Check Out The Crazy Radar That Lies Beneath The MC-130H Combat Talon II's Gonzo Nose [2/3] - MC-130H Combat Talon II.png (1/1)

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The U.S. Air Force's 1st Special Operations Wing has released video footage of
various routine maintenance tasks on an MC-130H Combat Talon II special
operations transport that includes a look inside the aircraft's giant nose at
its powerful AN/APQ-170 radar. The AN/APQ-170 is the reason for the MC-130H's
unique snout, which makes it quickly distinguishable from other C-130 variants.
It's also offers robust terrain-following and terrain avoidance capabilities
that all but two of the newer MC-130J Commando II's lack, a glaring issue the
War Zone has reported on in detail in the past, which is why the Combat Talon
IIs remains in service at all nearly a decade after the type's original sunset
date.

The video, which the 1st Special Operations Wing posted on the Defense Visual
Information Distribution Service website on Dec. 30, 2019, shows members of the
901st Special Operations Maintenance Squadron working on the AN/APQ-170 radar,
navigation system, and communications equipment on an MC-130H, serial number
89-0282, at Hurlburt Field in Florida. The 901st's specific job is to train
maintenance personnel to work on the Combat Talon IIs, 18 of which remain in
service. Those aircraft are assigned to the 15th Special Operations Squadron, an
operational unit, and the 19th Special Operations Squadron, which is responsible
for training new aircrews for MC-130H and J models, as well as AC-130 gunship
variants.

The highlight of the clip is definitely seeing MC-130H's nose radome open, which
is done by unhooking various latches and then sliding it forward along an
integral rail assembly inside.

https://youtu.be/oG1d8ZmpIuM

The entire nose assembly is massive compared to one found on a standard C-130H
Hercules airlifter, or any other cargo-carrying C-130 variant for that matter,
and is much bigger even than the one on its predecessor, the MC-130E Combat
Talon. The Combat Talon was the Air Force's first dedicated special operations
transport variant of the venerable C-130.

Even with the extra room, the AN/APQ-170 fits snugly inside. The radar has seen
a number of upgrades and modifications to improve its performance and
reliability, but the general configuration remains largely the same. The system
includes an X-band array mounted on top of two oscillating Ku-band arrays. As a
mechanically scanned radar, the pair of dishes moving back and forth below helps
the entire system scan faster than it would with just a single array. In the
video clip, the personnel from the 901st are seen preparing to replace the
X-band component.



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