C-130- What is this on the tail?

Cap'n Jack

Cap'n Jack

Final Approach
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Cap'n Jack
Looks like some kind of antenna from the vertical stabilizer to the tips of the horizontal stabilizer. Also under the tail as well to some kind of brace to keep it away from the tail.

What is it for?
 

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Probably an HF or LF antenna array. It can be live all the time and not just when stringing a wire out a reel.
 
smigaldi said:
It is not a C-130. It is an EC-130.

That is all I will say about that.
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Is the term "ECM" or "Electronic Counter-measures" classified? Nope! :)

The array could be used for jamming, monitoring or its own communications. But, that's the least of what that bird has on board.
 
KennyFlys said:
Is the term "ECM" or "Electronic Counter-measures" classified? Nope! :)

The array could be used for jamming, monitoring or its own communications. But, that's the least of what that bird has on board.
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Stating something like that might confirm what the array is and hence confirm the speculation of what their mission is. I will not say anything about that airplane except that it is an EC130, well that and it is based out of Davis Montham AFB, but you can figure that out from the tail number.
 
ah, shoot - we've got one of those on the Cherokee... it just appeared one day after flyin' low through someone's backyard. Once we got all the clothes off of it, the radio reception got a lot better, so we left it on there! :)
 
etsisk said:
ah, shoot - we've got one of those on the Cherokee... it just appeared one day after flyin' low through someone's backyard. Once we got all the clothes off of it, the radio reception got a lot better, so we left it on there! :)
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:rofl:
 
C'mon Scott, we can at least tell them it's called a Compass Call. Other than that, what you find in open sources won't tell you a whole lot.
 
smigaldi said:
Stating something like that might confirm what the array is and hence confirm the speculation of what their mission is. I will not say anything about that airplane except that it is an EC130, well that and it is based out of Davis Montham AFB, but you can figure that out from the tail number.
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Everything I said is already in the public domain available for those who look. None of it is classified. Heck, I can't even recall what I knew that was classified back then. Even if I could recall details on the equipment I worked on it would be worthless since so much has been upgraded.
 
KennyFlys said:
Everything I said is already in the public domain available for those who look. None of it is classified. Heck, I can't even recall what I knew that was classified back then. Even if I could recall details on the equipment I worked on it would be worthless since so much has been upgraded.
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True, but...

While the data may be in the public domain, until it is confirmed or denied by someone who has access to the information/ system/ equipment, publicly accessible information is mere speculation.

But you've posted nothing that hasn't already been confirmed by the USAF.
 
Hmmmm- maybe I should have taken the time to tour the plane. This was taken at the Omaha Air Show yesterday and they were letting people on the planes (except for the F-22 and B-52- they had ropes around them). When I went back there they had closed up the plane (and were closing up Offutt AFB ).

I figured someone here would know...
 
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KennyFlys said:
Everything I said is already in the public domain available for those who look.
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There is speculation in the public domain.

There has been some released info about that plane, so I'll the people who control that information tell the tale. It is just that it is not my job to confirm anything about that plane and the others that I am familiar with that had similar missions.
 
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AWACSEng said:
C'mon Scott, we can at least tell them it's called a Compass Call. Other than that, what you find in open sources won't tell you a whole lot.
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Used to be we had to protect those names especially if they started with the words Rivet-something and combat-something. But that changed in the late 80's and early 1990's. I never quite figured out why they loosened up on that stuff. We used to be told that we were tell people we flew on tankers even though our version of the 135 had no boom.
 
You can check out the USAF public website for descriptions of the entire inventory. Some good info as well as plenty of BS IMNSHO.
 
Scott, gotta call you wrong on this one. It's Davis-Monthan...not Montham. Better luck next time. Hahahaha!
 
Thanks much for the information. I'll look up the USAF inventory next time so I can take better pictures of the classified stuff when it's open for tours :)
 
smigaldi said:
It is not so much the gear inside that is classified, it is what they do with it that is sensitive.
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That doesn't mean you're gonna easily walk off the base with a KY-28 or its encoder in hand. A couple decades ago, the KY-28 used a mechanical encoder with a set of rods that pushed switches into a specific position and setting a series of switches resulting in a code. But, when you initially open the cover the switches all reset so the previously set code is gone. There's no way to disassemble it see the code. Beside that, the code changed everyday and sometimes more frequently depending on the operation.

Oh, the KY-28 was the "IFF" box or Indentification-Friend or Foe. I imagine it's updated to something more modern these days.
 
KennyFlys said:
That doesn't mean you're gonna easily walk off the base with a KY-28 or its encoder in hand. A couple decades ago, the KY-28 used a mechanical encoder with a set of rods that pushed switches into a specific position and setting a series of switches resulting in a code. But, when you initially open the cover the switches all reset so the previously set code is gone. There's no way to disassemble it see the code. Beside that, the code changed everyday and sometimes more frequently depending on the operation.

Oh, the KY-28 was the "IFF" box or Indentification-Friend or Foe. I imagine it's updated to something more modern these days.
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I don't know what they use these days. I remember seeing paddles going into a box for data and voice encryption but I cannot remember if it was a KY28 or something else, for some reason KY34 comes to mind. But either way the IFF, I am pretty sure was something different. I could be wrong on that though. It was not my area of expertise. I was in the back with a lot of other interesting equipment to play with.

But those crypto boxes were not the big deal for us. On our plane there were only a couple of boxes that were classified gear and those were a bigger deal to be sure. Most of the rest, while not COTS, was no big deal. The software that ran it, well that was a big deal. We mostly had HP computers running everything.
 
Found some reading material on what this "KY-28" is you are all talking about... and found that the site that had the material has LOTS of other good information, not just on aviation, but here's the aviation page:

http://www.tpub.com/aviation1.htm

I'll be bookmarking this site for reference.
 
The Viking had a KY-27 and a KY-28. One was IFF and the other was data encryption. Now, I can't recall for certain which was which but I believe the 28 was IFF, basically an encrypted transponder so the ship and Hummers knew who the good guys were. I think the A-6 Intruder also used the 28. This was only twenty-five years and a couple months ago. Gosh.

I do recall the computer... an AYK-10 General Purpose Digital Computer built by Sperry Univac. It was no more powerful than a Commodore 64 but took up about as much space as a two-drawer, lateral file cabinet.
 
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