Super Hercules for NOAA
October 6, 2024
On Friday 27 September 2024, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it had awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin to acquire two specialised C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, with an option on two more. The contract was funded in part by the 2023 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, and covers the supply of the aircraft and the design and installation of the specialist equipment required for their flying laboratory role.
NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, said that: “NOAA is continuing to make critical investments to help protect lives and property. These new aircraft will be filled with state-of-the-art technology developed by NOAA and our partners, greatly enhancing our ability to gather critical data on hurricanes, atmospheric rivers and our changing climate.”
The Super Hercules will serve as the NOAA’s next generation of “hurricane hunters,” and will join the NOAA fleet in 2030, after modification. The new aircraft will replace two Lockheed WP-3D Orions, N42RF (c/n 285A-5632) and N43RF (c/n 285A-5633), which were originally purchased by the Department of Commerce in 1975.
The Orions are operated by the NOAA and used for hurricane and weather reconnaissance missions, and also for international oceanographic and meteorological research programmes. The NOAA maintains that data collected by aircraft improves the accuracy of its forecasts by 15-20% for track and by between 10-15% for intensity. The NOAA hopes to give more warning of tropical cyclones to support better decision-making about the evacuation of coastal populations.
The new C-130Js will be modified to serve as flying laboratories in support of NOAA’s hurricane and environmental research. Rear Admiral Chad Cary, director of NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations said that: “NOAA is using our more than 50 years of experience gathering data on hurricanes and other atmospheric phenomena to enhance the capabilities of these specialized new aircraft.”
The new aircraft will be fitted with the same multi-mode radar as the existing WP-3D aircraft, but will also be able to accommodate larger science payloads than the current Orions, for measuring surface winds, waves, and oceanographic sensing. The new aircraft will be fitted with vertically scanning Doppler radar, automated dropsonde launchers, and will have high-speed internet connectivity. The C-130Js will also be able to launch and control uncrewed aircraft systems which will be used to expand the NOAA’s ability to gather data in under-measured areas of storm environments.
The aircraft will be based at the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport, Florida, alongside the NOAA’s other specialised environmental data-gathering aircraft, which include the Beechcraft King Air 350/360CER (two King Air 350 CERs and one King Air 360CER), four de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otters, and a single Gulfstream IV-SP.
Chad Cary said that: “Adding these highly capable C-130J aircraft to our fleet ensures NOAA can continue to provide the public, decision-makers, and researchers with accurate, timely, and life-saving information about extreme weather events.”
