Negotiations between Turkey and the United Kingdom over the transfer of retired Royal Air Force C-130J Hercules aircraft have concluded with the confirmation that 12 aircraft have been handed over for maintenance and modernisation under a bilateral arrangement.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told the UK Defence Journal, “We can confirm that 12 UK C-130J aircraft have been transferred to a private company for maintenance and modernisation as part of an agreement with Türkiye. The UK has a strong defence relationship with Türkiye building on years of industrial ties between our two countries.”
According to Turkish defence officials, the aircraft have already been delivered to the relevant company for overhaul and upgrade work.
The Turkish Air Force currently operates 19 C-130B/E variants, several of which have undergone avionics and structural upgrades under the Erciyes modernisation programme managed by TAI. The C-130J, powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engines, features digital flight controls, a two-crew glass cockpit, and improved fuel efficiency compared to earlier models.
The platform remains one of the most widely used tactical transport aircraft globally, capable of airlifting troops, vehicles, and humanitarian supplies, as well as performing aerial refuelling and special operations support.
For the UK, the transfer marks the final stage of the Hercules fleet’s withdrawal following its retirement from RAF service in June 2023. The aircraft had served for more than two decades, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, and numerous humanitarian missions.
Soon they will sell the whitehall offices.
Please…as soon as possible.
They already did. The Old War Office, Metropole Building, Northumberland House, and others I forget were all sold off and functions concentrated in Main Building.
The Old War Office was especially troublesome due to what is underneath it that needed sealing off now it is a flipping hotel, right slap bang in the Central Whitehall Security Zone.
Meanwhile, on the military side, Mill Hill, D of Y Chelsea Barracks, Uxbridge, and parts of Woolwich have gone, and the functions concentrated at Northolt. I believe longer term Knightsbridge Barracks is also on the list.
This was many years ago, and still the cuts continue.
Wouldn’t have they been useful in reserve?
and keep crew and engineers current…there is no reserve
‘Reserve’ is no longer in the MOD dictionary; however, ‘exposed’ is still listed.
No, we have tonnes of transport aircraft given our European deployment profile and they are expensive.
God, the decline of the Armed Forces at the expense of HMT is a national disgrace. A perfectly good airlift capability sold on the cheap that the RAF are still in dire need of. Enough to make a grown man cry.
Same story over and over. Harrier was still the worst.
Ahh, careful who you blame though!
The tories were a disgrace to defence
Compared to what? Much of the world was at peace during the tory years and we could count of the Americans. Now we need to put our military on at least a cold war footing and what exactly is happening.
The Tory’s already sold these planes several years ago. This is just them being transferred. It’s nothing to do with the current government.
Many times in history sales have been stopped because of global situations and for the importance of national security … Many countries are still getting g new Hercules…. We are getting rid of everything .
Because we have A400, C17 and Voyager. Chinook also fulfills rotor heavy lift. A capability France doesn’t have for example.
Germany has A400 and is buying brand new C-130J
But they don’t have C17 or 14 Voyagers. It’s RAF transport aircraft that globally deploy, not German aircraft.
Germany actually has Voyagers (or technically MRTT), they’re just operated through the MMF rather than by the Luftwaffe, plus it’s “Grey” A321s. Germany has also ordered 60 Chinooks that it’s going to build under licensce.
Indeed these planes have long gone. The issue is more what replaces them. Long term I would suspect that would be some form of UAV solution with Atlas being a stop gap measure. This is something the RAF should be working with the current government to resolve.
Personally, I would think twice being loaded up in a UAV for a drop. The jobs performed by the pilots, engineers and loadies are essential before and during a drop. Someone sitting hundreds or thousands of miles away looking at a drop/landing site through a video feed will never be as good as eyes on in an aircraft that can see a wider picture, and even then, it can go wrong. Pilots and loadies feel a personal stake in the sortie. Someone sitting in a container unit operating a UAV who hasn’t met the people on the drop and will never meet them has a dissociation with the men who could be killed by their bad decisions.
Sounds like bullshit to me, war is reality not a computer game .we will see when the st hits the fan .the more we go forward the more we go backwards ,real war will put a stop to that..
The Embraer KC390 seems to be getting more popular. With a number of recent sales to Holland and Sweden. Said to be more economical to run than the Herc, with a longer range and a higher cruise speed and can carry heavier loads. Could be an option for us to replace the Herc in the tactical role.
Actually they were taken out of operational service in June 2023 and an additiional order was expected for more Atlas transports. I wonder what happened to them.
Hi Jim,
Yes this deal was arranged some time ago under the previous government. So have we now replaced the same number with new frames?
Cheers
George
Say what?! Remind me again when the Russians first ventured into Ukraine demonstrating their intent? When were the Salisbury and Skirpal incidents? The Tories had years to recognise what was coming and buried their heads in the sand.
….and Labour are digging deeper into the sand. Both parties have been hopeless. Blair/Brown…cuts; Cameron and co….cuts; Starmer…cuts. It just goes on.
The current lot are just as useless. The late Major and then Blair years at least had genuine reason to see a world that seemed to be improving and more stable so there was a defensible argument for cutting from cold war spending levels. The writing has been on the wall for years though warning of the current mess the world is in. We’ve wasted over a decade of warnings and preparation time.
Bang to rights. Major had the “peace divdend”. I wonder what happened to peace? I think Blair thought he was doing the right thing but ever since, it’s best forgotten. What a shower they have all been.
Unfortunately only dead soldiers bring the reality home Geoff. God help us..
Tragically, it always is and very often because we’re never ready, down to the politicians of course.
I hate the spin “retired.”
No. CUT.
Another sunset capability that will now be used quite happily elsewhere, while the falling to bits, never putting to see again Ocean, Albion, Bulwark will serve for years in Brazil.
Healey, or HM opposition who sanctioned this, of course won’t be put on the spot over this by any journalist.
Even a commitment by HMG to buy a batch of Atlas, as declared countless times, would help.
But seeming as this government are as reliable as a chocolate teapot regards defence, I don’t see much hope of that.
Does anyone?
Well said, Sir.
couldn’t have put it better myself Daniele! I patiently wait for a commitment to buy more A400s.
Pension age will come at some point….
Don’t think it’s Harley’s fault, the decision was made by the previous government
No, which is why I also mentioned the previous government who acted.
However, he is the S of State, he is Labour, who now couid act to repair the damage.
As usual, HMT seem to be the greatest enemy.
This is a particularly bad move, it’s not even like there is any new capability to take over, the A400 simply is more strategic than it is tactical.
A peacetime strategy of simply cutting something and planning a replacement in the fullness of time is fine as long as we don’t need the kit in the meantime or hostilities break out.
How come we can sell stuff off to other countries who I assume find them still both cost effective and useful? If they (and various ships sold over the years) are still economically viable for others to use, surely they are also viable for us!
Yep!!! Wholeheartedly agree.
Or just plain scrapped like the tornado fleet that had half its life left.
For ships I wouldn’t confuse the needs of littoral navies and blue water navies. Not sure Brazilian or Chilean vessels venture too far from port
We need both…
Incredibly stupid decision to remove C130s from UK service.
If there’s not enough money in Defence, and there isn’t, we can’t have the capabilities we want and need. Year after year the MOD tries to spend more than it has, creating black holes it hopes the government will fill. As the government fails to do so year after year, they have no choice but to cut. Whether or not they publish the numbers (as they failed to do last year), they will be held to account.
It’s painful, but we all know the score. The figures have been fiddled, the real amount spent on UK conventional capability obscured (my guess is it’s around 1.1% of GDP) and future increases will not be enough to stop further whittling away of capability. You can blame the Tories, you can blame Labour, but we need to publish the real figures being spent on core conventional capability, and hold it up to the light. Let’s hope the DIP helps with that.
You can’t fund Defence on spin and accounting fictions, and you can’t buy equipment with politician’s promises. That’s why the Hercules have to go, and a lot more besides.
What I want to know is, what are they spending money ON? Recently they were blocking white men from applying to various branches of service. No-one else was applying, so what happened to all the money they saved?
Our procurement seems to be upgrading a handful of tanks that no-one else wanted, to a state where still no-one else wants them, except only some of them are getting the full kit, and we will have no reserves or attrition replacements.
I just can’t understand why a country as wealthy and influential as ours has a military that’s virtually good for nothing.
Enough of that sensible, facts not fantasy based comments thanks mate.
Madness.
A very dark day…
Interesting article in Portsmouth news: the sale of HMS Albion is ‘on ice’. Apparently the sale of Bulwark didnt save as much money as expected.
Yet another pathetic decision by the government. The A400 is just too big for use in some operations.
Yes, and my understanding is that the C130s were especially useful for SF operations.
They were dedicated aircraft allocated to 47 Sqn and its SFF, with additional features for the mission.
Been so for decades, and only increased in importance given Grey Zone is now everywhere and the DSF is committed in many places, and needing support. I even suspected the bulk of the Sqn was committed to the task, with other transort tasks given in 24, 30, and 70 Sqns.
But no, just like one of their dedicated helicopter Sqns in 657 AAC, HMG pull the rug from under one of our golden assets.
Can Atlas do the role? Sure. And a QEC Carrier can carry out Fishery Protection. Does not mean that they should.
As Ex RM says, utterly pathetic, while more money is shoved towards the MIC, HMG hide behind whatever % they are spending this week, and the forces wither.
I agree with most of your comments but I don’t think you can separate industrial capacity from defence and economic resilience. France acquires a much higher proportion of its defence equipment from French companies, many state owned or controlled. Doing so increases voter support for defence and sustains large exports.
There is some reason to believe the worst is behind us with long overdue replacement of key assets. But the commitments to AUKUS and Tempest will have to be closely controlled if they are not to swallow up any increase in future defence funding.
What did the USA and NATO say when we told them we were selling much needed military capacity to we could house refugees who are crossing the world in their thousands to live here?
All the while, foreign governments continue to propagate the situations that lead their people to flock to the UK and nobody is allowed to even mention this, let alone do something about it?
Selling, retiring, but never buying,. The army is in the same state it was 15 months ago. All MOD and deluded CDS have done is start lots of prodjects, talk a lot and window shop. No rush though every thing will be fine by 2030. One question if no new orders etc how will every thing be fine ?
Not sure if 22 Atlas aircraft that we have is enough or not, but the failure to add any more mass is in line with everything else, we had the defence review and everyone made big commitments, but not a single real additional tank, plane, ship has been ordered.
The government has promised improvement’s in the defence of the UK but we still see the infrastructure of the UKs armed forces being whittled down day by day. The shortage of personnel dose not seem to be a priority as it is still taking at least 18 months from flash to bang for youngsters to join the forces. There is no improvement in the construction cycle of new equipment with large construction projects taking far too long and far too expensive. The government seems to think that by ordering a number of (at the moment) cheap drones it can claim that it is putting back the fire power the UK’s armed forces have lost over the last 30 odd years of cut backs. The C130’s sold off under the last government but the current government refusing to go back on the deal despite the current threat leaves going through the roof. There is no concept on any side of the house about what the UK needs to wage war with the Navy/Marines losing there ability for amphibious assault and the Paras restricted to just 4 jumps a year (mainly due to the loss of C130’s), extremely limited number front line regiments with extremely limited number of AFV’s and the RAF expected to keep the screaming hoards at bay with less that 100 fighters. The only people happy with the current situation in Mr Putin and Mr Xi.
C130s should never have been took out of service has we all know .Yes it may of been the Conservative government who made this decision but with the way of the world you’d think the current government would keep these Aircraft in Reserve . It’s ironic each one call one another but when it comes to Defence both think more about cutting and saving money .The words first duty of government is defence of the Realm .Don’t make me Laugh 🙄
Sold for pennies no doubt. That’s a multi billion pound capability sold off. Turkey will almost certainly keep the aircraft running for a few more decades laughing at the UK for selling perfectly great aircraft off on the cheap
Ministry of Defence, alias ministry of cuts.
Are Marshalls at Cambridge involved in any of the return to service maintenance cum re-builds? Or has this simply gone abroad?
Marshall’s are doing the work yes.
Good, at least some monies will return to the UK Taxpayer via them’. I see they have cancelled their move to Cranfield.