US Coast Guard accepted 12th C-130J aircraft.

On December 18, the US Coast Guard accepted its 12th C-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics’ Marietta, Georgia, facility. The Coast Guard’s newest C-130J, CGNR 2012, departed Marietta, Georgia, Dec. 20, 2018, after acceptance from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

US Coast Guard 12th C-130J Super Hercules (Picture source : US Coast Guard)

The aircraft was delivered to the Coast Guard in its baseline configuration. It was flown to L3 Technologies Inc. Integrated Systems Platform Integration Division in Waco, Texas, Dec. 20, 2018, to begin the Minotaur mission system suite modification process. CGNR 2012 will be outfitted with Minotaur software as well as Coast Guard-specific integrated radar, sensors and communication systems in a process called missionization, after which the aircraft will be redesignated as an HC-130J.

The Coast Guard currently has 15 HC-130J aircraft in either operational use or active production. In addition to continued Minotaur missionization efforts on new aircraft, the Coast Guard has plans to do a block upgrade for all its HC-130J aircraft.

The service’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 logistical support during routine Coast Guard operations.