PAF to Upgrade C-130 Aircraft With Advanced Flight Systems

Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is looking to upgrade its C-130 aircraft with new flight systems.  The new flight systems will give the C-130s advanced features such as better navigational capabilities in severe weather conditions, advanced communication systems and modern aviation features.

Rockwell Collins’ Flight2 systems will be used for this purpose, aiding the C-130s that are often used as for transporting other military equipment and personnel in large amounts.

PAF will be using the new flight systems for 11 C-130E and 5 C-130B aircrafts through US government’s foreign military sales office.

What’s New

The Flight2 system will feature new flight displays along with a full glass cockpit. The system will also include:

• Required Navigation Performance (RNP)
• Area Navigation (RNAV)
• High Altitude Release Point ( precision airdrop software)
• Computed Air Release Point (also airdrop software)
• Modern digital autopilot
• VHF (communication systems)
• HF (communication systems)
• SATCOM (communication systems)
• Navigation sensors
• Weather radar,
• Traffic collision avoidance system,
• Terrain awareness and warning system
• Digital map

Will Be Ready By 2020

This will allow the C-130s to meet the current navigation, communication, surveillance and air space management requirements. These upgrades are expected to be completed by 2020.

Rockwell Collins will also be training the personnel for using the new flight systems and will provide technical support as well. Flight manuals, checklists and maintenance equipment will be included as well.

AESA Radars

PAF is actively involved in other ventures as well. One of them is the development of  “Active Electronically Scanned Array” radars, also known as AESA radars.

Read More: Pakistan to Produce Anti Jamming AESA Radars Domestically: PAF

What makes these radars unique is that they can avoid jamming measures. They include several transceiver modules, or “mini radars” so to speak, each of them transmitting/receiving at its own frequency. This allows them to counteract traditional digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) based jammers which focus on and jam a single frequency.