Lockheed DC-130

American military UAV carrier

The Lockheed DC 130 is a variant of the C 130 Hercules modified for drone control. It can carry four Ryan Firebee drones underneath its wings.

Since World War I, many nations' air forces have investigated different means of remotely controlling aircraft. Spurred by the 1960 U 2 incident, the United States Air Force gained a renewed interest in using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), or drones, to obtain intelligence on the SA 2 Guideline surface to air missile system. Under the code names "Lightning Bug" and "Compass Cookie", Firebee target drones were modified for reconnaissance as the Ryan Model 147. The drones were test flown over North Korea and China after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964. While perfect for reconnaissance, the use of a ground based radar van for command, track and control limit the combat ability of drones. The team controlling the drones was also limited to a single, stationary recovery area. To improve range and recoverability of the drones, beginning in 1957 some C 130As were modified to carry the drones on underwing pylons and were re designated as GC 130, MC 130 or DC 130.

The Strategic Air Command (SAC) initially operated DC 130s assigned to its 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (100 SRW) at Davis–Monthan AFB, Arizona from 1966 through 1976. In 1976, the 100th's DC 130s and drone assets were transferred to the 432nd Tactical Drone Group of Tactical Air Command (TAC) at Davis–Monthan AFB. Concurrent with this action, the 100 SRW's U 2 aircraft assets were transferred to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (9 SRW) and merged with the latter's SR 71 aircraft assets at Beale AFB, California. The 100 SRW was then re designated as the 100th Air Refueling Wing (100 ARW) and relocated to Beale AFB, operating KC 135 Stratotanker aircraft, until its later reassignment to its current home of RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom. In the drone carrier role, target or strike (weapons carrier) drones were carried on two pylons located under each wing of the DC 130: one between the engines and one outboard of the engines. This allowed the DC 130 to carry and control four drones simultaneously. Strike drones were never deployed operationally and only reconnaissance and electric warfare drone types were used in the field. DC 130s could launch, track and control the drones. The aircraft contained two launch stations (one for each drone) from which all systems on the drone were activated and checked. From those stations the engines were started, run through their checks and stabilized at the correct power setting for launch. A two man station, just aft of the flight compartment, contained all the tracking and control functions. Instruments displayed all data transmitted from the drone—such as heading, speed, altitude, power setting and flight attitudes. Navigation and tracking data were fed to a system that plotted the current position of both the drone and DC 130 on a large map board in front of the operators. The planned track of the drone was drawn on the board, which enabled the crew to immediately detect any deviation in the drone's flight path. The drone controllers monitored and recorded video data from drones equipped with television cameras and recorded any other data collected by other special purpose drones. The DC 130 was used in both the development and proposed employment of the AQM 91A Compass Arrow in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as well as Senior Prom, a program to develop stealthy cruise missiles in 1978. Reconnaissance drones were much larger and heavier than target drones or strike drones, meaning the DC 130As could only carry one reconnaissance drone pylon under each wing. Each drone pylon was placed between the engines, replacing the auxiliary fuel tank on earlier models. When a select number of C 130E aircraft were converted to drone carriers as DC 130Es for USAF, they retained the underwing tanks and the drone pylons were installed outboard of the engines. The DC 130Es also differed from the DC 130As in having a chin radome containing a microwave guidance system in addition to the nose thimble radome which housed tracking radar. Introduction of the DC 130E significantly increased the capability and endurance of the U. S. Air Force DC 130 fleet. Concurrent with the USAF transition to the DC 130E, the extant DC 130As were transferred to the U. S. Navy for target drone carrier and control operations in the Navy's Southern California Operating Area (SOCAL OpArea). Assigned to Fleet Composite Squadron Three (VC 3), the squadron flew missions originally from NAS North Island in San Diego, California and later from NAS Point Mugu in Ventura County, California. The DC 130H project was tested at Hill Air Force Base, Utah with the 6514th Test Squadron. This aircraft was designed to carry and deploy up to four drones; it could also provide control for up to 16 drones simultaneously. With the end of the Vietnam war and consequent decline in need for combat drones, only one C 130H aircraft was converted for the project.