Editing Lockheed EC-130 (section)

{{Short description|1975 electronic warfare aircraft series by Lockheed}}
{{Redirect|EC-130|the Eurocopter helicopter|Eurocopter EC130|the Friden desktop electronic calculator|Friden EC-130}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = EC-130
| image = File:EC-130J Commando Solo- 193rd.jpg
| caption = The EC-130J Commando Solo with its distinctive tail antenna.
| type = Airborne Communications Jamming (EC-130H)<br/>Psychological and Information Operations (EC-130J)<br/>Airborne Command and Communications post [[TACAMO]] (EC-130Q)
| manufacturer = [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed Aircraft Co.]] <br/>[[Lockheed Martin]]
| designer = 
| first_flight = 
| introduction = 1975
| number_built = 14 EC-130H<br>7 EC-130J
| status = Active
| primary_user = [[United States Air Force]]
| more_users = 
| retired = 
| unit cost = EC-130H: US$165&nbsp;million<br>EC-130J: US$110&nbsp;million<br>EC-130SJ: US$85 million<ref name=EC-130Jfacts/>
| developed_from = [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]] <br> [[Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules]]
| variants = [[Lockheed EC-130H Compass Call]]
| developed_into = [[Lockheed E-130J|Lockheed Martin E-130J]]
}}

The '''Lockheed Martin EC-130''' series comprises several slightly different versions of the [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]] that have been and continue to be operated by the [[U.S. Air Force]] and, until the 1990s, the [[U.S. Navy]].

The '''EC-130E Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center''' (ABCCC) was based on a basic C-130E platform and provided tactical airborne command post capabilities to air commanders and ground commanders in low air threat environments.  The EC-130E ABCCC aircraft were retired in 2002 and the mission was 'migrated' to the [[JSTARS|E-8 JSTARS]] and [[Boeing E-3 Sentry|E-3 AWACS]] fleets.

The '''EC-130E Commando Solo''' was an earlier version of a [[U.S. Air Force]] and [[Air National Guard]] [[psychological warfare|psychological operations]] (PSYOPS) aircraft and this aircraft also employed a C-130E airframe, but was modified by using the mission electronic equipment from the retired [[EC-121 Warning Star|EC-121S Coronet Solo]] aircraft.  This airframe served during the first [[Gulf War]] (Operation Desert Storm), [[Operation Uphold Democracy]], the second Gulf War (Operation [[Iraqi Freedom]]) and in Operation [[Enduring Freedom]].  The EC-130E was eventually replaced by the EC-130J Commando Solo and retired in 2006.

Based on a C-130H airframe, the '''[[Lockheed EC-130H Compass Call|EC-130H Compass Call]]''' is an airborne communications jamming platform operated by the [[Air Combat Command]]'s (ACC) [[55th Electronic Combat Group]] (55 ECG) at [[Davis-Monthan AFB]], [[Tucson, Arizona]].  The EC-130 Compass Call aircraft attempts to disrupt enemy command and control communications and limits adversary coordination essential for enemy force management.  The Compass Call system employs offensive counterinformation and electronic attack capabilities in support of U.S. and Coalition tactical air, surface, and [[special forces|special operations forces]].  The EC-130H was used extensively in the [[Gulf War]] and Operation [[Iraqi Freedom]], disrupting Iraqi communications at both the strategic and tactical levels.  It has also been used in Operation [[Enduring Freedom]] in Afghanistan and [[Operation Inherent Resolve]] against the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]].<ref name=EC-130Hfacts>{{cite web|url=https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104550/ec-130h-compass-call/|access-date=9 March 2020|title=EC-130H Compass Call}}</ref>

The '''EC-130J Commando Solo''' is a modified [[C-130J Super Hercules]] used to conduct [[Psychological Operations (United States)|psychological operations]] (PSYOP) and civil affairs broadcast missions in the standard [[AM broadcasting|AM]], [[frequency modulation|FM]], [[high frequency|HF]], TV and military communications bands. Missions are flown at the maximum altitudes possible to provide optimum propagation patterns. The EC-130J flies during either day or night scenarios with equal success, and is air-refuelable. A typical mission consists of a single-ship orbit which is offset from the desired target audience. The targets may be either military or civilian personnel.  The Commando Solo is operated exclusively by the [[Air National Guard]], specifically the [[193rd Special Operations Wing]] (193 SOW), a unit of the [[Pennsylvania Air National Guard]] operationally gained by the [[Air Force Special Operations Command]] (AFSOC).  The 193 SOW is based at the '''Harrisburg Air National Guard Base''' (former [[Harrisburg International Airport|Olmstead AFB]]) at [[Harrisburg International Airport]] in [[Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Middletown]], [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name=EC-130Jfacts>{{cite web|title=EC-130J Commando Solo|url=https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104535/ec-130j-commando-solo/|website=U.S. Air Force|publisher=United States Air Force|access-date=29 September 2015}}</ref>

The [[U.S. Navy]]'s '''EC-130Q Hercules''' [[TACAMO]] ("Take Charge And Move Out") aircraft was a land-based naval aviation platform that served as a [[Single Integrated Operational Plan|SIOP]] strategic communications link aircraft for the U.S. Navy's [[Fleet Ballistic Missile]] (FBM) submarine force and as a backup communications link for the USAF manned strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile forces.  To ensure survivability, TACAMO operated as a solo platform, well away from and not interacting with other major naval forces such as sea-based aircraft carrier strike groups and their carrier air wings or land-based maritime patrol aircraft.  Operated by Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron THREE (VQ-3) and Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron FOUR (VQ-4), the EC-130Q was replaced by the U.S. Navy's current TACAMO platform, the [[Boeing 707]]-based [[E-6 Mercury]].

in December 2020 ([[Fiscal year|Fiscal Year]] 2021), the US Navy announced that it awarded a contract to [[Lockheed Martin]] for the purchase the C-130J-30 Hercules as testbed for the [[TACAMO]] mission <ref>{{Cite web |last=Jennings |first=Gareth |date=21 December 2020 |title=US Navy to field C-130J-30 in nuclear communications role |url=https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-navy-to-field-c-130j-30-in-nuclear-communications-role |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028053806/https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-navy-to-field-c-130j-30-in-nuclear-communications-role |archive-date=28 October 2023 |access-date=30 October 2023 |website=Janes.com |language=en}}</ref> The aircraft selection represents a return to the [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130]] platform by the Navy, which for years used the EC-130Q (an older variant despite the higher letter) for the TACAMO mission from 1963 until 1993.

In October 2024, the US Navy announced that the new C-130J-30-based TACAMO mission aircraft will be designated [[Lockheed Martin E-130J|E-130J]].<ref>{{Cite news |work=NAVAIR News |date=Oct 21, 2024 |title=TACAMO community announces name for new mission aircraft: E-130J |url=https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/TACAMO-community-announces-name-new-mission-aircraft-E-130J/Mon-10212024-1046}}</ref> It will replace the currently operational [[E-6 Mercury]] in the near future.