Hardware And Software Problems Abound

The Lockheed-Martin C-130J, already on the Pentagon's chopping block because of budget cuts, is still having hardware and software problems that, in the opinion of some evaluators in Washington, render it combat ineffective.

That word comes from the director of the Pentagon's operational testing and evaluation unit, Thomas Christie in his annual weapons systems report.

Both Lockheed and the Air Force have said over and over again that the glitches are being fixed, according to Bloomberg News.

Christie seemed willing to agree. "A program for the correction of deficiencies is being worked," he wrote.

So far, the USAF has put two C-130J aircraft into operation in Iraq, out of the 59 ordered by the various services. The aircraft "are performing extremely well," according to Lockheed spokesman Peter Simmons.

More C-130Js are coming online. The USMC says it will make its tanker versions of the aircraft operational next month.

The C-130J is a modification of the C-130H. The J modification includes a two-crew member flight station, upgraded Allison AE 2100D3 engines, enhanced performance, and improved reliability and maintainability. The C-130J/J-30 integrated digital technology has the capability to airdrop in instrument conditions without zone markers -- a baseline feature of the aircraft. When the high resolution ground mapping capability of the APN-241 Low Power Color Radar is coupled with the dual INS/GPS and digital mapping systems, the C-130J/J-30 provides single-ship or formation all weather aerial delivery.

FMI: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/c-130j.htm