Lockheed Martin [LMT] will certify Canada’s Cascade Aerospace
as a C-130 Heavy Maintenance Center (HMC) before the end of 2012, according to a Lockheed Martin spokesman.
Cascade Aerospace is currently a Hercules Service Center (HSC) and conducts in-service support for Canada’s legacy CC-130 and CC-130J fleets, according to a Lockheed Martin statement. Lockheed Martin spokesman Peter Simmons said Monday in an email Cascade Aerospace’s facility that will become HMC certified is in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
An HMC is authorized to do work on the new C-130J cargo aircraft whereas an HSC is authorized to do work on the legacy C-130B-H aircraft, according to a Lockheed Martin statement. Simmons said a facility can’t be both HMC and HSC certified because of “significant” differences between the C-130J and the C-130B-H, such as the propulsion system and the avionics. Simmons also said the airframe is the same, but the support infrastructure is different to the extent that it needs additional approval.
Lockheed Martin awarded a 20-year contract to Cascade Aerospace in 2010 for maintenance services to support Canada’s new CC-130Js. Simmons said these maintenance services include any and all maintenance checks and servicing required on a C-130J. Cascade Aerospace also provides fleet management services directly to the Royal Canadian Air Force for its legacy model C-130 fleet, according to a Lockheed Martin statement.
Simmons added an HMC is approved to work on another country’s C-130Js other than those operated by that country.
Cascade Aerospace’s HMC facility will be one of only two in the western hemisphere with the other located at Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge, England, Simmons said.