USAF ends four years of MC-12W ops in southern Afghanistan

The US Air Force (USAF) has withdrawn its Beechcraft MC-12W Liberty special mission aircraft from southern Afghanistan after four years in theatre.
The final mission of the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft was flown out of Kandahar Airfield (KAF) by the 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron (ERS) "at the beginning of September".
Since deploying to KAF in May 2010, the 361st ERS has flown 25,000 sorties over 115,000 hours, contributing to the "elimination" of 450 insurgents, the USAF said. The aircraft had also achieved a 99% mission readiness rate throughout operations.
With the end of the 361st ERS' mission in southern Afghanistan, the MC-12W remains in operation with the 4th ERS operating out of Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul. The USAF has not disclosed precisely how many aircraft have been deployed to theatre.
Built around the King Air 350ER twin-turboprop, the MC-12W is manned by a flight crew of two, a sensor operator, and what the USAF calls a 'cryptologic operator'. Imagery analysts in the ground-based ISR exploitation cell then interpret and use the information gathered.
The platform has a more than eight hours' endurance, and taking-off at gross weight with full fuel and payload can fly out to 100 n miles, perform a low-altitude surveillance mission for seven hours 20 minutes, and fly back 100 n miles (landing with more than 45 minutes of fuel on board).
janes

USAF assisting search for missing girls in Nigeria

The Air Force is flying manned MC-12W Liberty and unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance sorties over Nigeria to assist in locating more than 200 girls kidnapped by militants.
The Nigerian government requested the flights.
On April 15, the militant group Boko Haram kidnapped the girls from their school. The group said it is open to exchanging the students for the release of terrorists imprisoned in Nigeria.
The Defense Department has sent more than 10 personnel to the country to help with the search. The troops are trained in intelligence, communications and logistics.
The Defense Department would not release the number of sorties or the specific origin of the flights “due to operational security concerns.
The department is not sharing the intelligence directly with the Nigerian government.
The MC-12W Liberty manned aircraft is a modified Hawker Beechcraft Super King Air 350 outfitted with sensors and cameras. The aircraft has seen extensive use in Afghanistan. The RQ-4 Global Hawk is the Air Force’s largest remotely piloted aircraft, and has been deployed to provide high-altitude surveillance. Global Hawks have deployed to the Middle East and flown “treaty verification” missions in the Middle East.
airforcetimes

El avión de inteligencia MC-12 alcanza las 5.000 salidas/ Project Liberty reaches milestone, 5,000 sorties

El 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron ha realizado la salida número 5.000 de un MC-12W Liberty, el avión de inteligencia, vigilancia reconocimiento mas recientemente adquirido por la Fuerza Aérea. Se ha producidor desde la base aérea de Balad, en Iraq.
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362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron crewmembers piloted a MC-12W Liberty, the Air Force's newest intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, reaching a milestone flying its 5,000th sortie Dec. 30.
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Nueva Zelanda quiere comprar pequeño avión para patrulla marítima/ New Zealand wants small MPA

En el Libro Blanco de Defensa de Nueva Zelanda, recientemente publicado, se recoge la necesidad de contar con un avión de patrulla marítima, que pueda utilizar campos no preparados, para complemento de los P-3K Orion.
Actualmente esta misión es desempeñada por cinco B200 King Air, en regimen de leasing, con renovación de contrato anual, por lo que el nuevo avión podría ser la versión militar, que opera con Estados Unidos.
airforcesmonthly
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In its Defence White Paper published earlier this month, the New Zealand government has identified the need for a “maritime patrol aircraft with short takeoff and landing and sufficient range” to complement it fleet of P-3K Orions.
The White Paper identified a “number of low-end regional surveillance tasks (for both defence and other agencies)” in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone and the South Pacific and to maximise the new aircraft’s cost-effectiveness it would also be expected to perform a “transport and multi-engine flying training and consolidation function”. This is currently provided by five leased B200 King Airs, but the original contract expired in April 2008 and is being renewed on a year-by-year basis.
airforcesmonthly

Nueva Unidad de MC-12 (King Air) activada en Afganistán/New MC-12 Unit Activated at Kandahar Airfield

La USAF ha activado un nuevo escuadrón de MC-12 King Air en Kandahar, Afganistán, en una ceremonia celebrada el 1 de mayo. Se trata del 361 Escuadrón Expedicionario de Reconocimiento. Este escuadrón se ha reactivado varias veces en la historia desde 1943, en la Segunda Guerra Mundial cuando los miembros de la unidad volaron los B-17 y B-24. Más tarde, fue reactivadao durante la guerra de Vietnam, volando CE-47.
El MC-12, se ha revelado como un excelente avión contra insurgencia y está prestando valiosos servicios en Afganistán.
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Officials activated the Air Force's newest MC-12 Liberty squadron in a ceremony here May 1. The 361st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron has been reactivated many times in the squadron's fairly unique history, said Col. John A. Cherrey, the commander of the 451st Expeditionary Operations Group and host of the ceremony."It started in 1943 in World War II when the members of the unit flew B-17 (Flying Fortresses) and B-24 (Liberators)," he said. "Later, they were reactivated during Vietnam when they flew EC-47s and did a lot of work with a special operations wing back then. In 2002, the unit was reactivated again, flying other aircraft."The commander of the newly-activated squadron, Lt. Col. Darren Halford, shared his enthusiasm with the 80-member unit."This is a tremendous team perfectly suited for the challenges ahead," Colonel Halford said."The MC-12 is a critical capability, fielded at a critical time," he said. "Your actions will drastically improve joint and combined counterinsurgency capabilities, assist Afghanistan with defeating the insurgency, and ultimately save American and coalition lives."
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