Lockheed Martin have announced that the global community of C-130J Super Hercules operators recently surpassed 2 million flight hours.
The firm say that these hours were logged beginning with the C-130Js first flight on April the 5th, 1996, through the end of July 2019.
“Twenty-two operators from 18 nations contributed to this achievement, adding hours through multiple missions including combat, transport, aerial refueling, special operations, medevac, humanitarian relief, search and rescue, weather reconnaissance, firefighting and commercial freight delivery.”
Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of the Air Mobility & Maritime Missions said in a release:
“The C-130J has earned a reputation as the world’s workhorse and this most recent achievement is a powerful reminder of the Super Hercules’ unmatched global reach,” McLean said.
“Crews continue to exemplify the C-130J’s proven capability and versatility with every mission they fly. The Lockheed Martin team is proud of the work of the Super Herc crews who rely on the C-130J to support vital missions, both home and abroad.”
Countries with military variant C-130Js contributing to these flight hours include (in order of delivery) the United Kingdom, United States (the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard), Australia, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Canada, India, Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Tunisia, Israel, Kuwait, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, France, and Bahrain.
Also contributing is Lockheed Martin Flight Operations, whose crews are the first to fly every C-130J produced, say the firm.
Superb and versatile aircraft, love it!