US Air Force Special Operations Command said this week that it will conduct
a rapid prototyping effort to increase the "runway independence and
expeditionary capacity" of its MC-130J by developing "a removable amphibious
float modification."
MC-130 variants have supported US military operations since the 1960s. The
MC-130J is the latest version and is the backbone of Air Force Special
Operations Commands fixed-wing force.
The $114 million aircraft has advanced navigation and radar systems that
allow it to operate in unfriendly territory, but the MC-130J Commando II
Amphibious Capability, as the effort is called, will allow it to support
operations at sea and in near-shore areas, according to AFSOC.
MC-130J Amphibious Capability or MAC "allows the Air Force to increase
placement and access for infiltration, exfiltration, and personnel recovery,
as well as providing enhanced logistical capabilities,"
Lt. Col. Josh Trantham, Afsocs science, systems, technology, and innovation
deputy division chief, said in a release. Seaborne operations offer "nearly
unlimited" places for landing and would extend the reach and survivability
of the MC-130J and the commandos who use it, Trantham said.
AFSOC is working with the Air Force Research Lab's Strategic Development
Planning and Experimentation directorate and with private industry. The
command plans to use a five-phase rapid prototyping schedule that will allow
it to conduct an operational capability demonstration in 17 months.
AFSOC and private-sector representatives are already testing prototypes in
the Digital Proving Ground, a virtual setting that includes virtual-reality
modeling and computer-aided design — "paving the way" for more digital
simulation and testing and the use of advanced manufacturing, the release
said.
The effort also intends to "de-risk" the concept for potential use in a
future program to give MC-130Js or other C-130 variants an amphibious
capability.
The last US military seaplane left service with the US Coast Guard in 1983,
16 years after the Navy retired its last seaplane. Amphibious aircraft
played an important role in World War II, but technological advances during
the Cold War made them less valuable.
Interest in amphibious aircraft has increased in recent years, however.
Several countries — including Russia and Japan — still operate them, and
China's development of the AG600, the world's largest seaplane, is steadily
advancing.
China has invested heavily in its fleet of military airlift planes in order
to support long-range operations, and the AG600 provides "some niche but
important capabilities," Timothy Heath, a senior international defense
researcher at the RAND Corporation, told Insider earlier this year. "An
amphibious plane allows you to reach areas that otherwise are hard to get
to.
They can also support ships that are stranded at sea or just if it needs to
connect with some ship at sea where there is no runway," Heath said. China
is expected to use the AG600 for search-and-rescue, transport, and
firefighting, among other operations. It would be especially useful in the
South China Sea, supporting operations around the island bases China has
built there.
AfSOC officials have said amphibious aircraft would be a valuable capability
in an era of great-power competition, and Trantham echoed that view in the
release.
"MC-130J Amphibious Capability will be able to be used by our sister
services, allies, and partners," Trantham said, and its use "alongside other
innovative tools will provide even more complex dilemmas in future
battlespaces for our strategic competitors."
AFSOC plans to demonstrate an amphibious version of the MC-130J later this
year, AFSOCs commander told reporters Monday morning at the Air Force
Association convention.
“I can say with certainty that our plan is to conduct a demo by the 31st of
December this year.,” AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Jim Slife said in a
roundtable with media on Sept 20.
Slife emphasized that a flying demo would most likely feature a single
aircraft and would be aimed at validating digitally engineered models that
the program has run so far on the aircraft’s capabilities.
The latest rendered illustrations of the proposed model feature large,
removable floats that would allow the aircraft to take off and land on both
bodies of water and runway independent locations. In allowing significantly
greater to non-traditional takeoff and landing areas, MAC would also help
curtail aircraft vulnerability by avoiding easily-targetable
locations.
The Air Force had previously announced it’s intention to develop the
water-capable aircraft at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference
in May of this year, as reported by The Drive in May.
Though the Sept 14 Afsoc update doesn’t provide a significant amount more
detail than May’s announcement, it does note that a task force of
unspecified collaborators are working with Afsoc and the Air Force Research
Lab’s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation directorate to
create a prototype.
The Air Force estimates an operational capability demonstration could come
in as little as 17 months. This isn’t the first time plans for an amphibious
aircraft with the built-in versatility of the C-130 has come to light.
Lockheed toyed with the idea of a Hercules Amphibian for the Navy as early
as the 1960s, according to Tyler Rogoway’s 2015 analysis for Jalopnik,
pointing out that such an aircraft would have wide-reaching applications
beyond strictly battlespace operations, like rescue missions and
firefighting. Slife stressed, however, that the MC-130J Amphibious
Capability would not be a “seaplane” per se.
“I see it referred to float plane or sea plane, which is not actually
accurate,” Slife said. “It is strictly amphibious capability we’re after. In
other words, utilities and land on either land or water and not be
completely a maritime-only kind of platform.”
MAC prototypes are currently being tested in digital environments and
through virtual reality modeling by AFSOC and companies in the private
sector, according to the Air Force. AFSOC believes that these emerging tools
will help streamline prototype development in such a way that accurately
incorporates real-world feasibility while reducing risk.
“Being able to experiment with existing technology to evaluate design
tradeoffs and test a new system before ever bending metal is a
game-changer,” said AFSOC Technology Transition Branch Chief.
