This Historic Super Herc is operated by the West Virginia Air National Guard’s 130th Airlift Wing.
Lockheed Martin recently delivered its 500th C-130J Super Hercules Airlifter to the 130th Airlift Wing of the U.S Government currently undergoing fleet modernization. The 130th Airlift Wing is a long-time C-130 operator located at McLaughlin Air National Guard Base in Charleston, West Virginia.
The U.S. government operates the largest C-130J Super Hercules fleet in the world. This delivery represents the U.S. government’s continued transition to the C-130J as the common platform across the Air Force, the Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard.
Rod McLean, vice president, and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Air Mobility & Maritime Missions (AMMM) line of business said, “This delivery represents the thousands of people — past and present — that design, build, fly, maintain and support C-130Js around the world. Like its namesake, the C-130J is a legend defined by its strength and power. Yet, it is the people who are part of the C-130J operator, production, supplier, and industry partner communities who truly define the Super Hercules and helped the C-130J Program reach this monumental achievement.”
The C-130J Super Hercules is the current production model of the legendary C-130 Hercules aircraft. With the airlift choice of 26 operators in 22 nations, the global C-130 fleet has surpassed more than 2 million flight hours and holds more than 54 world records.
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Defined by its versatility, there are 17 different mission configurations of the C-130J that include transport (military and commercial), humanitarian aid delivery, aerial firefighting, natural disaster relief support, medevac, search and rescue, weather reconnaissance, and aerial refueling.