Sept. 14, 2021 —
The HC-144B maintenance training unit will be used to train HC-144B students at the Aviation Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
The Coast Guard awarded a contract for an HC-144B maintenance training unit (MTU) to Shen Te Enterprises of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Sept. 8. The MTU, worth over $11 million, will be used to train HC-144B aviation maintenance technician and avionics electrical technician students at the Aviation Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Shen Te Enterprises will convert an existing HC-144 hull into an integrated HC-144B MTU with a combination of hands-on, real aircraft hardware and components as well as virtual and simulated components and sustainment support.
The MTU is necessary to support the Coast Guard’s upgrade of its HC-144 fleet with Ocean Sentry Refresh (OSR) modifications and Minotaur mission system integration. The OSR project upgrades the aircraft with a new flight management system, which manages communication control, navigation and equipment monitoring. After the OSR upgrade is completed, each aircraft is redesignated as an HC-144B. Minotaur integrates installed sensors and radar and provides dramatically improved data fusion as well as information processing and sharing capabilities.
Eighteen HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft are included in the Coast Guard’s medium range surveillance fleet, along with 14 C-27J Spartans.
For more information: Medium Range Surveillance Aircraft Program page