Sept. 16, 2019 —
CGNR 2001 departs from L3 Technologies Inc. Integrated Aerospace Systems in Waco, Texas, Sept. 13, 2019. It is the last long range surveillance aircraft with the Legacy Mission System Suite to be retrofitted to the Minotaur Mission System Suite. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant Officer Ken Norris.
The Coast Guard’s Long Range Surveillance (LRS) Aircraft Program reached a major milestone Sept. 13, 2019, when CGNR 2001 completed the Minotaur Mission System Suite (MSS+) modification program at L3 Technologies Inc. Integrated Aerospace Systems in Waco, Texas. With this delivery, the Coast Guard completed the final HC-130J aircraft retrofit MSS+ installation, so all LRS aircraft in the fleet now use the Minotaur system.
Mission system architecture incorporates sensors; radar; and command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, and enables aircrews to gather and process surveillance information.
The Coast Guard currently has 16 HC-130J aircraft in operational use or in active production. In addition to continuing Minotaur missionization efforts on new aircraft, the service plans to complete a future block upgrade for all its HC-130J aircraft.
Coast Guard HC-130Js carry out many Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, cargo and personnel transport, and maritime stewardship. The aircraft is capable of serving as an on-scene command and control platform or as a surveillance platform with the means to detect, classify and identify objects, then share that information with operational forces. As the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) largest airlift asset, it also provides critical support to DHS partners.
For more information: HC-130J program page and Minotaur program page