The Marines Are Transforming Their KC-130J Tankers into Missile Gunships

By Sebastien Roblin,The National Interest

Dropping bombs out of cargo planes has been a common measure of desperation for under-equipped air forces and opportunistic mercenaries throughout the history of aviation. However, in 2009 the U.S. Marine Corps found a way to make a virtue out of flexibility by developing Harvest Hawk, a kit which allowed their new KC-130J refueling tankers to double as missile-toting gunships and creepy aerial spying platforms that would put the Eye of Mordor to shame.

Heavily armed Hercules transports have existed since the feared AC-130 Specter gunship debuted during the Vietnam War, and the Air Force currently operates several different types. In 2009, the Marines joined in by developing the Hercules Airborne Weapons Kit, which can be bolted on to the service’s KC-130J refueling tankers.

While the Air Force and navy operate KC-135 and KC-10 tankers based on jetliners, the Marines instead adapted C-130 Hercules transport planes to serve as slower, more versatile platform that can refuel helicopters and Osprey tilt-rotors as well as fixed-wing jets. Even better, a KC-130 can top up twohelicopters at a time via drogue-hoses which can pump 300 gallons a minute. A KC-130J can carry 60,000 pounds of fuel and cargo—or 84,000 pounds without cargo.

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Six $22 million HAWK kits were assembled, and ten KC-130Js modified to accept them. The kits added an AAQ-30 Targeting Sighting System sensor pod under the KC-130J’s left wingtip fuel tank which can spot individuals up to ten miles away; an M299 quad-launcher capable of carrying four AGM-114P2 Hellfire II anti-tank missiles (or P2A anti-personnel models) under the right wing; and a box-launcher loaded with ten smaller AGM-176 Griffon GPS-guided missile on the cargo ramp. That’s right, the beast had to lower the cargo-bay door midflight to fire the Griffons.