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Armed tankers about ready to deploy

The first Marine KC-130J tanker armed with Hellfire missiles and sophisticated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance gear should be ready to deploy this summer, officials said.

Known as Harvest Hawk, the upgraded KC-130J will undergo weapons tests in May at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, Calif., having wrapped up evaluations of its Target Sight System, or TSS, on April 10 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

The TSS has a wide field-of-view and forward-looking infrared multisensors that beam images to two computer monitors inside the aircraft, allowing operators to pinpoint long-range targets. The same sensor will be mounted on the new AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter, meaning Marines will be able to relay information across aviation platforms in battle, officials said.

“We just want to make sure the system is safe. We did everything that we could in phase one that didn’t have to do with the weapons range,” said Doug Dawson, principal deputy program manager for the tactical airlift adversary and support programs at Naval Air Systems Command.

The China Lake tests are expected to last about three weeks, during which officials will fire the tanker’s Hellfire missiles at stationary targets, such as old tanks and trucks, Dawson said.

As part of the Harvest Hawk kit, NavAir also plans to test and deploy the Standoff Precision Guided Munition system. Originally developed by U.S. Special Operations Command, the standalone system will be used to drop up to 10 laser-guided bombs off the KC-130J Harvest Hawk’s ramp.

Instructors from the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., also will test the bird’s new capabilities sometime in the next few months, officials said.

The Corps wants to procure nine kits, with three going to each of the three active-duty KC-130J squadrons. The two Reserve squadrons, which have yet to upgrade to J models, will not receive kits, but they will have the opportunity to train on and use the equipment if future missions require it.

Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, based at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., will receive the first three kits as well as the first modified aircraft to support the kits.