US defense giant Lockheed Martin announced Tuesday that the global C-130J Super Hercules operator community recently exceeded 2 million flight hours.
These hours were recorded from the first flight of the C-130J on April 5, 1996 until the end of July 2019.
Twenty-two operators from 18 nations contributed to this achievement, adding hours through multiple missions including combat, transportation, air refueling, special operations, medical evacuation, humanitarian aid, search and rescue, weather recognition, fire fighting and commercial cargo delivery.
Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin Air Mobility and Maritime Missions business line, announced the milestone at the Hercules Operators Conference, the annual C-130 operator industry event held in Atlanta.
“The C-130J has earned the reputation of being the world’s workhorse and this most recent achievement is a powerful reminder of Super Hercules’ unmatched global reach,” said McLean. “The crews continue to exemplify the proven capacity and versatility of the C-130J in each mission they fly.”
“The Lockheed Martin team is proud of the work of Super Hercules teams that rely on the C-130J to support vital missions, both at home and abroad.”
Countries with the C-130J military variant that contribute to these flight hours include (in order of delivery) the United Kingdom, the United States (the United States Air Force, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard), Australia, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Canada, India, Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Tunisia, Israel, Kuwait, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, France and Bahrain.
Lockheed Martin Flight Operations also contributes, whose crews are the first to fly every C-130J produced.
The United States Air Force maintains the largest fleet of C-130J, with Super Hercules flown by the Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command, Air Education and Training Command, Special Operations Command, and National Guard units Air and the Air Force Reserve.
In addition, the crews of the Defense Contract Management Agency support the C-130J test flights at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics plant in Marietta, Georgia, the C-130 production site.
The C-130J Super Hercules is the current production model of the legendary C-130 Hercules aircraft.
Source: Israelnoticias
