US Air Force awards Sierra Nevada contract for ski-equipped C-130J kit

The US Air Force has awarded Sierra Nevada Corporation $31,789,335 to design and develop a kit that would convert a production C-130J into a ski-equipped LC-130J, according to a contract notice. The work covers non-recurring engineering for the design, development, and analysis of a post-production modification kit. It will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with completion expected by March 27, 2028.

Only one unit operates ski-equipped Hercules aircraft: the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, New York. The National Guard Bureau says the LC-130H is the largest aircraft in the world capable of landing on snow and ice using skis. These aircraft support National Science Foundation research in Antarctica.

The 109th Airlift Wing wrapped up its 38th Operation Deep Freeze season on March 11, 2026, operating three LC-130H aircraft at McMurdo Station in Antarctica and a fourth staged in Christchurch, New Zealand. During the season, it flew 63 missions to Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and 17 to the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide. It carried 1,086 passengers, 2.6 million pounds of cargo, and one million pounds of fuel.

Funding for the program has come from lawmakers. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the fiscal 2026 defense funding bill included $194 million to develop and procure an LC-130J, plus $29 million for non-recurring engineering secured previously. Sierra Nevada is also the prime contractor for the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, a Boeing 747-8-based replacement for the E-4B Nightwatch fleet.