Buying KC-130Js Key To Navy's Ability To Fight In Pacific: Reserve Boss
Chief of Navy Reserve Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore talked about the importance of new C-130Js, and of timely funding to purchase them, at multiple points during a hearing before members of the House Appropriations Committee yesterday. The Navy Reserve has 16 C-130Ts and 11 KC-130Ts, the latter of which are capable of being used as tankers, according to Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR) website at the time of writing. Five more KC-130Ts are also in service with Navy test and evaluation units. The KC/C-130Ts first began entering Navy and Marine Corps service in the 1980s, and the latter service retired the last of its T variant Hercules aircraft in 2021 after transitioning to the more capable and otherwise improved J model.
'The C-130 is our number one equipment priority, and we are behind … for that recapitalization effort,' Lacore said. 'We started this recap journey in 2024, and we're behind … The plan was to be at 32 [C-130J] aircraft by 2030. We got one in [the budget in Fiscal Year 20]24, two in [Fiscal Year 20]25, and we're super grateful for them. But right now, for the out years, we need to be looking at six per year in order to get us where we need to go.'
'We have 27 aircraft right now, the Tangos, with an average age of 34 years and a mission-capable rate of 40 percent,' Lacore added. With new C-130Js, 'we also anticipate a 75 percent mission-capable rate, which will go a long way,' as well as 'doubling our sortie rate' and 'getting three times the service radius in combat.'
With a typical payload, the maximum ranges of the C-130H, from which the C-130T is derived, and the C-130J are 1,208 miles and 2,071 miles, respectively, per the U.S. Air Force. Total weight, including internal fuel, as well as operational considerations and other factors, all affect an aircraft's useful combat radius. The C-130J also has a higher top speed and altitude ceiling than the C-130H or T, which can help extend range, as well as reduce the time required to get from one point to another. It is worth noting that a portion of the Navy's KC/C-130T fleet has received new eight-bladed NP2000 propellers and other upgrades, as have certain Air Force C-130Hs, which do provide more limited performance and fuel efficiency boosts, as you can read more about here. Navy E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control planes and C-2 Greyhound carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft also feature NP2000 propellers.
At the hearing yesterday, Lacore explicitly highlighted the benefits the J model Hercules aircraft offer when it comes to improving the Navy Reserve's ability to provide aerial refueling support, as well as dispense fuel on the ground at forward locations. She further noted how this could be particularly valuable for future operations across the broad expanses of the Pacific.
'The PACFLT [U.S. Pacific Fleet] commander has already asked us for, you know, to work on organic aerial refueling, and we are doing that with the Tangos, but it's a long haul. They're not all plumbed for that,' Lacore said. As noted, less than half of the aircraft in the existing Navy Reserve C-130 fleet are KC-130T tankers.
'The Juliets will come with that plumbing already established,' Lacore continued. 'We anticipate with that [to be able to provide] at least two times the aerial refueling rate. And if we include ground refueling as well, we're looking at probably eight times our refueling capability in theater, which is which will be a huge win for us in the Pacific.'
Navy C-130Js configured tankers, like the current KC-130Ts, will only be able to refuel aircraft using the probe-and-drogue method, at least as presently planned. Probe-and-drogue is the preferred means of aerial refueling for Navy and Marine Corps aircraft. It is also used by aerial refueling-capable U.S. Army and Air Force helicopters, as well as CV-22 Ospreys belong to the latter service. The Air Force prefers the boom method for refueling its fixed-wing aircraft.
Lacore further highlighted how the C-130Js will come with more advanced defensive features than are found on the KC/C-130Ts, which will allow the Navy Reserve to operate the aircraft in more dangerous environments.
As mentioned, the Navy, overall, currently relies heavily on the Air Force to provide aerial refueling support during combat operations, as well as peacetime training and other activities. The Navy is currently pressing ahead with plans to add new MQ-25 Stingray tanker drones to its carrier air wings. At the same time, the service does not expect to field the MQ-25 in significant numbers until the 2030s. Even then, the uncrewed tankers will not eliminate demand for additional aerial refueling support, especially in a large-scale conflict.
After U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released a video showing an Air Force HC-130J Combat King II aircraft refueling a Navy E-2D Hawkeye somewhere in the Middle East, TWZ highlighted the relevance of C-130-based tankers, as well as other smaller aerial refueling aircraft, in a Pacific scenario. The HC-130J is a combat search and rescue (CSAR) aircraft that is also configured to act as a tanker, primarily for CSAR helicopters. As we wrote:
'The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps are both refining new concepts of operations that focus heavily on expeditionary and distributed operations and rapid deployment to remote and/or austere forward locations with minimal support as part of preparations for a potential high-end conflict, especially one against China.'
'The ability to operate from shorter runways and with a lower logistic footprint, as well as being able to get gas once in the air from smaller propeller-driven tankers, or even future drones like the MQ-25 Stingray, would be more relevant than ever in the context of an island-hopping campaign.'
A @USNavy E-2D refuels inflight from an @usairforce HC-130 over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/pRkmM4IRIP
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 6, 2024
Forward operations at far-flung locations with shorter runways could create additional need for aerial refueling. For instance, tactical jets might need to take off with less fuel to be able to get airborne with a full ordnance load, and then immediately link up with a tanker to top up. Tankers orbiting closer to forward bases could help fast jets low on fuel make it back safely after missions, as well.
Navy C-130 tankers would be limited to offloading fuel in flight via the probe-and-drogue method, but this could, in turn, help alleviate operational strain, even during peacetime, on boom-equipped Air Force tankers. In a future large-scale conflict, Navy tactical jets could find themselves at forward bases on land together with their Marine counterparts, and additional tankers could help ease demands on the latter service's KC-130Js.
Tankers, in general, are expected to be in extremely high demand during any future high-end fight, and those aircraft will also be targets for enemy forces. All of this further reinforces the value of the Navy providing additional organic aerial refueling support.
In addition, Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore said yesterday that new C-130Js will help the Navy Reserve improve its ability to perform its logistics airlift mission, which could also be very relevant in a future conflict in the Pacific region. She pointed out that Navy C-130Ts had already been an important part of the supply chain to get munitions and other materiel to Navy carrier strike groups during recent operations in and around the Red Sea.
'The C-130 Tango Hercules, operated exclusively by the Reserve, is the Navy's only long-range intertheater airlift [asset] for oversized cargo. This capability is in high demand from Fleet commanders, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, playing a critical role in the contested logistics necessary to sustain a maritime fight,' Lacore explained. 'Last year, Navy Reserve airlift transported more than 80,000 passengers and 20 million pounds of cargo, sustaining carrier strike groups in every theater, delivering salvage teams, resupplying critical munitions, and providing repair parts to keep F-35 flying in the Pacific and Aegis destroyers on station in the Red Sea.'
'Over the past few months, Reserve C-130 crews transported thousands of pounds of ordnance into the Red Sea fight, keeping our ships on station' so they could continue 'intercepting Houthi missiles, conducting precision strikes, and safeguarding global commerce,' she added. New C-130Js are 'critical to ensuring that we can effectively and safely carry out the critical intertheater logistics missions for the fleet.'
The Air Force also currently provides the bulk of all fixed-wing airlift capacity across the U.S. military, something that would also be in high demand for moving personnel and material across the Pacific during a future conflict in the region.
Overall, the Navy Reserve's continued push to replace its KC/C-130Ts with new C-130Js is not just about modernization, but reflects the service's growing view that those aircraft will play a critical role in any future fight in the Pacific. In the meantime, the aging T variants will continue providing already important aerial refueling and airlift support.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
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