Lockheed Martin delivered 2,500th C-130 Hercules transport aircraft from its production line in Marietta, Georgia on Friday, a milestone...
Lockheed Martin delivered 2,500th C-130 Hercules transport aircraft from its production line in Marietta, Georgia on Friday, a milestone for the 60+ year old program.
This landmark Hercules is an HC-130J Combat King II personnel recovery aircraft assigned to the U.S. Air Force's 71st Rescue Squadron, which is part of the 347th Rescue Group.
A U.S. Air Force crew ferried the HC-130J to its new home at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia.
USAF accepted first Hercules aircraft on Dec. 9, 1956, and is the largest operator of the type, which includes legacy C-130 and the latest C-130J Super Hercules.
C-130s today are operated from 68 nations and the global fleet has collectively logged more than 22 million flight hours. The current production model is the C-130J Super Hercules, the airlifter of choice for 16 nations and 19 different operators. The Super Hercules worldwide fleet has more than 1.3 million flight hours to its credit.
To date, C-130s have been produced to support 100 different mission requirements and is available in 17 different configurations.
Lockheed has also developed a commercial freighter variant of the C-130 designated L-100. About 113 of these were delivered from mid 1960s to early 1990. In 2014, Lockheed introduced the LM-100J based on the C-130J Super Hercules.
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| HC-130J arrive at Moody AFB (U.S. Air Force photo) |
C-130J variants currently in production include the C-130J/C-130J-30 combat-ready aircraft; KC-130J aerial refuelers; HC-130J search and rescue aircraft; MC-130J special operations aircraft; and the LM-100J commercial freighter.
The C-130J is capable of operating from a 2,000 foot-long dirt strips in high mountain ranges and can transport more than 40,000 pounds of cargo and supplies.
It is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engines rated at 4,691 pshp each, driving GE-Dowty Aerospace R391 6-bladed all composite propellers.
With a Max take-off weight (2.5g) of 164,000 lb/74,389 kg, the C-130J has a range of 2,450 nautical miles with a 40,000 lb. payload.
