The US Air Force took delivery of the first of 37 MC-12W Project Liberty ISR aircraft at Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita on Apr. 8. It's a green aircraft, and still has to have its sensors and consoles installed at L-3 Integrated Systems in Waco, so the Air Force is running a bit behind its aggressive schedule to deploy the first aircraft by mid-April, just 9 months after launching Project Liberty in response to Defense Secretary Robert Gates' call for an ISR surge in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Chart: US Air Force
Th MC-12W is the latest special-mission modification of the twin-turboprop Beechcraft King Air - the latest FLKA (Funny Looking King Air) as Bill calls them. The MC-12Ws will be a mix of new-build and low-time used aircraft, the first eight based on the cooking King Air 350 and the remaining 29 on the high gross-weight King Air 350ER, which carries more fuel, giving 4-5 hours on station.
The aircraft will augment Predator and Reaper UAVs in providing ISR coverage in theater and are being equipped with a belly pod housing an L-3 Wescam electro-optical/infrared full-motion video sensor and antennas for a classified signals intelligence system. Also being fitted are datalinks and satellite communications; Blue Force tracker; and self-protection suite. The aircraft will carry two mission system operators in addition to the pilot and copilot.
All but six of the MC-21Ws are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2009. The last six are expected to be funded by the FY2009 war supplemental. The Air Force plans to equip two deployed squadrons with 15 aircraft each and a US-based training unit with seven MC-12Ws. Aircraft and crews will deploy on six month rotations.
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