In compliance with the Inter-Administrative Contract between the Ministry of Defense and the Argentine Aircraft Factory (FAdeA) "Brigadier San Martín" for the Modernization of Aircraft of the Argentine Air Force (FAA), on December 22, 2022 a team from the Córdoba Logistics Area, and the 1st Air Brigade "El Palomar" completed the reception tasks of the Lockheed C-130 aircraft registration TC-64.
This is the final aircraft included in the FAdeA modernization and obsolescence removal program, which involved five Hercules aircraft from the Argentine Air Force, extending their useful life by at least 20 years and significantly improving their performance in a strategic recovery process capabilities. The upgrade received contributions from the National Defense Fund (FONDEF) and the permanent accompaniment of the Air Force and the General Directorate of Joint Military Airworthiness of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces (DIGAMC-EMCO).
Aircraft TC-64 underwent maintenance tasks that included: Phase Depot Maintenance (PDM) Inspection, material maintenance or repair activity that requires the revision, updating or rebuilding of parts, assemblies or subassemblies, and testing and recovery of equipment as necessary; Isochronous, a task that consists of disassembling and inspecting all the systems on board the aircraft (navigation and communications systems, alert and surveillance, search and rescue, night vision, digitization of the fuel quantity and indication system, electronic propeller control, among others); painting and modernization.
Some of the most relevant modernized systems include a duplicate flight control system (Flight Management System - FMS); Commercial Satellite Communication (SATCOM); Data Link Communication System controlled by the Pilot (Controller Pilot Data Link Communication - CPDLC - SATCOM and VHF Data Link); Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System - EGPWS; Collision Avoidance System (Traffic Collision Avoidance System - TCAS); Color Meteorological Radar, and Improved Environmental Control System (ECS), among others.
Finally, it should be noted that a major structural repair was carried out, which included changing the Rainbow Fitting, a significant task that included the disassembly of the plane, the replacement of parts damaged by fatigue and corrosion, as well as the reassembly of the structural components and systems involved of the aircraft.
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