KC-130J Harvest Hawk takes on new role in Afghanistan

3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd) Public Affairs  
Story by Sgt. Deanne Hurla
Photos by Sgt. Deanne Hurla



Maj. Marc Blankenbicker, a fire control officer for the only KC-130J "Harvest Hawk" in Afghanistan, checks the Hellfire missiles attached to the aircraft on the flightline at Forward Operating Base Dwyer. The Harvest Hawk, which is a 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) asset, has only been in country since October, but has already detected three improvised explosive devices and fired one GPS guided Hellfire. The battle damage assessment was five enemy forces killed in action and no civilian causalities. The aircraft carries four Hellfire and 10 Griffen GPS guided missiles, and houses an infrared and television camera. Its mission is to provide close air support, conduct intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and find improvised explosive devices.


FORWARD OPERATING BASE DWYER, Afghanistan – Since 2003, KC-130Js have played a vital role in transporting coalition forces and cargo throughout Helmand and Nimroz provinces; however, the latest KC-130 to enter the area is providing a new kind of support.

The KC-130J “Harvest Hawk” of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), has all the same capabilities of a KC-130J “Hercules,” but the Harvest Hawk carries four Hellfire and 10 Griffen GPS guided missiles and houses an infrared and television camera.

Its mission is to provide close air support, conduct intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance missions and find improvised explosive devices.

“This aircraft is not traditional – yet,” said Maj. Marc Blankenbicker, a fire control officer for the Harvest Hawk.

There is only one Harvest Hawk operating in Afghanistan, and it is used to fill the gaps where coverage from other aircraft isn’t available; it operates in a role similar to that of an F/A-18, explained Blankenbicker, who is originally from Avon, Conn.

Though the Harvest Hawk only began its first deployment in October, it has already had its first weapons engagement Nov. 4.

“We supported [3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment] in Sangin when they were in a fire fight,” said Blankenbicker. “We shot one Hellfire missile, and the battle damage assessment was five enemy [killed in action].”

The assessment also stated there were no civilian causalities or property damage during the fire fight.

Using the Harvest Hawk, VMGR-352 Marines have already found at least three IEDs near 3/5’s area of operation and in support of other coalition forces.

Missions such as these are aiding the VMGR-352 Marines to build relationships with ground forces that may be skeptical of the KC-130’s new abilities.

“There wasn’t time to teach battalions what we are capable of so a lot of it has been real time, and everyone has been really receptive,” Blankenbicker said. “It’s a matter of a little bit of education and a little bit of getting to know each other.”

“When we first get [overhead], the [ground forces] ask what our capabilities are, but after having worked with them for a while, they’ve gotten used to it,” added Capt. Joel Dunivant, a Harvest Hawk aircraft commander. “From what we’ve been told, the guys really like working with us. We’re taken seriously, we’re professional and we’ve got the time to sit there and dig thoroughly into what’s going on, on the ground.”

Marines and other coalition forces are all making the adjustment to having a KC-130J in the combat role, and according to the pilots, the transition is going smoothly.

“On a standard day, we arrive on station and talk to the forward air controllers attached to battalions to see what is going on,” Blankenbicker said. “While we’re on hand, we use our cameras to look at villages, watch pattern of life and assess what is going on in the [area of operation] at that time. If they get into some kind of conflict with the enemy forces, then we are available to provide close air support with our weapons systems.”

Using the added capabilities, the Harvest Hawk is able to provide support to two or three ground units for up to three hours each time it flies.

The aircraft is kept at a medium altitude above ground level and can work alone or in conjunction with UH-1Y Hueys and AH-1W Cobras, added Dunivant, who is originally from Boise, Idaho.

Other than operating in a combat role, there are only slight differences between the Harvest Hawk and the Hercules. The four Hellfire missiles on the left wing, the Griffen missiles, secured on the aircraft’s ramp and the addition of the camera are what make a Hercules the Harvest Hawk.

The KC-130J has provided transport and refueling capabilities throughout Regional Command (Southwest) and now provides the extra advantage of staying overhead for longer than any other aircraft operating in the region. The Harvest Hawk provides accurate and effective combat offensive capabilities to support coalition forces on the ground through surveillance and overwatch.

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Get Some, Leathernecks !

Semper Fi

zulu

The way things are going now.... all they need to do is ad some more electronic do-dads, AESA, and there you go. Joint-Strike-Herky.

Be nice...

Just think, we may not have known this if Mcchrystal was still around.  

Well to go, Devil Dogs.

Have the racks so they slide in after use and the guys inside can reload them, then the bomb rack slides back out. Put around 200 inside and your all set.

patreaus didn't change mcchrystal's order.
what happens is now you have an aircraft with hours of loiter so you can make smart decisions on your own time lines.
tactical decisions in a COIN firefight made based upon your supporting aircraft's time to bingo are almost invariably bad.
Either that or mccrystal and patreaus are idiots.

I googled the Griffin missile it's carrying.  What is it's official name "AG-xxx"?

I couldn't find much information on it at all.

and you are going to find 1000 taliban in one place how?

Misunderstanding because I didn't explain my comment well.  What I'm getting at is that kills were not allowed to be counted and advertised in the media.

Tie up a dozen goats in an open field?

whoops!
thought you were talking about fixed wing air strike moratorium.
my bad.
I LOVE ADVERTISED DEAD TALIBAN1!!
This is my idea of a press conference.

Here was a missed chance years ago in Afghanistan for a lot of them.  This really made me upset when it happened

I caught that in another thread once.  Nice job!

you sure they aren't ANP?
wait, formation looks too good.
never mind.

Everyone who runs is a Taliban. Everyone who stands still is a well-disciplined Taliban...Ain't war hell?

I think that was a funeral, right?

Or a wedding.

I could be 1000% wrong though.  I'm due.

Naw.  It was a whole bunch of bad guys.  They were attending a funeral so the US wasn't gonna bomb the shit out of them.  And they were armed.  

Bachi Bazi Boy Bait?

fireforce ftmfw.

oh man, we could do this so much better.

Is there anything this 50+ year-old-designed airframe can't do?





   




You read it from Frogwater first: the F-35 program will get axed and replaced with the FC-130J
(which will carry and shoot 100 AMRAAMs out of it's rear loading door).
 
 
 

Very nice!!!!

Here is to many more.

Some napalm on them would have been epic.

I was in kandahar in 2006 when that happened, couldnt believe we wouldn't drop...

Isn't there some sort of yearly convention that they all have to go to?

 

I see where you are going with that!

Me? Never.

It's carrier capable, too.

Raytheon Griffin, won out over the Viper Strike (for Harvest Hawk program).



http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story.jsp?id=news/GRIFFIN061308.xml&headline=Small%20Raytheon%20Missile%20Deployed%20On%20Predator&channel=defense



 

Try this one for size: how about RCFC (roll-controlled, fixed canard) GPS-guided air-dropped mortars?  Oh wait, we already do that with other (smaller) aircraft.  



I have dreams about independently-guided, simultaneously-launched missions with dozens of rounds at once.  It could become a reality if you combined the "brilliant" packaging of the Viper Strike with a RCFC 81mm GPS-guided mortar round.

Google up "Harvest Hawk" or search the archives.  

They are a VMGR which is a refueling/transpo squadron.  This is an aftermarket bolt on system


Its really an excellent idea and good use of assets.  

Hell yes.

Some early designs actually intended them to be rack-loaded and launched through the floor.



It was better suggested to keep the airframe as intact as possible to return it to a refueler role if necessary.  Truly a multi-role aircraft.



There are also designs for a large cannon to be fired from inside using a side-rear parachutist/crew door as a firing port.  It would also be similarly minimal airframe impact and removable.



 

Now all the enlisted C-130 guys are gonna be itching to get their Combat Aircrew Wings.

I forecast mass lat moves to the enlisted Aircrew billets if this happens

Or just read the article KA3B posted.

Similar to how a P-3 launches sonobuoys?

Wikipedia has an article on it and some links at the bottom for more info.

yep, only thing it's missing is VTOL................... and all jokes aside, the Air Force was looking at some conceptual models of C-130 sized STOL/VTOL sized aircraft a few years back.

I'm waiting to see dual 20mm Vulcans in the nose of one of those things, with about 16 Phoenix missiles, 18 AMRAAM's, and 12 Sidewinders, just to say that we have successfully strapped every single peice of aerial ordinance to the Herk.  It would be even better to see one of those playing "wolf in sheep's clothing" missions where fighters or Bear Foxtrots think they are closing in on a lowly Herk only to be blown out of the sky... Dan Brown, are you listening?

You've read a lot of a certain series of books?  Haven't you?  

AIM-54 is no longer in service.

Dan Brown smokes a crack pipe.

TR85.

Actually, only 3 or 4.  But I have to say the concept of a stealthy BUFF with TEETH (air to air, EW package) did give me a bit of a chubb...



I know.

They just need to strap an A-10 Warthog under each wing, mission accomplished.

I was thinking the Wingman series...delta winged F-16 with about 3 million missiles.  

Wouldn't that exceed the weight limits of the wings?  However, if you could pod-mount a 30mm between the fuselage and the inboard engines on each side, add some Mavericks and some sidewinders, maybe some dumb bombs or some cargo bay JDAMS...  Or the ultimate finisher:  A BLU-82.  Nothing says "FUCK OFF AND DIE ALREADY" like 15,000 of high explosive parachuting in from 20,000ft.

Enlighten the rest of us?