Abuelo Hercules: Latin American Programs
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Argentina contracts with L-3 to upgrade C-130 CNS/ATM avionics etc.
Oct 14/14: Argentina. L-3 Communications Integrated Systems LP in Waco, TX receives a maximum $68.9 million unfinalized contract to modify 5 Argentinian C-130s. They will standardize all 5 planes to the same equipment, remove obsolete parts, and upgrade their CNS/ATM avionics per the Oct 19/11 DSCA request.
Note that Argentina has not abandoned their pursuit of the KC-390; indeed, they recently opened a production line for KC-390 parts. They do need their C-130Hs to last long enough for the KC-390s to arrive.
Work will be performed at Waco, TX, and Cordoba, Argentina, and is expected to be complete by May 31/19. USAF Life Cycle Management Center at Robins AFB, GA manages the contract on behalf of their Argentinian FMS client (FA8553-15-C-0003).
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Latin American air forces operate a wide variety of equipment, but American aircraft still play a prominent role. Some are new, but as one might expect in a region with constrained military budgets, many air forces are flying aging legacies of past purchases. They must be replaced at some point, and Brazil’s industry is making steady inroads on that basis, selling EMB-314 Super Tucanos to replace American OA-37 Dragonflys, and gearing up to replace American C-130 Hercules aircraft with Embraer’s KC-390.
Even with longer-term replacements afoot, however, the mathematics of force numbers and budget numbers continue to make upgrades, life extension programs, and second-hand transfers attractive. Recent announcements of C-130 projects in Argentina and Peru show that dynamic in action.
Contracts & Key Events
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Oct 14/14: Argentina. L-3 Communications Integrated Systems LP in Waco, TX receives a maximum $68.9 million unfinalized contract to modify 5 Argentinian C-130s. They will standardize all 5 planes to the same equipment, remove obsolete parts, and upgrade their CNS/ATM avionics per the Oct 19/11 DSCA request.
Note that Argentina has not abandoned their pursuit of the KC-390; indeed, they recently opened a production line for KC-390 parts. They do need their C-130Hs to last long enough for the KC-390s to arrive.
Work will be performed at Waco, TX, and Cordoba, Argentina, and is expected to be complete by May 31/19. USAF Life Cycle Management Center at Robins AFB, GA manages the contract on behalf of their Argentinian FMS client (FA8553-15-C-0003).
Argentina upgrades
Nov 8/11: Peru C-130Es. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces Peru’s official request for 2 refurbished and upgraded C-130E Hercules medium tactical transport aircraft. The USAF is working to phase the C-130E out, and the 2 planes are being provided as Excess Defense Articles (grant EDA notification submitted separately), which means almost all of the cost involves refurbishment and services. Services include aircraft ferrying, spare and repair parts, support equipment, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical data, and other U.S. Government and contractor support.
Peru currently flies 2 L-100-20 civilian stretched C-130E equivalents, with another 3 reportedly in storage. Adding these 2 refurbished C-130Es will keep their medium tactical transport options alive, as an option that fits in between the FAP’s 737 for more standard carriage, and its AN-32B light tactical transports. Deliveries of 12 more DHC-6 Twin Otter light utility transports are adding a very useful capability at the low end, but a heavier option is also needed. The DSCA’s official rationale for the C-130E sale includes this:
“This proposed sale will enable the Peruvian Air Force to modernize its aging aircraft and enhance its capacity to support humanitarian efforts in the region. Peru occupies a strategic location in South America, and the sale of refurbishment support for its EDA grant C-130 aircraft will improve Peru’s efforts in conducting maritime interdiction operations, improve its ability to execute counter-narcotics and counterterrorism capabilities, and ensure Peru’s overall ability to maintain the integrity of its borders. Additionally, this transfer will enhance the Peruvian Military’s ability to support to Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) efforts.”
The estimated cost is $74 million, but there is no prime contractor yet. While the C-130s are a Lockheed Martin aircraft, a global cottage industry has sprung up to perform refurbishments and life extension work on them. Peru will have a number of choices, as they decide whom to work with.
DSCA request: Peru (2 C-130E)
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Oct 19/11: Argentine upgrades. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces Argentina’s official request to buy commercial-off-the-shelf avionics upgrades for 1 C-130E and 4 C-130H aircraft, as part of Argentina’s goal of keeping them in service to 2040, and in compliance with CNS/ATM (Communications, Navigation and Surveillance; and global Air Traffic Management) requirements. Argentina has signed an MoU with Brazil for the KC-390, which is a direct competitor.
That means a new digital cockpit and avionics system with Head-Up Displays, which is compatible with night vision, aerial refueling, and mild Antarctic operations down to -45C. They’ll also want minor Class IV modifications, ground handling equipment, repair and return, spare and repair parts, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, tools and test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, programmed depot maintenance, and other U.S. Government and contractor support.
Argentina is also buying with an eye toward broader roles for its C-130H+ fleet, in a move that appears to be just one part of a larger project. They’re asking for open software and hardware interfaces “…to allow future avionics’ upgrades such as defensive systems, HUD and FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared)… [and] future integration of systems, weapons [emphasis DID’s, vid. US Harvest Hawk kits], or specific requirements, without replacing the Line Replaceable Units (LRU’s [sic]) or Line Replaceable Modules (LRM’s [sic]).”
DSCA request: Argentina upgrades
The DSCA announcement and accompanying RFI show that at the very least, Argentina is considering a “Plan B” for its future fleet vs. Embraer’s KC-390, which wouldn’t arrive for several more years, even if a contract was signed tomorrow. That KC-390 delivery timing also makes the C-130s attractive as a bridge that keeps AAF medium airlift available past 2015, when global air traffic rules are set to change.
The estimated cost is up to $166 million, but the prime contractor isn’t established yet. The DSCA adds that Implementation of this proposed sale will require the temporary assignment of approximately 2 government contractors, and about 48 industry contractors, to Argentina. That last stipulation, the stated 2040 in-service goal, and the RFI’s stipulation that avionics installation will be conducted in Cordoba, strongly suggest that the seized and now state-owned FADEA SA (formerly Lockheed Martin Aircraft Argentina) will be conducting a parallel program of structural rebuilds on these planes, in order to give them enough safe flight hours to last until 2040. US DSCA [PDF] | FBO.gov RFI.
Additional Readings
C-130s currently fly in many Latin American air forces: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, and Uruguay. Venezuela has C-130s, but the spares situation with the USA, and fleet status, are not clear to DID.
- DID – USA’s C-130 AMP Program Receives Contracts, Heads Into LRIP. Major cockpit upgrade, to comply with CNS/ATM requirements. Managed by Boeing.
- DID – The Right to Bear Arms: Gunship Kits for America’s C-130s. Argentina seems to have taken notice.
- DID (April 4/07) – Keeping the C-130s Flying: Center Wing Box Replacements. Required for the US military, but similar programs exist around the world, often managed by 3rd party contractors.
- DID – Embraer’s Multinational KC-390 Tactical Air Transport Program. In Latin America, Argentina, Colombia, and Chile have signed initial Memoranda of Understanding.
