Thursday, September 23, 2021

Another "Great Idea" From the Zoomies

[Air Force Special Operations Command] is working with private companies and the Air Force Research Laboratory to modify its MC-130J Commando II transports so the turboprop aircraft can land on water as well as terra firma. In other words: C-130s, prepare to become ducks.

The effort, called MC-130J Commando II Amphibious Capability (MAC, though ‘quack’ is perhaps a better fit), is meant to give AFSOC more options for getting special operations teams into and out of the fight, and for landing where airstrips might not exist.

You can click on the link to see the conceptual art of the float-equipped C-130.

The weight, range and speed penalties of those floats will be non-trivial. Those airplanes may end up losing the ability to operate from rough fields. Servicing them will be fun, as anyone who has ever gassed up a floatplane will know. And frankly, those airplanes will be quite limited in their abilities to land and takeoff in windy conditions due to wave heights. Flying boats, like the ShinMaywa US-2, typically can handle heavier seas than floatplanes.

What's driving this, you may ask? China's developing large amphibs.

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