: NORTH CAROLINA’S BABY C-130 GOBBLES-UP YOUR CHILDREN

My family’s connection to the old M4 Sherman tank:

My grandfather, O.G. Hutchins, on his newly arrived USMC Sherman, sometime before shipping out against the Japanese.

M4 SHERMAN, WW2 TO IRAN-IRAQ WAR

U.S. Disaster: Vid-Fest of M-A-F-F-S prepping for 2023 wildfire season!

15 April 2023 (13:57-UTC-07 Tango 06) 26 Farvardin 1402/24 Ramadan 1444/25 Bing-Chen 4721/15 апреля 2023 года

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by by Senior Airman Edward Hermsen, 11APR2023.

This past week, Air National Guard C-130H MAFFS units from Nevada (152nd Airlift Wing) and Wyoming (153rd Airlift Wing)  joined California’s 146th Airlift Wing on Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, for their yearly wildfire preparations.

MAFFS air crews get a quick explanation of how the fire retardant is mixed, Nevada Air National Guard video by Master Sergeant Garrett Wake, 11APR2023:

‘Bombing-up’ and testing your MAFFS, video by Master Sergeant Garrett Wake, 11APR2023:

Water-bombing training was conducted in the Angeles National Forest near Green Valley, California.  Personnel from other federal operations such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and CAL FIRE (California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection), also took part in the training.

Smoke signaling King Air 250. Nevada Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Paula Macomber, 14APR2023.

King-Air 250 FACs (Forward Air Controllers) lead the MAFFS in, using smoke signals to indicate where to drop the water bomb, video by Master Sergeant Garrett Wake, 12APR2023:

More water bombing video by Master Sergeant Garrett Wake, 12APR2023:

One more in slow motion, video by Master Sergeant Garrett Wake, 12APR2023:

Engine maintenance is always a must, Nevada Air National Guard video by Master Sergeant Garrett Wake, 14APR2023:

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by by Senior Airman Edward Hermsen, 14APR2023.

Nevada Air National Guard video, by Master Sergeant Garrett Wake, unloading MAFFS from C-130H, 14APR2023:

U.S. Wildfire 2022: C-130 MAFFS DEPLOYED, IDAHO SUFFERS MOST FIRES/ACRES BURNED IN THE U.S.!

U.S. Wildfire 2021: WYOMING & COLORADO ACTIVATES MAFFS, NEVADA’S MAFF MISSION EXTENDED!

MASSIVE MAFFS PREP for WILDFIRE 2021

2020: MAFFS BIRD FLIES PANDEMIC VENTILATORS TO NEW YORK AND ALL POINTS EAST

Idaho Wildfires 2019: BRAND NEW KING AIR 250 F-A-C

2017: IDAHO CONDUCTS MASSIVE MAFFS TRAINING, IN PREPS FOR HOT WILDFIRE SEASON!

FEMALE PILOT TELLS YOU WHY SHE FLIES MAFFS

2016: 45 YEARS OF C-130 MAFFS OPS. WHO WOULD’VE KNOWN WILDFIRES WOULD BECOME SUCH A PROBLEM?

Idaho Wildfires 2012: MAFFS C-130S RETURN TO POCATELLO AIRPORT, IDAHO NATIONAL GUARD JOINS BATTLE! IDAHO & CALIFORNIA HAVE THE MOST FIRES!

How to sling load your 1:1 scale F-80 Gate Guard with a CH-47.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 11APR2023.

On 11APR2023, the Iowa Army National Guard was called in to move an Iowa Air National Guard ‘gate guard’, using their Viet Nam era CH-47 Chinook.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 11APR2023.

The Korean ‘UN police action’ era F-80 Shooting Star had just gotten some new clothes, in order to proudly continue its guard duties on Camp Dodge.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 11APR2023.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 11APR2023.

Iowa Air National Guard video by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 11APR2023:

The painting process began on 15SEP2022, when the F-80 was sling loaded to the paint shop in Sioux City.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 15SEP2022.

Iowa Air National Guard video by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 15SEP2022:

It wasn’t the first time the Iowa Air Guard F-80 got new clothes.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, April 2011.

In April 2011, the Shooting Star was stripped naked and fitted for the uniform of the 174th Fighter Bomber Squadron, for its new job as a gate guard on Camp Dodge.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, April 2011.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 2011.

Cold War Vehicle I-D:

IOWA CHANGING OF THE GUARD; F-100  Iowa’s RF-84F THUNDERFLASH & YRF-84F, AN APPEAL TO MONOGRAM!

WYOMING SHOOTING STAR

Vehicle I-D: King of the Stallions stampedes Idaho!

At least 50 wild horses roam the Saylor Creek Herd Management Area. Photo via the BLM.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is always complaining about the wild Mustangs that roam across Idaho, but this new King of the Stallions actually flies!

U.S. Marine Corps graphic by Corporal Lauren Salmon.

During the month of August 2022, the U.S. Marine Corps conducted the first ever live-fire ‘wargame’ for its new CH-53K King Stallion, over the Saylor Creek bombing/gunnery range in South-Central Idaho.

USMC photo by Corporal Adam Henke, 11AUG2022.

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 had the honors, and launched out of the U.S. Air Force’s Mountain Home Air Force Base, in Southwestern Idaho.  HMH-461 in based in North Carolina, they chose Idaho to test their new mount, because Idaho is geographically and climatically different from North Carolina.

USMC photo by Corporal Adam Henke, 17AUG2022.

USMC video, by Corporal Adam Henke, HMH-461 gets their King Stallion acquainted with the High Desert terrain of Idaho, 08AUG2022:

The USMC, and Lockheed-Sikorsky, claim the new-build CH-53K is more powerful, can fly higher, can stay airborne longer, is safer and easier to maintain than the older CH-53E Super Stallion.

USMC Corporal Adam Henke video of heavy lift operation, 17AUG2022:

In my opinion, the King Stallion is different enough that it should be considered its own helicopter family, apart from the CH-53 lineage.

USMC Corporal Adam Henke video of GAU-21 .50-cal ‘door-gunner’ live-fire, 17AUG2022:

USMC music video, by Corporal Adam Henke, of the first ‘exercise’ of the King Stallion, 30AUG2022:

March, 2021: CH-53K KING STALLION UPDATE

Weapon I-D, 2021: DOOR GUNNER .50 CAL

Idaho, Saylor Creek Range: 4TH TIME IS THE CHARM, IDAHO ‘HAWGSMOKES’ THE COMPETITION, AGAIN!

Idaho, OCTC: IDAHO INVADED BY APACHES FROM ARIZONA & SINGAPORE?

Cold War to Ukraine Crisis: USAF SENDS 27 BLOCK-25 FALCONS TO THE BONEYARD!

Vehicle I-D:  SUKHOI-75, THE CHECKMATE, WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY?

JORDANIAN COBRAS الكوبرا الأردني, OR HOW TO REBUILD (and then sell) YOUR U.S. FUNDED AH-1S/F.

Cold War to Ukraine Crisis: EC-130H Compass Call makes its last call?

Another U.S. Air Force EC-130H Compass Call retires at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, 28FEB2022. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Alex Miller.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Alex Miller, 28FEB2022.

To be replaced by the new British built EC-37B, EC-130H Compass Call aircraft are slowly being retired.

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kaitlyn Ergish, 08NOV2021.

USAF photo by Senior Airman Kaitlyn Ergish, 08NOV2021.

Retirements began in 2018 and are ongoing, as the new EC-37B is only now coming off the production line.  Unfortunately, just like the EC-37B the British empire’s BAE System is also involved with the EC-130H (another Yankee taxpayer feather in the cap of the Red Coats).  A total of 14 modified EC-130H served in the USAF.

An EC-130H Compass Call’s retirement flight, 31AUG2021. USAF photo by Senior Airman Alex Miller.

First flight 1981, entered service 1982, costs $165-million each. By October 2021, the EC-130H Compass Call had been flying for 40 years.   However, keep in mind that the first Compass Calls were modified C-130Hs that had already been flying for at least a decade (known as Baseline 1 aircraft)!

On 31AUG2021, yet another Compass Call was retired to the ‘Boneyard’ on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB), in Arizona.  U.S. Air Force (USAF) video by Senior Airman Kaitlyn Ergish:

12JUN2019, the 43rd Electronic Combat Squadron (Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona) deployed to NATO Poland, for the first time in the Squadron’s history.  Compass Call worked alongside fighter aircraft (in U.S. English the word aircraft is both singular and plural, do not add an ‘s’ at the end of the word aircraft) of the U.S. and Polish air forces. USAF video by Airman First Class Chanceler Nardone:

By December 2018, the EC-130H has been on-station over Afghanistan for 15 years, video interview by Senior Airman Jean-Paul Arnaud-Marquez:

USAF video by Senior Airman Kayla Palmer, an EC-130H retirement ceremony on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, 02AUG2018:

In 2018, the oldest EC-130H was retired, it was tail number was 65-0989.  According to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, it was originally a C-130H built in 1965.  65-0989 was one of the first C-130Hs to be modified for the Compass Call mission.  In 2018, the older Compass Calls were being replaced with newer/upgraded C-130s (known as Baseline 2, 5th generation electronic attack aircraft).

November 2017, night vision video by Technical Sergeant Justin Jacobs, of 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron’s EC-130H operations on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan:

August 2017, Afghanistan, Airman explains his job maintaining Compass Call’s electronic warfare equipment, video by Senior Airman Joshua Crawley:

December 2016 video report, by Technical Sergeant Lance Daigle, explaining Compass Call’s mission over Iraq and Syria:

June 2012, Ohio Air National Guard refuel Compass Call over Utah, video by Senior Airman Robert Harnden:

Brand new EC-130H Compass Call Block 30 Baseline-1 arrives on Davis-Monthan AFB, 18FEB1997. USAF photo by Airman Elizabeth J. Harris.

This U.S. Navy photo by John Bouvia, incorrectly claims to show an early EC-130H Compass Call, on Mcdill AFB, Florida, 05DEC1993. It is an EC-130E Commando Solo.

An EC-130H Compass Call lands in NATO Germany, Sembach Air Base, after taking part in Desert Storm. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dave Casey, 11MAR1991.

Cold War: Approximately 1947 (due to U.S. President Harry Truman’s Truman Doctrine) to 1991 (Operation Desert Storm, collapse of Soviet Union).

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Bill Thompson, December 1989.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Bill Thompson, December 1989.

Compass Call takes off from Sembach, NATO West Germany. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dave Casey, 07JUN1989.

An EC-130H gets refueled over NATO West Germany by a KC-135 Stratotanker. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Fernando Serna, 30AUG1987.

Agent Orange/Chem-Trails: C-130H DUSTS IDAHO WITH CHEMICALS, IN THE NAME OF FIGHTING WILDFIRES!

C-130J: ONCE A RED COAT, NOW A BLUE ANGEL

Cold War to Ukraine Crisis: ANTONOV 2 BIPLANE, THE MOST PRACTICAL AIRCRAFT EVER?

Cold War Battle Damage: All Hail the Hail Buster! What happens when you fly your C-130E through a hailstorm?

A case of ‘hail nose’. This is what happens when a Hurlburt Field, Florida, based C-130E gets hit by a hailstorm while in flight. March 1987, U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

The damaged C-130E Hercules landed at Naval Air Station New Orleans, Louisiana. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Awaiting the repair crew. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Damaged SKE (Station Keeping Equipment) radome. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Damage to the leading edge of the wing. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Broken formation light. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Gotta have that metal tape, and I don’t mean that cassette tape of the latest ’80s metal band. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

A bit of damage to the engine intake. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

A new nose for the old Hercules. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

Replacing the ‘greenhouse’ glass. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

New glass. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

With hail damage repaired, the crew of the C-130E used reflective tape to give it a new name; Hail Buster! USAF photo by Technical Sergeant C. A. Thompson.

September 2021: OLD HC-130 GETS NEW JOB AS GATE GUARD

Cold War Battle Damage:  S-A-C INTENTIONALLY MACHINE-GUNS A B-52, USING THE B-D-I-G!

Old HC-130 gets new Job as Gate Guard

New York National Guard photo by Captain Mark Getman.

The Spirit of Long Island (#0222, aka Triple Deuce) served in the New York Air National Guard from 1966 until 2019. On 18AUG2021, after several days of moving and assembly, Triple Deuce began a new job as gate guardian for F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base.

New York National Guard photo by Captain Mark Getman.

The 106th Maintenance Group spent two years going through red tape, and Air Force Museum demilitarization training, to get the HC-130 rescue Hercules qualified as a gate guard.

New York National Guard photo by Captain Mark Getman.

New York National Guard photo by Captain Mark Getman.

New York National Guard ‘engine mount’ video by Warrant Officer-1 Edward Shevlin:

New York National Guard photo by Captain Mark Getman.

New York National Guard photo by Captain Mark Getman.

New York National Guard ‘end result’ video by Warrant Officer-1 Edward Shevlin:

WW3: U-S-A-F PREPS TO USE C-130 ON U.S. HIGHWAYS! RED DAWN FOR REALS?