10.03.2023, 11:56
Zitat:USSOCOM’s AFSOC Updates On The MC-130J Floatplane’s Statushttps://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/202...es-status/
Naval News reached out to the U.S. Air Force’s Special Operations Command (AFSOC) in February 2023 for an update on the MC-130J amphibious floatplane conversion kit. This add-on pontoon kit (pictured above) is meant to convert existing AFSOC MC-130Js and give them the capability to take off and land on land and water. [...]
Details on the MAC have been scarce since 2021 with USSOCOM and AFSOC providing no additional graphics or information. When queried by Naval News, USSOCOM Public Affairs said that the MAC is not an official Program of Record unlike the DARPA “Liberty Lifter” and no contract exists to construct anything. USSOCOM did admit that the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s ShinMaywa Industries US-2, a four-engine propeller seaplane with the primary role of Search and Rescue (SAR), contingency operations, and Humanitarian Disaster Relief, was market researched as a possible contender. However, the Japanese ShinMaywa US-2 lacks a spacious cargo hold and a rear cargo ramp, ingress and egress being through a fuselage side door.
Schneemann