New Marine aircraft makes refueling easier

[unhappycamper]

The Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152’s KC-130J Hercules refuels an F/A-18D Hornet from Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242 on Monday during VMGR-152’s April 7 training.


New Marine aircraft makes refueling easier
Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Marines’ new air refueler proved to be faster and more efficient than its predecessor during a training mission off the west coast of Okinawa last week, according to a Marine Corps news release.

Members of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma used the squadron’s new KC-130J during a three-hour mission to refuel two F/A-18D Hornets flown by the Corps’ All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 242, the release said.

The KC-130J is about 20 percent faster and has a range of more than 35 percent farther than the antiquated KC-130F fleet used by the squadron and built in the 1960s.

The squadron received its first of nine KC-130Js in June.

The KC-130J is computer-driven, which allows squadron members to program data such as weather conditions, cargo and crew weight, mission timeline and fuel requirements into the aircraft’s internal operating system, the release said. The plane then adjusts its in-flight settings, according to the data.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54042