Marshall Aerospace completes RNALF's C-130 fleet upgrade
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Above: Marshall Aerospace completes a four-aircraft modification and upgrade programme for the Royal Netherlands Air Force .
The programmes included the removal of legacy/redundant systems and the integration of commercial off-the-shelf equipment plus solutions developed specifically for the aircraft in order to meet the RNLAF’s requirements. For example, the CUP includes a Communications, Navigation and Surveillance System for Air Traffic Management (CNS-ATM) which will enable the aircraft to fly in civil airspace without prior approval from the Civil Aviation Authority. Also, the revamped cockpits are now night vision goggle compatible.
The Commander of the RNLAF, Lieutenant General Alexander Schnitger, said: “Marshall Aerospace’s completion of the work on the fourth aircraft marks an important milestone in upgrading the capabilities of our fleet of C-130Hs.”
Steve Fitz-Gerald, CEO of Marshall Aerospace, said: “We’re delighted to have completed this programme and to have provided the Royal Netherlands Air Force with possibly the most modern and most capable C-130Hs in the world.”
Worthy of note, is that two of the aircraft were EC-130Qs (based on the H model) which had been used by the US Navy for Maritime Electronic Warfare operations before being put into storage in Tucson, Arizona. The aircraft were dismantled and transported to Cambridge where Marshall Aerospace was responsible for their restoration to standard H models and subsequently the CUP/CSIMP.
