Lockheed Martin announced that it will begin offering a low-cost variant of the C-130J early next year that is specifically designed for international customers with lower budgets and less intensive mission needs. With a “significantly lower price,” the new C-130XJ “will have growth capability, post delivery,” Lockheed spokesman Peter Simmons told the Daily Report. Optimized for “low-threat” movement of personnel and supplies, or missions utilizing modular kits for activities like firefighting or search and rescue, the XJ model “retains all the provisions necessary to fully configure the aircraft for combat operations should the need arise,” noted Simmons. Since the C-130XJ uses the same power plant and avionics as the C-130J, Lockheed said it could offer a similar package based on the stretched C-130J-30, if requested. The Enhanced Cargo Handling System is the only feature that could not be retrofitted on the XJ, said Simmons. Lockheed also is developing a “next-generation” Hercules, dubbed C-130NG, that would be available around 2030 and offer “increased fuel efficiency and reduced overall operating costs,” he said.
The Air Force will look to the nation’s historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in a closed solicitation that will create the Air Force's first university-affiliated research center (UARC), Air Force leaders said. The center will study tactical autonomy. The DAF will select the center's location from one of 11…