Since becoming involved in the C-130J program as an Air National Guard operator more than seven years ago, I have endured opinions about how good or how bad the aircraft is. Usually, a few facts accompanied pontification, depending on what side of the fence a particular review originated.
In the meantime, C-130J aircraft were delivered, crews were trained, and procedures and tactics for operating the aircraft were developed. But as Gen. John Handy, the former commander of US Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, pointed out, the aircraft needed to get off the bench and into combat. It was time to let the Super Hercules stand on its own merits.
We did exactly that in December 2004 when we stepped out with a team of Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, and active duty members to see exactly what this aircraft could do. We intended to validate its capabilities, discover its shortcomings, and identify the practical limits of the C-130J as opposed to what appeared in the glossy brochures.
In The Sandbox
Our unit, the 143rd Airlift Wing out of Quonset Point, Rhode Island, deployed to the area of responsibility, or AOR, with two C-130J Super Hercules stretch models. We were accompanied by the 135th Airlift Group from Baltimore, Maryland; the 146th Airlift Wing from California; and Reservists from Keesler AFB, Mississippi. After flying missions to the Horn of Africa, we made our first run into Baghdad three days before Christmas.
Once in the AOR, we did not have enough critical mass to stand up our own C-130J unit, so we mixed in with C-130E and C-130H units. And fit in, we did. Crew members from the older aircraft flew with us on missions when we arrived. They provided our local area orientation and got us up to speed quickly on all the rules of operating in theater. Not only did they provide tremendous help to us, but they appreciated the firsthand look at the C-130J.
As for other C-130J operators, we worked side by side with the Royal Australian Air Force and were linked telephonically to the Royal Air Force C-130J operators who were also in theater at the time. While we compared notes on tactics, the various maintenance troops often worked with each other as well. The maintainers did a great job for us.
Our mission involved moving a lot of passengers and cargo in theater. We carried an average load of seventy-five people and three pallets in a combat environment. We flew into Iraq full, hopped from base to base unloading and loading passengers and cargo, and then returned to our home base with a full load of cargo or passengers.
We flew Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Horn of Africa missions for the 120 days we were in the Middle East. We made day trips, while the C-130E and C-130H crews had to remain overnight somewhere. We flew 625 sorties and 1,371 hours. We carried 7,031 passengers and moved 1,151 pallets loaded with 2,400 tons of cargo.
The main operational lesson we learned is that size does indeed matter. The two extra pallet positions the C-130J provides and the increased maximum gross weight it accommodates were critical operational improvements. The Super Hercules proved to be a force multiplier. On one particular mission in early January, we were tasked to transport 140 troops and all their associated equipment. A move this size would have required three C-130E or C-130H aircraft. We were able to accomplish the move with only two C-130Js.
On the surface, this payload advantage may not seem like a big deal. Practically speaking, however, it has major ramifications in the combat environment. First and foremost, we exposed just eight crew members — we typically flew with a pilot, copilot, loadmaster, and a second loadmaster who also acted as a scanner — and only two aircraft to the enemy threat, as opposed to three aircraft and eighteen crew members had we used the older aircraft. Second, the Combatant Commander and the Director of Mobility Forces gained additional resources to expend on other priorities.
More Power
The tremendous power in the C-130J is another significant operational advantage. The extra power was most notable during the climb out of the various fields throughout Iraq. With the threat predominantly at lower altitudes, we were able to climb above those altitudes while remaining in the less hazardous airspace within the airfield boundaries. Our ability to climb fast provided much more flexibility in our egress routes and made our actions much less predictable to the enemy.
Since we were there, other crews operating in summer operations have really seen the impact of the additional power in the C-130J. The C-130E and C-130H aircraft have an extremely limited cargo-carrying capacity in hot temperatures and high pressure altitudes. Performance data for the C-130J predicted we could increase the cargo limit under those same conditions by as much as 300 percent.
In reality, when the Super Hercules crews were assigned to those missions, they exceeded the C-130E and C-130H model capacities by nearly 400 percent. Using the C-130J on all these performance-challenged missions became standard operation. A tremendous backlog of cargo destined for Afghanistan built up during our deployment. The C-130J crews cleared that backlog in four days. We started sending a C-130J crew to Afghanistan once a week to keep the backlog from accumulating again.
When we prepared for this deployment, we spent a lot of time looking at workload management and how to acclimate the two-person cockpit into the combat environment. We found that the only time the reduced crew impacted us was when we were on the ground. With the same number of preflight duties required and fewer crew members to perform those duties, we had to adjust our time lines to get everything done.
Once the crews got out to the aircraft, the aircraft's automation took over and made for a much quieter, much more efficient cockpit. The additional situational awareness the C-130J gave us increased efficiency, flexibility, and survivability in the combat environment.
With the high activity levels around the Iraqi and Afghani airfields, airspace deconfliction was a major concern of commander and crew alike. A lot of Predator drones and helicopters filled the air at any given time. To deal with such crowding, the airspace around the fields was divided into various sectors. Crews were required to check in at mandatory reporting points within their assigned sector as they ingressed or egressed the airfield.
Crews in the C-130J were able to program these sectors and reporting points into mission computers and get a visual depiction of them from the cockpit. This information allowed the crews to adapt quickly to the inevitable changes that occured as they maneuvered for landings. Sectors would open and close because of Predator activity or hostile movements. Crews would be forced to rapidly adjust to their new sector assignments and still not miss their mandatory reporting points. Programming this information during preflight operations in the C-130J made such adjustments easy.
Heat And Dust
We were a little more than curious about how a computer-based, software-driven aircraft would hold up in the hot and dusty conditions of Iraq and Afghanistan. At one point during the deployment when many of the C-130Es were operationally restricted because of center wing box cracks, we began to task our aircraft at 100 percent to test their true durability. During this period, aircraft No. 1431 flew for eighteen days in a row without missing a single mission in spite of the harsh conditions. Together, our two aircraft presented nearly a ninety-four percent mission capable rate for the deployment.
Before we deployed, people up the chain told us to take extra spares. Instead, we brought the minimum amount of spares so as not to stack the deck to ensure mission success. We wanted this deployment to be a realistic test of the C-130J to produce a template for future deployments.
We were concerned how well the Enhanced Cargo Handling System and the electronic cargo pallet locks held up with all the dirt and dust. Overall, the rollers and locks held up well, although some sort of liner or cover under the flip-over roller and tie-down trays in the cargo hold might be useful to prevent dust from going into the belly of the aircraft.
Our deployment would not have occurred without a truly joint effort. We often hear the phrase, "one team, one fight," but we lived it on several levels. The Air Mobility Command staff, and particularly the folks in the C-130J office, worked directly with us and with the C-130J System Program Office and Lockheed Martin to prepare aircraft and crews. We had the National Guard units in Rhode Island, Maryland, and California, and the Reserves in Mississippi pitch in with crews and maintenance personnel to make this deployment happen. Once in theater, we operated seamlessly with active duty counterparts as a single integrated C-130 operation. I was pleased with the cooperation and proud to be part of the team.
As deployments continue, we learn more and more about the aircraft and about employing it. Every day we fly, operators and maintainers become more convinced we have a great aircraft — one that will be a force multiplier long into the future.
Col. Lawrence P. Gallogly is the commander of the 143rd Airlift Wing. He has more than 5,500 hours as a pilot in the C-130A, C-130E, and C-130J.
