Maintainers have removed the four, eight-bladed NP-2000 propellers that had been fitted to a C-130 of the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing since 2007 as part of an evaluation at Edwards AFB, Calif. Wing airmen briefly returned the C-130 to the unit’s home in Cheyenne for the propellers’ removal. USAF testers have used this Hercules since 2005 to assess the performance of a modernized electronic propeller control system and the NP-2000s. Wing airmen found the C-130 to be more powerful, efficient, quieter, and easier to maintain with the NP-2000s. The aircraft will return to Edwards for the evaluation’s final stage to gather performance data on the C-130’s baseline propellers to compare with NP-2000 data. That testing should be completed by June. The wing’s C-130 is retaining the EPCS. (Cheyenne report by 1st Lt. Christian Venhuizen)
The Air Force is spending heavily on F-22 improvements through the end of the decade, suggesting it may not retire the jet in 2030 as it previously planned. New sensors, fuel tanks, communications, and electronic warfare systems are among the upgrades that comprise the package.