Boeing received a $61 million U.S. Air Force contract for 2 more C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) kits and 2 Aircrew Training System devices as part of a low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract that was awarded in 2010.

"We look forward to adding more aircraft to our line over the next two years," said Tommy Jackson, C-130 AMP Deputy Program Manager for the U.S. Air Force. "Our team at Warner Robins Air Force Base is modifying the cockpits of 2 C-130 aircraft that were inducted in late 2010 and expect to have them completed this year."

Boeing is building 2 new C-130 AMP Aircrew Training System devices: a Weapon System Trainer and an Avionics Part Task Trainer. The training devices will be developed at supplier CAE USA's Tampa, Florida, facility and delivered to the Arkansas Air National Guard C-130 AMP training center at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, in 2014.

This is the second Air Force contract in 3 months that approves the purchase of more AMP kits for the C-130 Hercules.

In December, an Acquisition Decision Memorandum authorized the LRIP program to increase from 20 to 26 aircraft. A total of 6 AMP kits have been approved for purchase and the 2 at Warner Robins, Georgia, are the first to be installed. The third C-130 scheduled for LRIP will be inducted in late 2011 and the fourth in early 2012.

"Low-rate initial production is moving forward as planned," said Mahesh Reddy, C-130 AMP Program Director for Boeing. "We are on a deliberate path toward full rate production and a safer and more cost-effective solution for the warfighter."