The US Department of Defense (DoD) has announced that Dowty Propellers is awarded a USD18 million contract for additional spare parts support for the KC-130J Super Hercules tanker aircraft, said in announcing on 12 July.

“GE Aviation Systems LLC, doing business as Dowty Propellers, Sterling, Virginia, is awarded USD18 million for firm-fixed-price modification P00008 to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N0001917D0089) for additional spare parts support for the KC-130J R391 propeller system,” – said in a press release by the DoD.

Work will be performed in Sterling, Virginia, and is expected to be completed in May 2022.

According to the Dowty Propellers company, the R391 is a six-blade propeller system that has proven itself in some of the most challenging operational conditions during front-line and support deployments of Super Hercules four-engine turboprop airlifter.

The propeller system incorporates a fail-safe electronic control system that is operated by a single lever in the cockpit, and is fully integrated with the engine controls on the Super Hercules’s 4,700 shp. Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 engines.

Maintenance is facilitated by the R391’s modular configuration, its low parts count and simple hub construction, along with the elimination of mechanical linkages to the cockpit.