USCG receives new Minotaur-equipped HC-130J
The US Coast Guard (USCG) has taken delivery of a new HC-130J equipped with the Minotaur mission system suite.
This is the first HC-130J outfitted with the Minotaur system from baseline configuration.
The Minotaur mission system integrates imagery and data from sensors, radar, C4I and ISR equipment that allows aircrew to track targets and transmit information to shore and surface units.
The aircraft will join other HC-130Js operating out of Elizabeth City, North Carolina, including the Minotaur prototype.
Four HC-130Js are currently undergoing the integration process of which three are undergoing retrofits from the legacy system; the fourth entered the integration process directly after production.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
SOF Week 2026: US Navy USV completes record eight-day autonomous mission
The MARTAC T38 Devil Ray USV has set a new endurance benchmark as the US Navy pushes deeper into autonomous maritime warfare.
-
UK Royal Navy dock build question remains open ahead of Programme Euston tender
The UK MoD’s Programme Euston floating dry dock tender has exposed a question about the UK’s naval industrial base: does Britain still have the depth to sustain its own deterrent without foreign intervention.
-
A closer look at the US Navy’s $268 billion investment in shipbuilding by 2031
The recently released USN 2026 Shipbuilding Plan anticipates the procurement of 185 crewed and uncrewed platforms in the next five years.
-
SAHA 2026: Turkey markets modular undersea systems to European buyers
Turkey’s defence industry is pushing a class of platform and building an entire philosophy of cost-imposition around it.
-
STM’s European wins strengthen Turkey’s naval credibility on the continent
Turkish defence and engineering company STM is attempting to challenge Europe’s established naval primes by winning contracts from Portugal to Pakistan – with a business model built on working in any shipyard in the world.