FIRST HERCULES RECEIVES TRANSPONDER UPGRADE

FIRST HERCULES RECEIVES TRANSPONDER UPGRADE

The first in a fleet-wide upgrade of identification transponders on C-130J Hercules transport aircraft has been completed by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to allow the aircraft to continue flying safely in civilian and military-controlled airspace.

The Air Lift Systems Program Office (ALSPO) and Airbus Australia Pacific, with assistance from Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, installed the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) and Mode 5 IFF systems on the first airframe.

ADS-B is the new transponder format being used by civilian and military air traffic control services. Similarly, Mode 5 IFF is the latest version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s friend-or-foe identification system.

Both systems are more accurate and advanced than those they replace, and similar modifications will be necessary on all RAAF aircraft to enable their continuing operation in military and civilian international airspace.

Commander Air Mobility Group, Air Commodore Bill Kourelakos said recent relief missions in the Northern Territory and Indonesia demonstrated the variety of airspace environments RAAF operated in.

“This upgrade not only better informs air traffic control and other airspace users, it helps our crews to maintain airspace awareness and complete their missions safely,” Air Commodore Kourelakos said.

Officer Commanding ALSPO, Group Captain Jacqueline Churchill said the project exemplified collaborative relationships between Defence and contractors.

“The C-130J Mode 5 IFF and ADS-B upgrade is a great example of how Defence and industry partners work together to achieve best practice outcomes,” Group Captain Churchill said.

Australia joined lead customers the United Kingdom and Denmark in sharing the cost of developing the upgrades with C-130 manufacturer, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Six of the RAAF’s C-130J aircraft are scheduled to receive the ADS-B and Mode-5 IFF upgrade by December 2019, with the remainder of the fleet to be completed by mid-2020.