L3 Technologies Awarded USCG Contract to Retrofit Minotaur Mission System Suite on HC-130J Aircraft
L3 Technologies Inc. Integrated Systems Platform Integration Division in Waco, Texas has been awarded a contract option worth approximately $3.6 million by the U.S. Coast Guard, on June 8, to retrofit Minotaur Mission System Suite on one HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft.
This work will complete the retrofits of the service’s HC-130Js that were previously delivered with the legacy mission system.
Minotaur Mission System Suite is a proven, government-owned and -operated mission system architecture, which is also used by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Minotaur incorporates sensors; radar; and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment that enables aircrews to gather and process surveillance information for transmission to other platforms and units during flight.
The Coast Guard is integrating the mission system across most variants of its fixed-wing aircraft; this process is known as missionization. The fixed-wing aircraft to be retrofitted by the Minotaur system are HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft, HC-144 Ocean Sentry medium range surveillance aircraft and C-27J Spartan medium range surveillance aircraft.
The aircraft covered in this option, CGNR 2001, will enter the integration process in early 2019, with delivery scheduled for late 2019. This is the last aircraft in the Coast Guard HC-130J fleet outfitted with the legacy mission system; all new aircraft are being outfitted with the Minotaur mission system upon delivery.
The first aircraft to undergo a retrofit was the Minotaur mission system prototype, CGNR 2003, which was delivered to the fleet June 6, 2017.
The location and missionization status of all Coast Guard HC-130Js is now as follows: (Courtesy: USCG)
| Missionization Status | Aircraft | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Under contract for Minotaur retrofit | CGNR 2001, CGNR 2002 | Elizabeth City, North Carolina |
| Minotaur prototype | CGNR 2003 | Elizabeth City, North Carolina |
| Missionized with Minotaur from production |
CGNR 2009, CGNR 2010 | Elizabeth City, North Carolina |
| Retrofitted with Minotaur | CGNR 2004, CGNR 2005, CGNR 2008 |
Elizabeth City, North Carolina |
| Undergoing missionization from baseline C-130J configuration |
CGNR 2011 | Waco, Texas (L3 Technologies) |
| Undergoing a Minotaur retrofit | CGNR 2006, CGNR 2007 | Waco, Texas (L3 Technologies) |
| On order | CGNR 2012, CGNR 2013, CGNR 2014 |
Marietta, Georgia (Lockheed Martin) |
CGNR 2002 is scheduled to be inducted into the Minotaur integration process in Waco in November; the next delivery of a Minotaur-missionized aircraft, CGNR 2006, is planned for the same month.