The first Turk Hava Kuvvetleri (THK – Turkish Air Force) Hercules to be modernised with new avionics under the Erciyes programme, C-130E 13188, seen during its hand-over ceremony at TAI’s facilities in Ankara on August 8.
TURKISH AEROSPACE Industries (TAI) has delivered the first Türk Hava Kuvvetleri (THK – Turkish Air Force) C-130 Hercules to be modernised under the Erciyes programme. The aircraft, C-130E 13188, was officially handed over to the THK during a ceremony at TAI’s facilities in Ankara on August 8.
The modernisation programme covers all 19 Hercules in the Turkish fleet, comprising six C-130Bs and 13 C-130Es. A contract for the upgrade was originally signed between Turkey’s Savunma Sanayii Müsteşarlığı (SSM – Undersecretariat for Defence Industries) and TAI in December 2006. This only covered the six C-130Bs and seven C-130Es that were in service at the time, but following the acquisition of a further six C-130Es from the Royal Saudi Air Force in 2010, these were also added to the modernisation programme.
The work primarily involves an avionics upgrade in order to comply with GATM, RVSM and CAT-II ILS requirements. The new avionic display and lighting system is also fully night-vision compatible. It includes a glass cockpit with four multi-function displays, two control display units and two multi-mission computers.
Within the scope of the Erciyes avionics modernisation programme, TAI has been responsible for design, integration test and check-out of the system on two prototypes and will deliver kits for the remaining 17 aircraft. Installation on the latter will be undertaken by the THK’s 2nd Air Supply and Maintenance Centre Command at Kayseri. TAI will also be responsible for post-delivery support of the whole system. AFD-Dave Allport
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