Enabling NAVAIR To Mitigate Avionics Obsolescence In All C/KC-130T Variants

Astronautics Corporation of America announced the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command, or NAVAIR, is upgrading all variants of its Lockheed C/KC-130T aircraft at NAS Patuxent, Maryland, with its AF14700 RoadRunner electronic flight instruments package to mitigate the obsolescence of avionics and improve operational safety.

The upgrades are being performed under the Global Positioning System Performance Based Navigation Upgrade program of NAVAIR’s Tactical Airlift Program Office, PMA-207.

The RoadRunner EFI is an FAA TSO-approved commercial off-the-shelf, form-fit replacement for the attitude director indicator (ADI) and horizontal situation indicator (HSI). The RoadRunner combines both functionalities into a single digital unit that minimizes pilot workload by replacing  four analog primary flight instruments with just two – one for the pilot and one for the copilot – with only minimal structural changes to the cockpit.

Eyton Zelazo, Director of Displays and Cockpit Integration for Astronautics said, “Astronautics’ RoadRunner EFI is providing PMA-207 with a timely and easy-to-install upgrade for their C/KC-130T fleet. Not only is the RoadRunner extending the C/KC-130T lifecycle and standardizing instrumentation across the variants, but it is also enabling compliance with performance-based navigation certification and modernizing the primary flight instrument to allow for area navigation and required navigation performance applications, thereby improving operational safety for flight crews.”

Under the IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity) contract, Astronautics is furnishing the PMA-207 with two RoadRunner EFIs per aircraft. The work also includes a customized certified flight application and onsite support for ground and flight testing.

Astronautics has so far performed 17 EFI upgrades out of an anticipated 74 units to be ordered through 2027 for the retrofit of 27 C/KC-130T aircraft plus spares.

FMI:  www.astronautics.com/