https://www.janes.com/defence-news/air- ... -17-months
https://www.key.aero/article/afsoc-deve ... ty-mc-130j
US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is moving forward with long-standing plans to develop an amphibious capability for the Lockheed Martin M-130J Commando II.
An AFSOC press release on September 14 said that, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory's Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (AFRL-SDPE) directorate, AFSOC is developing an MC-130J Commando II Amphibious Capability (MAC) to improve the platform's support of seaborne special operations. AFSOC notes that the C-130J is an incredibly versatile aircraft, and since its creation, it has landed on rough fields, in arctic locations and even an aircraft carrier. Yet, it cannot land on water, which covers about 71% of the planet. As US national strategic objectives shift focus to littoral regions, AFSOC is advancing new approaches to expand the multi-mission platform's runway independence and expeditionary capacity.
A task force of industry partners are closely collaborating with AFSOC and AFRL-SDPE to bring the vision to life. AFSOC states that a five-phase rapid prototyping schedule will lead to an operational capability demonstration in only 17 months, while de-risking the concept for a future potential MAC program of record that could field MAC for MC-130Js but also potentially field a similar amphibious capability for other C-130 variants with only minor variations.
