March 5, 2020 —
The Coast Guard’s newest HC-130J, CGNR-2012, departs Waco, Texas, Feb. 27, 2020, after completing missionization integration work at L3 Technologies Inc. Integrated Systems Platform Integration Division. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
The Coast Guard accepted its 12th mission-ready HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft Feb. 27 from L3 Technologies Inc. Integrated Systems Platform Integration Division in Waco, Texas.
The aircraft, CGNR 2012, was delivered to the Coast Guard in its baseline configuration in 2019. CGNR 2012 was then outfitted with Minotaur mission system software as well as Coast Guard-specific integrated radar, sensors and communication systems in a process called missionization, and redesignated an HC-130J.
The Coast Guard currently has 17 HC-130J aircraft in either operational use or active production. In addition to continued Minotaur missionization efforts on new aircraft, the service is implementing a Block 8.1 upgrade. CGNR 2012 is an operational spare for the Coast Guard fleet and will be stationed at the Aviation Logistics Center until October 2020, at which time it is scheduled to be transferred to Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The Coast Guard’s fleet of HC-130Js is the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) largest airlift asset, providing critical support to DHS partners as well as carrying out many Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, cargo and personnel transport, and maritime stewardship. The aircraft is capable of serving as an on-scene command and control platform or as a surveillance platform with the means to detect, classify and identify objects and share that information with operational forces.
For more information: HC-130J program page and Minotaur program page