LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. - The 189th Air Wing officially began its first aircraft conversion in almost 40 years with the arrival of two EC-130J Super Hercules aircraft Sept. 18.
The conversion to the C-130J is a major step toward fleet modernization for the Air National Guard in the effort to retain rapid global mobility with its primary combat delivery aircraft. With the C-130 legacy celebrating its 70th anniversary of flight this year, the J-model is the latest addition to the C-130 fleet and has replaced aging models. The C-130J incorporates state-of-the-art technology, which reduces manpower requirements, lowers operating and support costs, and provides life-cycle cost savings over earlier C-130 models.
“We are thrilled to start our transition into the more modern and more capable C-130J,” said Col. Patric Coggin, 189th AW commander. “This day also marks the beginning of a long, challenging journey for our Airmen into a multiyear process to modify these aircraft to fully meet the needs of our mission.”
However, the wing remains bullish about overcoming the challenges and the rewards this conversion will bring to Little Rock AFB and Herk Nation.
“On the maintenance side, we will be integrating with the 314th AW and 19th AW to care and feed for these aircraft,” said Lt. Col. Sonny Baxter, 189th Maintenance Group commander. “We are uniquely positioned to collaborate with these units and thus provide the 189th Operations Group with C-130J flying capabilities.”
Baxter said that, unlike most maintenance groups undergoing conversion, the 189th MXG will also maintain its legacy fleet of the C-130H. This means recertifying, training, and establishing a way ahead to meet the legacy PFT and current PFT demand simultaneously.
The 189th Operations Group will also face the challenge of a split fleet as it takes on training new pilots and loadmasters for both models, including transitioning students going from the C-130H to the C-130J.
“The survivability of the C-130J has become tremendously important to our joint force as we think about how to provide tactical airlift capabilities in the face of a peer adversary,” said Coggin. “As the 189th enters its C-130J era, we are proud to expand our installation’s training capacity to keep up with the growing need for trained C-130J aircrews for the Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and international partners.”
The aircraft transferred from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard in Harrisburg, home of the 193d Special Operations Wing.
The 189th AW is a tenant of Little Rock AFB and provides premier training to the C-130 and cyber enterprises, capitalizing on partnerships to support the state of Arkansas, defend the nation and contribute to rapid global mobility.
In addition to its primary role in tactical airlift, the Air National Guard’s C-130s support humanitarian, peacekeeping and disaster relief operations.