- About Us
- Programs
- Transitioning to the Fleet
- Research, Development, Test and Evaluation
- International Acquisition
- Newsroom
- Delivery Map
- Resources
- Doing Business
- Contact Us
Security Levels
News Releases
Home > News Releases > News 2016
Acquisition Update: Coast Guard Begins HC-130J Minotaur Prototype In-Flight Testing
June 21, 2016
Don Rudat, aviation sensors and C4ISR branch chief at Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama, and Chief Warrant Officer Robert Sunderland, technical lead and project officer for mission systems in aviation acquisition, demonstrate the new workstation configuration and graphics capabilities on the HC-130J prototype outfitted with Minotaur. The new workstations offer improved presentation of video, flight data and other sensor information. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Loretta Haring.
The Coast Guard initiated in-flight testing of an HC-130J Super Hercules outfitted with the Minotaur Mission Systems Suite at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, June 8.
The Minotaur prototype, CGNR 2003, flew to the Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, where it will spend several weeks conducting more tests and undergoing maintenance and configuration updates that can be incorporated into the HC-130Js’ production process. CGNR 2003 will return to Naval Air Station Patuxent River in mid-July for requirements and performance testing through the end of the year.
Minotaur is mission system software architecture developed by the Navy and in use across multiple Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security platforms. Accompanying the integration of Minotaur were upgrades to the aircraft’s radar software, electro-optical/infrared system and other sensors that provide significantly improved surveillance graphics capabilities, including the ability to zoom in on and photograph vessels of interest while on patrol. With the Minotaur integration, CGNR 2003 is able to receive traffic and weather broadcasts and information about surface vessels and aircraft using Automatic Identification System and Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast technology, which the Federal Aviation Administration will require on all aircraft operating within certain airspace to use by 2020.
CGNR 2003 also features other configuration upgrades, including an additional screen per workstation, which improve presentation of video, flight data and other sensor information.
The Coast Guard is also integrating Minotaur into its HC-144 Ocean Sentry medium range surveillance aircraft fleet and will begin work on the HC-144B Minotaur prototype in mid-July.
For more information: HC-130J Long Range Surveillance Aircraft program page