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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #367 OCTOBER 2018 // 17

US COAST Guard Air

Station (CGAS) Kodiak,

Alaska, has taken delivery of

its first HC-130J long-range

surveillance aircraft. The

aircraft, serial number 2009,

arrived at Kodiak on August

21. It had previously been
    assigned to CGAS Elizabeth
    City, North Carolina, and
    still carried Elizabeth
    City titles on arrival.
    This aircraft is the first with
    the new Minotaur mission

system suite to be stationed

outside of Elizabeth City

and will greatly enhance the

US Coast Guard’s (USCG’s)

capabilities at Kodiak.

Four additional HC-130Js

are due to be delivered to

Kodiak next year to bring

the station up to its full

complement. These will

progressively replace the

five current older model

HC-130Hs, which will

depart as the new aircraft

arrive. These older aircraft

will either be used to fill

capability gaps in the USCG

HC-130H fleet elsewhere

or be stripped for spares

to support the remainder

of the fleet. Dave Allport

First HC-130J for CGAS Kodiak

The fi rst HC-130J for CGAS Kodiak, 2009, is welcomed by a water cannon salute. USCG/Petty Officer 1st Class Jonathan Harper

Above: A USMC RQ-7B Shadow assigned to VMU-3 prepares to launch on July 29 to support

the amphibious landing demonstration as part of RIMPAC at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. This

was the fi nal fl ight of the type in USMC service. USMC/Sgt Jesus Sepulveda Torres

EXERCISE RIM of the

Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018

marked the final operations

of the RQ-7B Shadow

unmanned aerial system in

US Marine Corps (USMC)

service. The final flight

took place during the

RIMPAC culmination event

at Pyramid Rock Beach,

Hawaii, on July 29.

Marine Unmanned Aerial

Vehicle Squadron (VMU)

3 ‘Phantoms’, based at

Marine Corps Base Hawaii,

Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, was

the last remaining unit

operating the Shadow. All

other USMC UAV squadrons

have already transitioned

to the RQ-21A Blackjack.

The RQ-21A is smaller

and lighter than its

predecessor, while having

the added advantage that

it can be launched from

the San Antonio-class

amphibious transport dock

ships to support marine

expeditionary units. In

addition, a Blackjack

detachment needs only

21 personnel to support

it, whereas the Shadow

required around 70

marines. Dave Allport

USMC retires fi nal RQ-7B Shadows

Last AH-1W overhaul at Camp Pendleton

US NAVY officials

announced on July 26

that the final AH-1W had

begun the Integrated

Maintenance Program (IMP)

at the Fleet Readiness

Center Southwest (FRCSW)

site in Camp Pendleton,

California. The helicopter,

162544 ‘WR-26’ from the

resident Marine Light Attack

Helicopter Squadron 775

(HMLA-775) ‘Coyotes’, was

induced into the IMP at the

base on July 18. It was

scheduled for completion

and return to the squadron

by the end of September.

As the AH-1W is being

progressively replaced by

the new AH-1Z Viper, there

will be no further IMP work

on the AH-1W variant. The

IMP was developed to keep

the aircraft mission-ready

by targeting the integrity of

the airframe through two

assessment processes:

Planned Maintenance

Interval-1 (PMI-1) and

PMI-2. PMI-1 takes place

every 50 days and involves

disassembling the aircraft for

inspection and repair, while

PMI-2 occurs every 78 days,

with similar inspections, but

also including particle media

blasting and repaint. The

AH-1W ISRs have averaged

around 140 per year.

Meanwhile, FRCSW is

getting to grips with similar

IMP procedures on the new

AH-1Z and UH-1Y. The unit

expects to output 40-50 of

these helicopters annually

within the next couple of

years. Dave Allport

Above: Stripped USMC AH-1W Super Cobra 162544 ‘WR-26’ from HMLA-775 awaits further processing outside the FRCSW

hangar at Camp Pendleton. US Navy

15-18 USNews AFM Oct2018.indd 17 10/09/2018 14:35: