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The Lockheed DC-130 was a variant of the
C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
, designed for
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
control. It could carry four
Ryan Firebee The Ryan Firebee is a series of target drones developed by the Ryan Aeronautical Company beginning in 1951. It was one of the first jet-propelled drones, and remains one of the most widely used target drones ever built. Development Ryan Fireb ...
drones underneath its wings.


Development


Origin of the design

Since
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
many nations' air forces have investigated different means of remotely controlling aircraft. Spurred by the
1960 U-2 incident On 1 May 1960, a United States U-2 spy plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while conducting photographic aerial reconnaissance deep inside Soviet territory. The single-seat aircraft, flown by American pilot Francis Gary Power ...
, the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
gained a renewed interest in using
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s, or drones, to obtain intelligence on the
SA-2 Guideline The S-75 (Russian: С-75; NATO reporting name SA-2 Guideline) is a Soviet-designed, high-altitude air defence system, built around a surface-to-air missile with command guidance. Following its first deployment in 1957 it became one of the most w ...
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
system. Under the code names "Lightning Bug" and "Compass Cookie", Firebee
target drone A target drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, generally remote controlled, usually used in the training of anti-aircraft crews. One of the earliest drones was the British DH.82 Queen Bee, a variant of the Tiger Moth trainer aircraft operationa ...
s were modified for
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
as the
Ryan Model 147 The Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug is a jet-powered drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, produced and developed by Ryan Aeronautical from the earlier Ryan Firebee target drone series. Beginning in 1962, the Model 147 was introduced as a reconnai ...
. The drones were test flown over
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
and China after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964. While perfect for reconnaissance, the use of a ground-based radar van for command, track and control limit the combat ability of drones. The team controlling the drones was also limited to a single, stationary recovery area. To improve
range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...
and recoverability of the drones, beginning in 1957 some
C-130A The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...
s were modified to carry the drones on underwing pylons and were re-designated as GC-130, MC-130 or DC-130.


Operational use

The
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
(SAC) initially operated DC-130s assigned to its 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (100 SRW) at Davis–Monthan AFB, Arizona from 1966 through 1976. In 1976, the 100th's DC-130s and drone assets were transferred to the 432nd Tactical Drone Group of
Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 J ...
(TAC) at Davis–Monthan AFB. Concurrent with this action, the 100 SRW's U-2 aircraft assets were transferred to the
9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing The 9th Reconnaissance Wing (9 RW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command and Sixteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California. The wing is also the host unit at Beale. Its mission is t ...
(9 SRW) and merged with the latter's
SR-71 The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a Range (aeronautics), long-range, high-altitude, Mach number, Mach 3+ military strategy, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporati ...
aircraft assets at
Beale AFB Beale Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Marysville, California. It is located outside Linda, about east of the towns of Marysville and Yuba City, and about north of Sacramento. The host ...
, California. The 100 SRW was then re-designated as the
100th Air Refueling Wing The 100th Air Refueling Wing (100th ARW), nicknamed ''the Bloody Hundredth'', is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Third Air Force, United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. It is stationed at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk ...
(100 ARW) and relocated to Beale AFB, operating
KC-135 Stratotanker The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpo ...
aircraft, until its later reassignment to its current home of
RAF Mildenhall Royal Air Force Mildenhall or RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as a Royal Air Force station, it primarily supports United States Air Force (USAF) operations, and ...
, United Kingdom. In the drone carrier role, target or strike (weapons carrier) drones were carried on two pylons located under each wing of the DC-130: one between the engines and one outboard of the engines. This allowed the DC-130 to carry and control four drones simultaneously. Strike drones were never deployed operationally and only reconnaissance and electric warfare drone types were used in the field. DC-130s could launch, track and control the drones. The aircraft contained two launch stations (one for each drone) from which all systems on the drone were activated and checked. From those stations the engines were started, run through their checks and stabilized at the correct power setting for launch. A two-man station, just aft of the flight compartment, contained all the tracking and control functions. Instruments displayed all data transmitted from the drone—such as heading, speed, altitude, power setting and flight attitudes. Navigation and tracking data were fed to a system that plotted the current position of both the drone and DC-130 on a large map board in front of the operators. The planned track of the drone was drawn on the board, which enabled the crew to immediately detect any deviation in the drone's flight path. The drone controllers monitored and recorded video data from drones equipped with television cameras and recorded any other data collected by other special-purpose drones. The DC-130 was used in both the development and proposed employment of the AQM-91A Compass Arrow in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as
Senior Prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school ye ...
, a program to develop stealthy
cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
s in 1978. Reconnaissance drones were much larger and heavier than target drones or strike drones, meaning the DC-130As could only carry one reconnaissance drone pylon under each wing. Each drone pylon was placed between the engines, replacing the auxiliary fuel tank on earlier models. When a select number of C-130E aircraft were converted to drone carriers as DC-130Es for USAF, they retained the underwing tanks and the drone pylons were installed outboard of the engines. The DC-130Es also differed from the DC-130As in having a chin radome containing a microwave guidance system in addition to the nose thimble radome which housed tracking radar. Introduction of the DC-130E significantly increased the capability and endurance of the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
DC-130 fleet. Concurrent with the USAF transition to the DC-130E, the extant DC-130As were transferred to the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
for target drone carrier and control operations in the Navy's Southern California Operating Area (SOCAL OpArea). Assigned to Fleet Composite Squadron Three (VC-3), the squadron flew missions originally from
NAS North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (NB ...
in San Diego, California and later from
NAS Point Mugu Naval Air Station Point Mugu was a United States naval air station near Oxnard, California, which operated as an independent base from 1941 to 2000, when it merged with nearby Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme to form Naval Base V ...
in Ventura County, California. The DC-130H project was tested at
Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in northern Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adjacent to ...
,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
with the 6514th Test Squadron. This aircraft was designed to carry and deploy up to four drones; it could also provide control for up to 16 drones simultaneously. With the end of the Vietnam war and consequent decline in need for combat drones, only one C-130H aircraft was converted for the project.Bowman, Martin. ''Lockheed C-130 Hercules'' (The Crowood Press, Ltd 1999).


The drones

The Q-2C/BQM-34A Firebee target drone was modified for the
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
mission and designated the AQM-34 or
Ryan Model 147 The Ryan Model 147 Lightning Bug is a jet-powered drone, or unmanned aerial vehicle, produced and developed by Ryan Aeronautical from the earlier Ryan Firebee target drone series. Beginning in 1962, the Model 147 was introduced as a reconnai ...
. Its size was increased to provide greater range and payload. For the low altitude mission,
wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
was increased to 15 feet (4.6 m) and later to 27 feet (8.2 m), but was most successful with the original 13 feet (4.0 m) wingspan. Wing spans of 27 and 33 feet (8.2 and 10.1 m) were used for the high altitude aircraft. The original 1,700
pounds-force The pound of force or pound-force (symbol: lbf, sometimes lbf,) is a unit of force used in some systems of measurement, including English Engineering units and the foot–pound–second system. Pound-force should not be confused with pound-ma ...
(7.6 kN) of engine thrust was increased to 1,920 lbf (8.5 kN) and later to 2,800 lbf (12.5 kN) for the high altitude, long range drones. Some models were equipped with wing-mounted fuel tanks to extend their range. The drones had multiple navigation systems including
inertial In classical physics and special relativity, an inertial frame of reference (also called inertial reference frame, inertial frame, inertial space, or Galilean reference frame) is a frame of reference that is not undergoing any acceleration ...
, Doppler, and
LORAN LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. It was similar to the UK's Gee system but operated at lower frequencies in order to provide an improved range u ...
. They were equipped with an analogue computer which controlled speed, altitude, heading, engine settings, sensors and recovery systems. The computer turned all sensors on and off and directed all turns, climbs, dives (as well as the rate of each) and engine power settings. Depending upon a drone's designated mission, the equipment also included: *Rivet Bounder – a system to jam the guidance signal of SAMs *TWT – a
traveling-wave tube A traveling-wave tube (TWT, pronounced "twit") or traveling-wave tube amplifier (TWTA, pronounced "tweeta") is a specialized vacuum tube that is used in electronics to amplify radio frequency (RF) signals in the microwave range. The TWT belongs t ...
to give it the
return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...
of a U-2 or even larger aircraft *CRL – a system to suppress
contrail Contrails (; short for "condensation trails") or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several miles above the Earth's surface. Contrails ar ...
s to reduce visual detection *HIDE – a system to reduce the aircraft's radar reflectivity *HEMP – a system to detect interception by enemy fighters and initiate evasive actions *HATRAC – a system for high altitude flights to detect intercept by either
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
or
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
s and take evasive actions Sensors included various cameras to satisfy the many different objectives of both low- and high-altitude
sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...
s. These could be fixed, turreted, or scanning horizon-to-horizon film cameras; some provided fine detail of specific targets while others covered large areas.
TV camera A professional video camera (often called a television camera even though its use has spread beyond television) is a high-end device for creating electronic moving images (as opposed to a movie camera, that earlier recorded the images on film). O ...
s that could be zoomed and panned were also installed. Numerous electronic receivers were built in to the drones. These were designed to intercept communications signals and transmissions of all sorts including radars, data links and ECM. The intercepted data was then transmitted to other aircraft, ground sites or satellites. Some of the receivers could be tuned by an operator in another airplane or on the ground. The function of some receivers was strictly defensive. When they detected and identified a signal as a threat, they would trigger a jamming signal, dispense
chaff Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
and/or initiate defensive maneuvers. The drones had a recovery system and receivers which permitted overriding of the mission program and flying the drone 'by hand'. The recovery sequence was triggered by the flight control computer at the preset position, unless overridden by the Drone Recovery Officer (DRO) in the control vehicle. Normally the drone was picked up by radar as it approached the recovery area and controlled by the DRO. Last minute course corrections were made as necessary and the recovery sequence triggered at the precise point to drop the drone on top of the waiting recovery helicopter. The on-board recovery system consisted of a
servomechanism In control engineering a servomechanism, usually shortened to servo, is an automatic device that uses error-sensing negative feedback to correct the action of a mechanism. On displacement-controlled applications, it usually includes a built-in ...
that shut down the engine, deployed a
drag chute A drogue parachute is a parachute designed for deployment from a rapidly-moving object. It can be used for various purposes, such as to decrease speed, to provide control and stability, or as a pilot parachute to deploy a larger parachute. V ...
(to cause the drone to nose over) and opened the main
parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
at a preset altitude. The recovery helicopter then flew over the main chute engaging a reinforced catch chute with a set of trailing hooks attached to an internal winch. The drone was then
winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attache ...
ed up to just below the recovery helicopter and flown back to base. An alternative method of recovery allowed the drone to reach the ground under the main chute. On ground impact a sensor operated a charge that severed the chute risers allowing the drone to be recovered. This method had a higher likelihood of damage and was not preferred. The DC-130 program was eventually discontinued in the early 2000s, as it was deemed too expensive to support. Launching a single drone required the maintenance and support for the DC-130, the drones, and (unless the drone was permanently expended during a live-fire missile shoot) the drone recovery helicopters such as USN
SH-3 The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engi ...
or USAF
CH-3E The Sikorsky S-61R is a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The S-61R served in the United States A ...
and
CH-53 The CH-53 Sea Stallion (Sikorsky S-65) is an American family of heavy-lift transport helicopters designed and built by the American manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was originally developed in response to a request from the United States ...
. At the outset of the
2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
, a U.S. Navy-flown DC-130 dropped three modified Firebee target drones borrowed from the U.S. Air Force. Two other drones were ground-launched. The unmanned aircraft flew over
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
spooling out clouds of chaff until they ran out of fuel and crashed; they led the flights of
Tomahawk cruise missile The Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Under contract fr ...
s which devastated Baghdad.


Operators

; *
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
*
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...


Specifications

* Crew: Air Force: 6 officers: pilot, co-pilot, navigator, remote control officer, and 2 launch control officers, and 2 enlisted: flight engineer and ART (airborne radar technician); total USAF crew of eight.


See also


References


External links

{{USAF transports C-130, D 1960s United States special-purpose aircraft Four-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Four-engined turboprop aircraft
DC-130 The Lockheed DC-130 was a variant of the C-130 Hercules, designed for drone control. It could carry four Ryan Firebee drones underneath its wings. Development Origin of the design Since World War I many nations' air forces have investigated ...