Above right:
The Harvest
HAWK Plus will
accommodate
the AGM-114s on a
new outer pylon,
also enabling the
KC-130J to fl y
with two refueling
pods.
Below: A fi ne shot
of two KC-130Js
fl ying over the
town of Beaufort
as they return
to MCAS Cherry
Point.in 2006 following the introduction of
the J-model Hercules. This was largely
due to the reduction of crew members
needed to operate the new variant —
extensive use of on-board computers
meant that the ight mechanic, radio
operator and loadmaster roles could be
combined into one position, known as
the crewmaster.
The advent of a simulator-based
training curriculum saw training
being allocated to a eet replacement
detachment (FRD) at Cherry Point. Here
the pilots go through a four-month
syllabus before joining the squadron.Running the FRD is the responsibly
of Lt Col Jared ‘Stoner’ Stone, the unit’s
commanding o cer since 2016. ‘We
are responsible for two things,’ he says:
‘the initial training for pilots and aircrew
for the KC-130J community, and for
all of the operational NATOPS [naval
air training and operating procedures
standardization] publications.’ Part of the
training is an in-depth evaluation of a
recruit’s understanding of NATOPS for their
forthcoming role. For pilots, this includes
ve lengthy check ights.
Right now Stone sends his enlisted
students to Little Rock, Arkansas, for
the basic loadmaster course with the air
force. Initial pilot training is carried out at
Pensacola in Florida and Corpus Christi
in Texas followed by a ve-month-long
syllabus at Cherry Point. The latter consists
of a lot of academic and simulator work.
‘We are very cost-e ective because of
how much is done in the simulator. It
costs us about $250 to run the simulator
for an hour.
‘We pair pilots up for training and
they usually do four-hour blocks in the
simulator, with two hours in the left
seat and two in the right. The NATOPS
ights take about a week, with ve two-
hour sorties — each one getting more
complicated before the nal check ride.’
Burks adds, ‘We found some e ciencies
by keeping the new pilots at the FRD toWeapons Kit (HAWK) Plus (HH+) program.
This is an upgrade of the original Harvest
HAWK roll-on, roll-o precision strike
package weapons system. It essentially
relocates the targeting sight sensor (TSS)
from an underwing external fuel tank to
under the aircraft’s nose. This frees up a
refueling point and returns the aircraft
to being a two-point tanker. It also
adds new weapons including the new
AGM-114P4 and P4A Hell re, which will be
accommodated on a new pylon.
Burks has two Harvest HAWK-con gured
‘birds’ in his squadron. ‘With the Harvest
HAWK Plus we will get a lot of our
capabilities back because right now we
have three di erent con gurations. We
have a cargo frame where we have our
external tanks and two refueling hoses.
Then we have a tanker frame that will
give us 23,000lb of fuel more by taking
out the cargo and putting in the fuel tank.
Then we have Harvest HAWK, which puts
us down to one refueling hose and no
externals because the TSS eyeball is in
one of the externals. With Harvest HAWK
Plus we get both hoses and both tank
externals back.’The constant need
for training
Aircrew training was provided by the
eet replacement squadron (FRS) at
Cherry Point until it was disbandedUNIT REPORT // VMGR-252
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