Dec. 10, 2018 —
The Coast Guard’s newest Minotaur retrofitted HC-130J, CGNR 2006, departs Waco, Texas, Nov. 16, following integration of the Minotaur mission system suite. The aircraft was delivered to Elizabeth City, North Carolina. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth Norris.
The Coast Guard accepted delivery of an HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft retrofitted with the new Minotaur mission system suite Nov. 16 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
CGNR-2006 is the first aircraft in the service’s fleet that includes a multi-function control display unit specifically designed by the Coast Guard – with support from the U.S. Navy and Johns Hopkins University – to control mission system radios, better interact with the Minotaur software, eliminate technical issues and reduce obsolescence cost.
Minotaur is a government owned and operated mission system architecture that integrates imagery and data from multiple aircraft sensor streams, allowing operators to track targets and transmit information to other platforms and units. L3 Technologies Inc. Integrated Systems Platform Integration Division in Waco, Texas, has been incorporating Minotaur into both new and existing Coast Guard HC-130J aircraft under a five-year contract.
The Coast Guard currently has 15 HC-130J aircraft in either operational use or active production. In addition to continued Minotaur missionization efforts on new aircraft, the Coast Guard has plans to do a block upgrade for all its HC-130J aircraft.
The service’s fleet of HC-130Js is the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) largest airlift asset, providing critical support to DHS partners as well as logistical support during routine Coast Guard operations.
For more information: HC-130J program page and Minotaur program page