Boeing: C-130 Plan on Schedule

Boeing said it is on schedule with the second C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) aircraft. The aircraft is slated for its first flight in March, Boeing said. The C-130 AMP was initiated to simplify multiple C-130 configurations in the U.S. Air Force fleet. Awarded in 2001, the C-130 AMP program is more than 60 percent through the design and development phase, which consolidates 14 different mission design series into one common core avionics suites for combat delivery. The first C-130H aircraft to be modified with an advanced avionics suite is ahead of its planned ground and flight test programs, which began at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Calif., last year on Nov. 28. Boeing said the aircraft, which is currently undergoing modifications in San Antonio, is 40 percent below the cost of the first C-130 AMP aircraft, an H2 model, which was delivered to the U.S. Air Force last November.