AFSOC MC130J COIN 2 IN A SERIES Smart Coin®

A Smart Coin is a challenge coin that DOES something! AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command) aircraft of AFSOC series with 6 scheduled releases. This is a social experiment to test a Theory of Donor Dedication(TM) to see if challenge coins can be used as a tech for giving item, helping nonprofits raise money. Each coin is a tech enabled tool that connects smartphones to the order page when a smartphone is tapped against the front of this coin. The embedded technology tells the smartphone to open a browser and it loads the AFSOC coin’s page, where others can find more info on the aircraft or buy a coin. (Right where you are now!)

We’re tracking how many additional coins are sold, simply from customers showing it to other people who like challenge coins. “Check out this new AFSOC coin I got!” You want one? Tap your phone to the coin and you can order it on the spot!

Coin 2 features the MC-130J

https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104510/mc-130j-commando-ii/

MC-130J Commando II — Fact Sheet

Background
The MC-130J is replaced the SOF fleet of MC-130E, H and P aircraft. The first MC-130J aircraft was delivered in September 2011 to Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, with final delivery expected in fiscal year 2025.

General Characteristics
Primary Function: Infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces by airdrop or airland, air refueling of SOF helicopter/tilt rotor aircraft.
Builder: Lockheed Martin
Power Plant: Four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 Turboprops
Thrust: 4,591 shaft horsepower
Wingspan: 132 feet, 7 inches (39.7 meters)
Length: 97 feet 9 inches (29.3 meters)
Height: 38 feet 10 inches (11.9 meters)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 164,000 lbs
Range: 3,000 miles
Crew: 2 Pilots, 1 Combat Systems Officer, and 2 Special Mission Aviators
Date Deployed: 2011
Unit Cost: $114.2M (FY22)
Inventory: Active duty, 57 by fiscal 2025

Mission

The MC-130J flies clandestine, low-visibility, single- or multi-ship, low-level infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of Special Operations Forces in politically sensitive or hostile territory — by airdrop or airland — and conducts aerial refueling of special operations helicopters and tilt-rotor aircraft (CV-22, MH-60, MH-47). Secondary missions include psyops leaflet drops and rubber raiding craft deployment for littoral ingress/egress. Most missions are flown at night to reduce probability of visual acquisition and intercept.

Operator & Background

• Command: Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC); also operated by Air Education and Training Command (AETC)

• Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin (airframe), with Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp. on subsystems

• First flight: April 20, 2011

• First delivery: September 29, 2011 (522nd SOS, 27th SOW, Cannon AFB NM)

• Initial Operating Capability: December 7, 2012

• Final production delivery: January 14, 2025 to Kirtland AFB

• Production / Inventory: 59 planned / 54 in inventory

• Designation history: Originally "Combat Shadow II"; renamed Commando II in March 2012 to honor the WWII C-47

• Replaces: MC-130E Combat Talon I (retired 2013), MC-130P Combat Shadow (retired 2015), MC-130H Combat Talon II (final retirement April 10, 2023)

Main Operating Bases

• Cannon AFB, New Mexico

• Kirtland AFB, New Mexico

• Kadena AB, Japan

• RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom

Specifications

Dimensions

• Wingspan: 132.6 ft

• Length: 97.8 ft

• Height: 38.8 ft

Weights & Power

• Max takeoff weight: 164,000 lb

• Powerplant: 4 × Rolls-Royce AE2100D3 turboprops, 4,591 shp each

• Fuel capacity: 61,360 lb (refuel rate 150–300 gpm; 100 gpm dual simultaneous)

Performance

• Max speed: 416 mph

• Range: 3,000 miles (extended via air refueling)

• Service ceiling: 28,000 ft with 42,000-lb payload

Crew & Payload

• Crew of 5: two pilots, Combat Systems Officer (CSO), two loadmasters

• Payload: 42,000 lb of cargo or personnel

Mission Systems & Defensive Suite

• LAIRCM (Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures) — laser-based missile defense with onboard threat sensors

• Chaff and flare dispensers; modernized radar warning receivers

• Multi-mode nose radar

• EO/IR sensor turret under the nose

• Silent Knight Terrain-Following / Terrain-Avoidance radar in a second radome below the cockpit, enabling low-level night and adverse-weather penetration

• 2-pilot flight station with digital avionics, color multifunction LCDs, and head-up displays

• Dedicated CSO flight-deck station for refueling, tactical navigation, and comms management

Current Modernization — "Combat Talon III"

AFSOC is upgrading the fleet under Capability Release 2, which adds Silent Knight TF/TA radar, Radio Frequency Countermeasures (RFCM), and Airborne Mission Networking (AbMN). The Block 8.X software baseline brings HF/VHF/UHF SATCOM upgrades, jam-resistant MUOS BLOS, and antijam SATURN UHF interoperable with NATO. Upgraded aircraft are being redesignated "Combat Talon III", paving the way to open-architecture, integrated, and automated mission and defensive systems. AFSOC also continues prototyping a float-equipped MC-130J for runway-independent operations in the Indo-Pacific (testing pushed to 2026).