USCG receives Minotaur missionised HC-130J
The US Coast Guard (USCG) has received a HC-130J Super Hercules long range surveillance aircraft equipped with the Minotaur mission system suite at Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The aircraft, CGNR 2006, is the first in the service’s fleet that includes a multi-function control display unit specifically designed by the coast guard – with support from the US Navy and Johns Hopkins University – to control mission system radios, better interact with the Minotaur software, eliminate technical issues and reduce obsolescence cost.
Minotaur integrates imagery and data from multiple aircraft sensor streams, allowing operators to track targets and transmit information to other platforms and units.
The USCG currently has 15 HC-130J aircraft in either operational use or active production. In addition to continued Minotaur missionisation efforts on new aircraft, the USCG also plans to do a block upgrade for all its HC-130J aircraft.
L3 Technologies is incorporating Minotaur into both new and existing coast guard HC-130J aircraft under a five-year contract.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system]()
MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system
MARSOC is procuring the Shark Marine Dive Tablet 2 to address a longstanding combat diver navigation capability gap, improving underwater positioning, situational awareness and integration with existing diver propulsion vehicles.
-
![SOF Week 2026: NSW expands commercial UxS push to maritime platforms as USASOC advances FPV drone effort]()
SOF Week 2026: NSW expands commercial UxS push to maritime platforms as USASOC advances FPV drone effort
The US Army Special Operations Command and Naval Special Warfare are accelerating efforts to integrate commercial uncrewed systems, with NSW broadening its solicitation to include USVs and UUVs alongside new requirements for ISR, kinetic operations and swarm technologies.
-
![SOF Week 2026: US Navy USV completes record eight-day autonomous mission]()
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]()
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]()
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.
