U.S. Coast Guard to convert new cargo planes into surveillance aircraft

The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking companies capable of converting new C-130J transport aircraft into HC-130J surveillance planes, part of a program that will eventually cover 28 Coast Guard aircraft and 12 more for Customs and Border Protection.

The Coast Guard’s Office of Aviation Acquisition posted a request for information on August 14, asking industry for market research ahead of a future solicitation. Responses are due September 17. The notice covers what the service calls “missionization,” the process of installing its Minotaur Mission System Suite, known as MSS+, onto baseline C-130J aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. Once the system is installed, the aircraft is redesignated an HC-130J.

The upcoming contract covers a base of four aircraft, three for the Coast Guard and one for Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations, with options for three more Coast Guard aircraft and five more CBP aircraft. The effort is a continuation of an existing missionization program and will begin with the Coast Guard’s 23rd HC-130J, according to the RFI. Work is expected to start in fiscal year 2030, with the four base aircraft ready for induction that year, and continued at a rate of one to two additional aircraft per year depending on funding.

A draft performance work statement attached to the RFI lays out the scope of the work in detail. The MSS+ package includes twin Minotaur Processors that serve as the system’s computational hub, two mission system operator stations installed on the flight deck, a turret-mounted high-definition electro-optical and forward-looking infrared sensor, and a multi-mode radar mounted in a radome under the aircraft’s belly, currently identified in program documents as the EL/M-2022A. The suite also adds a direction finder system, an automatic identification system transponder for tracking vessels, and a communications package built around two high-frequency radios, two RT-7000 radios and two ARC-210 radios capable of satellite communication.

The draft work statement also calls for installing a next-generation commercial satellite communications system built around SpaceX’s Starshield network, listed as an option in the current effort. The specification calls for a Starshield Aero Terminal Kit, Block 4 or higher, including an antenna, power supply, mounting tray and shell assembly, along with a minimum of 1 terabyte of monthly data service.

The Coast Guard currently supplies the multi-mode radar as government-furnished equipment. The RFI asks industry whether shifting that radar to contractor-furnished equipment would create obstacles, noting that the radar’s lead time may not support the timelines the Coast Guard is planning between contract award and aircraft induction.

The draft schedule attached to the RFI lists estimated induction and delivery windows for aircraft under the follow-on contract, running from an October 2029 induction for the first Coast Guard tail number through a 2037 to 2038 window for a sixth CBP aircraft under the contract’s later options. The RFI states the overall period of performance would run from April 2028, allowing time to order long-lead parts, through March 2038. The Coast Guard said it does not expect the period of performance to exceed 10 years and expects each individual aircraft modification to take no more than 12 months from induction.

The notice states that a formal solicitation may follow later this year based on feedback from the RFI, and that companies that do not respond may not be considered likely offerors if the service later decides to limit competition. Andrew Gordon and Mary Case are listed as points of contact for the notice.