Minotaur Mission System
The Coast Guard is outfitting its fixed-wing surveillance aircraft fleet with Minotaur mission system architecture. Minotaur incorporates sensors, radar and command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment and enables aircrews to gather and process surveillance information that can be transmitted to other platforms and units during flight. The system was originally developed by the Navy and is used across multiple Department of War and Department of Homeland Security platforms.
Why this program?
Minotaur integration was driven by obsolescence concerns: the legacy processors could not run the updated systems needed for optimal mission execution. Compared to these, Minotaur offers significant increases in speed and memory capability. The system is open-architecture and government-owned, so the Coast Guard has more control over upgrades and can implement them more affordably. The Coast Guard is also taking advantage of Department of War logistics, including maintenance, training and spare parts, to keep life cycle costs down.
How are the upgrades implemented?
The Coast Guard formally decided to integrate Minotaur into the HC-130J and HC-144 fleets in September 2013. Integration of the system into Customs and Border Protection and Navy maritime patrol aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems was already underway at that time.
The Coast Guard worked with Naval Air Systems Command to develop Minotaur to meet Coast Guard mission requirements, and the Coast Guard’s Minotaur Mission System Integration Lab at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, led the development and integration work. Prototype installation for all aircraft began at Patuxent River.
AIRCRAFT STATUS
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HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft
The first aircraft in the Coast Guard fleet outfitted with Minotaur, CGNR 2003, was delivered in June 2017. Since then, Minotaur has been installed on 16 additional HC-130Js. Air stations Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Kodiak, Alaska, and Barbers Point, Hawaii, have their full complement of HC-130Js equipped with Minotaur. The 18th HC-130J is in the missionization process at L3Harris in Waco, Texas, where the Coast Guard oversees the integration. An additional C-130J is currently under production at Lockheed Martin in Marietta, Georgia, and six more are expected to be placed under contract using funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; all will undergo Minotaur missionization once delivered to the Coast Guard.
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HC-144 Ocean Sentry medium range surveillance aircraft
HC-144B Minotaur production has been completed at the Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City. The first Minotaur HC-144, CGNR 2307, was delivered to the fleet in July 2017. The 18th and final HC-144B completed missionization on Aug. 6, 2025. Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama, and Air stations Corpus Christi, Texas, Miami and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, all have their full complement of HC-144Bs equipped with Minotaur.
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C-27J Spartan medium range surveillance aircraft
The Coast Guard canceled the HC-27J missionization program following enactment of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, in which no money was allocated to the program. Four HC-27Js were in the missionization process when the program came to an end. Two had completed the missionization process at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and were in various stages of the testing process and two were undergoing missionization at L3Harris in Waco, Texas. None of the four aircraft had valid flight air worthiness certificates and will be disposed of. The Coast Guard plans to decommission all C-27Js by the end of fiscal year 2028. |