Special Operations Want an Amphibious MC-130J

[stephen the barbarian]

The canadair CL415 only has 2 crew compared to the 11 of the US 2

Crew: 11 (2 pilots, 1 search-and-rescue coordinator, 2 on-board maintenance personnel, 3 divers, 2 paramedics, and 1 sensor operator)

7 members of the crew are only on the plane due to its role in SAR, and i'm willing to guess that the 2 "maintenance personnel" are probably there to operate the winches and doors, lock down cargo, and all the other minor jobs that are needed on a cargo/transport plane.

imo, if a seaplane is adopted then it will have a 3-4 man crew. 2 pilots + 1 or 2 flight crew ala the V 22

 

[Zachowon]

I still doubt they would buy a foreign aircraft when they can just modify the ever modular C130

 

[bintananth]

I still doubt they would buy a foreign aircraft when they can just modify the ever modular C130

i doubt the Japanese would sell the US-2 to US Military even if we wanted it. The Japanese generally don't export military hardware.

Versions configured exclusively for search-and-rescue or arial firefighting, sure. Likewise, a demilitarized version for getting bulky cargo somewhere near water that's inaccessable to a heavy lift helicopter would probably be ok too.

 

[Captain X]

I still say they ought to make an amphibious flying boat version instead of trying to make a seaplane out of it. Just strapping pontoons to that thing is going to make it a bitch to fly or to move around in the water, and if they have to drag it out of the water for anything that'll be even more of a bitch.

 

[gral]

i doubt the Japanese would sell the US-2 to US Military even if we wanted it. The Japanese generally don't export military hardware.

The Japanese are reverting their policies on exporting military equipment. In fact, they offered the US-2 to India recently when the Indians were looking for a SAR amphibian.

Big problems for the US-2 in this case are the following:

1) It's not a cargo plane. It is big, but the fuselage isn't that suited to transporting cargo; while an adaptation, the MC-130 does transport jobs as support for their main mission;

2) It's really expensive - this was what made the Indians give up on it. Pity, it's really good at what it does.

 

[Zachowon]

The C130 can be made to do any and all tasks

 

[Sailor.X]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but they ain't gonna get it. Inflation is on the horizon and money will be tight. So they will have to make do with what military assets they already have. And they will have to work more with the Regular Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

 

[Zachowon]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but they ain't gonna get it. Inflation is on the horizon and money will be tight. So they will have to make do with what military assets they already have. And they will have to work more with the Regular Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Nowadays SOCOM asks, they get it. The DoD plans for this in their budget. They will most likely cut funding from other branches to get it done

 

[Sailor.X]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Nowadays SOCOM asks, they get it. The DoD plans for this in their budget. They will most likely cut funding from other branches to get it done

Remember Fumbles McStupid is in office with his incompetent crew........

 

[Zachowon]

Remember Fumbles McStupid is in office with his incompetent crew........

Yeah, I know.
They have yet to change the funding situation. And are more likely to use SOCOM then convention forces

 

[Battlegrinder]

So....what tactical role is this thing supposed to fill, exactly? From what I can tell, C-130s are spectacularly loud, unsubtle machines, and an amphibious one even more so....which is not exactly in line with what special forces usually does. Right?

 

[Zachowon]

So....what tactical role is this thing supposed to fill, exactly? From what I can tell, C-130s are spectacularly loud, unsubtle machines, and an amphibious one even more so....which is not exactly in line with what special forces usually does. Right?

They can take of VERY quickly compared to other aircraft. They can be deployed in basically any terrain. They can be stealthy if needed