 |
| A RAAF C-130J Hercules (Image: Wiki Commons) |
Nigel Pittaway
DARWIN, Australia — The first Royal Australian Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Hercules to be fitted with a Link 16 Tactical Data Link (TDL) system has begun operational test and evaluation during Australia’s largest air-power exercise.
As exercise Pitch Black enters its third and final week this week, the C-130J will be operating low-level tactical missions in a high-threat environment, supporting Australian and US Special Forces within the remote Bradshaw and Delamere training ranges in the Northern Territory. What is different, however, is that it will be connected to the networked battlespace for the first time in its operational career.
Australia is installing an Engility Corp. Joint Range Extension (JRE) TDL system into all 12 of its Hercules, and the installation is unique in that there are five display terminals: for the pilot, co-pilot, the two loadmasters in the cargo bay and the auxiliary crew station in the rear of the flight deck.
“This specific fit-out is unique to Australian Defence Force (ADF) airborne assets and what we have now is both a Beyond Line Of Sight (BLOS) and Line Of Sight (LOS) capability,” explained Flight Lieutenant Shaun Wilkinson, a C-130J pilot with No. 37 Squadron and a member of the Link 16 integration project team.
“There is also no other C-130 worldwide that has this system, no other Hercules has integrated Link 16 with a loadmaster station before.”
Read the full story at DefenseNews