The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] yesterday inducted the third U.S. Air Force C-130 into the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) at company facilities in San Antonio, Texas, where it will receive a fully integrated, night vision goggle-compatible digital glass cockpit and a new digital avionics system.

The aircraft, assigned to the West Virginia Air National Guard's (ANG) 130th Airlift Wing, is the third of more than 200 C-130 aircraft that Boeing Support Systems will modify under the AMP initiative.

"We are very excited about starting the modifications on the third aircraft," said Mike Harris, Boeing vice president and C-130 AMP program manager. "We have learned a lot from working on the first two AMP aircraft, and we are ready to apply those experiences as we start work on H3 (the third aircraft)."

The first two C-130 AMP aircraft, H2 and H2.5, are currently at the U.S. Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where they continue to undergo ground and flight testing. Testing on those aircraft is currently more than 10 percent ahead of schedule.

The second aircraft flew Sept. 25 at the test center following the installation of Core Complete 1software. The software upgrade provides a fully functional Flight Management System aboard the AMP aircraft, eliminating the need for the navigator position in the cockpit.

Before delivering the aircraft to Boeing, the West Virginia ANG crew spent a few days at Boeing's Long Beach, Calif., site to better understand what AMP will bring to the platform.

"The crew was able to spend some time in our Systems Integration Lab and see for themselves how AMP will improve their aircraft," said Harris. "Our focus is on our customer. This was a great opportunity to talk with them and for them to better understand what AMP looks like and how it works."

Boeing's C-130 AMP provides enhanced digital avionics that significantly increase situational awareness for the warfighter. The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing the AMP contract in June 2001. The AMP upgrade commonality brought to the fleet of C-130 transport aircraft also offers additional flexibility in assigning aircrew, regardless of the Model design type.