Le Bourget, France Lockheed Martin is now offering three variants of its SC-130J Sea Herc maritime patrol model, including one that would offer full-up anti-submarine capability for nations wanting to move beyond their legacy P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, but not invest in Boeing’s P-8. “We see that there is a market out there that is emerging” for that, said Lockheed Martin executive Jack Crisler here during a June 17 briefing on the first day of the 50th Paris Air Show. This represents potential sales of some 50 to 60 airplanes worldwide, he said. Lockheed Martin is going through trade studies on this Sea Herc version and working with several nations to define their common requirements, said Crisler. “If you look at the time on station that you get with the C-130J, it is very ‘P-3-esque,'” he added. The basic-level Sea Herc offers coast guard-like maritime patrol capability, said Crisler, noting that the company is in negotiations with two prospective customers on this version. The second-level Sea Herc adds surface strike capability—with missiles like Harpoon or Hellfire—for over-land and/or at-sea scenarios, he said. (See also C-130J Goes Commercial for more coverage of Crisler’s presentation.)
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III chaired a China-focused military briefing Oct. 27, part of a biweekly series of briefings with senior military commanders about China’s growing threat in the wake of an orbital hypersonic weapon test that elicited public worries from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “What we…