Air Force Special Operations Command plans to demonstrate an amphibious version of the MC-130J Hercules by the end of next year, AFSOC’s commander told reporters Monday morning at the Air Force Association convention.
The variant of the MC-130J capable of landing on water the aircraft would be better equipped for a wider breadth of missions as the Pentagon shifts focus to littoral regions, per a Sept. 14 statement. The development has been dubbed the MC-130J Amphibious Capability, or MAC.
The latest rendered illustrations of the proposed model feature large, removable floats that would allow the aircraft to take off and land on both bodies of water and runway independent locations. In allowing significantly greater to non-traditional takeoff and landing areas, MAC would also help curtail aircraft vulnerability by avoiding easily-targetable locations.
The Air Force had previously announced it’s intention to develop the water-capable aircraft at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in May of this year, as reported by The Drive in May. Though the ept. 14 AFSOC update doesn’t provide a significant amount more detail than May’s announcement, it does note that a task force of unspecified collaborators are working with AFSOC and the Air Force Research Lab’s Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation directorate to create a prototype. The Air Force estimates an operational capability demonstration could come in as little as 17 months.