C-130 Hercules News

December 18, 2013 (by Lieven Dewitte) - The C-130J Super Hercules program reached another significant milestone with the delivery of its 300th aircraft, which was ferried today by a U.S. Air Force crew from the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Ga.
The 300th Super Herc is an MC-130J Commando II assigned to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command. Formerly known as the Combat Shadow II, it is a modern aircraft capable of worldwide employment for missions requiring clandestine single or multi-ship low-level aerial refueling of Special Operation Force vertical and tilt-rotor aircraft and/or infiltration, resupply and exfiltration by airdrop or landing on remote airfields.

“The delivery of this 300th C-130J is a major achievement for the entire Super Hercules community. Together, we built an aircraft that it is ready for any mission, anywhere, anytime,” said George Shultz, vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company’s C-130 programs. “Partnerships and commitment are at the core of this Super Hercules, as was the case with the 299 C-130Js that came before it and with the many others that will follow.”

Sixteen countries have chosen the C-130J Super Hercules to meet their air mobility needs. The “J” is the standard by which all other airlift is measured in terms of availability, flexibility and reliability.

With more than 1 million flight hours, the C-130J has been deployed in two combat theaters where they operated at a very high tempo efficiently and reliably. In non-combat — but equally harsh —environments, C-130Js are often the first to support missions like search and rescue, aerial firefighting, and delivering relief supplies after earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons and tsunamis around the world.