Aug. 3, 2020 —
The Coast Guard’s newest HC-130J, CGNR 2013, departs Waco, Texas, July 31, 2020, following completion of Minotaur missionization integration work at L3Harris Technologies. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
The Coast Guard accepted its 13th mission-ready HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft July 31 from L3Harris Technologies in Waco, Texas.
The aircraft, CGNR 2013, was delivered to the Coast Guard in its baseline configuration in 2019. CGNR 2013 was then outfitted with Minotaur mission system software as well as Coast Guard-specific integrated radar, sensors and communication systems in a process called missionization, and redesignated an HC-130J.
The Coast Guard currently has 17 HC-130J aircraft in either operational use or active production. In addition to continued Minotaur missionization efforts on new aircraft, the service is implementing a Block 8.1 upgrade. CGNR 2013 will be stationed at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The Coast Guard’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 carrying 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 and share that information with operational forces.
For more information: HC-130J program page and Minotaur program page