Lockheed Martin's 500th Super Hercules delivered
On 14 March 2022, a factory fresh Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules was delivered to the Air National Guard's 130th Airlift Wing.
Accidentally, this aircraft with serial number 19-5934 also made history. The stretched C-130J-30 was the 500th Super Hercules to be delivered to an operational unit around the globe.
This C-130J-30 was the seventh of eight Super Hercules that will be received by the 130th Airlift Squadron, part of the 130th Airlift Wing at McLaughlin Air National Guard Base in Charleston (WV). Also known as "Charlie West", the 130th AS/130th AW will complete its transition from the legacy C-130H-3 and be fully mission capable by June 2023.
On 30 November 2020, Scramble Magazine reported that the USAF selected Louisville ANGB (KY), McLaughlin ANGB (WV), NAS-JRB Fort Worth (TX) and Savannah ANGB (GA) as the preferred future locations to receive Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.
Defined by its versatility, there are 17 different mission configurations of the C-130J that includes transport (military and commercial), humanitarian aid delivery, aerial firefighting, natural disaster relief support, medevac, search and rescue, weather reconnaissance, and aerial refueling. Being the airlift choice of 26 operators in 22 nations, the global Super Hercules fleet has surpassed more than 2 million flight hours globally.
Photos by USAF