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Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules

Type (Muster)
Military transport (taktischer Militärtransporter)

Country (Land)
USA

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems
86 South Cobb Drive
Marietta, GA 30063
USA

Phone: 001-770/494-6208
Fax: 001-770/494-1290

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 2 (+ loadmaster)
Passengers (Passagiere): 92 combat troops (Soldaten) or 64 paratroops (Fallschirmspringer) or 74 litters (Tragbahren) or 54 passengers on airline-type seats. The stretched C-130J-30 can take 128, 92, 97 patients and 79 airline-type seats respectively.
Freight (Fracht): All sorts of cargo, including wheeled vehicles, light armoured vehicles, towed artillery and palettes (eight 463L pallets in the CC-130J, six in the C-130J).

Power plant (Antrieb): 4 x Rolls-Royce (Allison) AE 2100D3 turboprops
Power (Leistung): 3424 kW (4590 shp) flat rating
Propeller: Dowty Aerospace R391 with six blades and FADEC, diameter 4,11 m

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 29,79 m (34,37 m for C-130J-30)
Height (Höhe): 11,84 m (11,81 m for C-130J-30)
Span (Spannweite): 40,41 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 162,12 sq m

Max. cargo hold width (Frachtraumbreite): 3,12 m
Max. cargo hold height (Frachtraumhöhe): 2,74 m
Cargo hold legth (Frachtraumlänge): 12,19 m (16,76 m for C-130J-30) or 15,32 (19,89 m) including the ramp
Total usable volume (Frachtraumvolumen): 128,9 cu m (170,5 cu m for C-130J-30)

Weights (Massen)
Operating empty weight (Leermasse): 34275 kg (35966 kg for C-130J-30)
Max. payload for 2,5 g manoeuvres (max. Nutzlast): 18955 kg (21690 kg for C-130J-30)
Max. fuel (Max. Kraftstoff): 20819 kg (25552 litres) plus 8506 kg (10440 litres) in external tanks as an option
Maximum zero-fuel weight (max. Masse ohne Kraftstoff): 53230 kg
Max. take-off weigth (Max. Startmasse): 70305 kg or 74390 kg for the C-130J-30
Max. overload take-off-weight (Überlast-Startmasse): 79380 kg
Max. landing weight (Max. Landemasse): 58965 kg

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Max. airspeed (max. Geschwindigkeit): Mach 0.68 / 360 KTAS (666 km/h)
Max. cruise speed (max. Reisegeschwindigkeit): 657 km/h
Economical cruise speed (wirtschaftliche Reisegeschwindigkeit): 628 km/h
Max. climb rate at sea level (max. Steigrate): 10,6 m/s
Initial cruising altitude (Anfangs-Reiseflughöhe): 8535 m
Service ceiling (Dienstgipfelhöhe): 9315 m
Take-off to 15 m (Startstrecke über 15-m-Hindernis): 1433 m
Landing distance from15 m(Landestrecke über 15-m-Hindernis): 777 m
Range (Reichweite):
- 5250 km (with 18145 kg of payload and reserves)
- 5245 km (with 24690 kg payload in the C-130J-30)
Endurance (Flugdauer): over 10 h

Costs (Kosten)
With spares and support, the C-130J sells at around 55 million US-Dollars (Australia 1995).
In December 2000, a dozen aircraft for the US services in a mix of variants sold at 734 million US-Dollars, i.e. 61 million US-Dollars per plane.
Lockheed Martin in April 1999 claimed a cost per flight hour of 1300 US-Dollars compared with 1900 US-Dollars for the older C-130H and 3900 US-Dollars for the C-17.

Customers (Kunden)
In March 2003, after the big Pentagon mulit-year contract, Lockheed Martin had 178 orders for the new Hercules variant. This is up from 111 in early 2001 and 83 in August 1998. Customers are as follows:

Royal Australian Air Force: 12 (12 x C-130J-30). Ordered on 21 Dezember 1995, with deliveries beginning on 7 September 1999 and ending in 2001. Costs are around 660 Mio. Dollar. An option on 24 aircraft has lapsed. The C-130J-30s are operated by 37th Squadron in Richmond near Sydney.
Flyvevabnet (Royal Danish Air Force): 3 (3 x C-130J-30, plus one Option). Ordered on 1 Dezember 2000, with deliveries now slipped from the fourth quarter of 2003 to the beginning of 2004, to Eskadrille 721 at Varlose.
Royal Air Force: 25 (10 x Hercules HC Mk.5 und 15 x stretched Hercules HC Mk.4). Ordered in Dezember 1994, with the RAF being the launch customer. The first aircraft (for tests) was handed over on 26 August 1998, the first Hercules for the ops unit was delivered on 23 November 1999, and the last was acceped on 21. June 2001. Costs were said to be just over one billion Pounds. Operated by No. 24 and No. 30 Squadrons at Lyneham.
Aeronautica Militare Italiana: 22 (12 x C-130J und 10 x C-130J-30). Ordered in November 1997. Deliveries from 21 September 2000. Costs for the first 18 quoted as 1,2 billion US-Dollars. In service with 2. Gruppo und 50. Gruppo der 46. Brigata Aerea an Pisa. Italy ordered 18 C-130J at first and then increased its fleet with two additional contracts. Pisa is also the location of a modern training and simulator centre, officially opened in March 2003.
US Air Force: 74 (59 x C-130J/CC-130J, 5 x EC-130J, 10 x WC-130J). First deliveries to Keesler AFB for Training on 31 March 1999. Operators are:
- 53rd WRS, AF Reserve Command, Keesler AFB, Mississippi (WC-130J)
- 135th Airlift Squadron, Warfield ANGB, Baltimore, Maryland (C-130J)
- 143rd Airlift Wing, Rhode Island ANG (C-130J)
- 146th Airlift Wing, California ANG, Channel Island ANGS (CC-130J, suitable as waterbombers)
- 193rd Special Operations Squadron, ANG, Harrisburg IAP, Pennsylvania (EC-130J, delivery from the summer of 2003 after modification work at Palmdale)
- 403rd Wing, AF Reserve Command, Keesler AFB
- C-130J Formal Training Unit, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas
US Marine Corps: 35 (35 x KC-130J). Operated by VMGRT-253, MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina (KC-130J)
US Coast Guard: 6 (6 x HC-130J). In service at CGAS Elizabeth City, North Carolina

At the handover of the first aircraft (to the UK on 24 August 1998), Lockheed Martin stated that it sees a market potential of at least 700 aircraft "because today, more than at any other time, only a Hercules can replace a Hercules”.
At the beginning of 2003, Lockheed Martin was seeking additional export orders, with Portugal and Egypt reportedly being targeted.

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
Antonov An-70
Airbus Military Company A400M (FLA)

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The C-130J is the latest version of the legendary Hercules transport, which goes back to the mid-50s. Lockheed Martin put in state of the art technology to minimize cost of ownership and enhance mission performance, including:

new avionics with dual mission computers and 1553B data bus architecture to significantly reduce wiring. Colour weather radar is included.
two-crew flight deck with four large colour LCDs and head-up-display as standard. Dark cockpit concept to reduce workload.
new propulsion package with AE 2100 engines and six-blade composite propellers. Automatic thrust control system. Fuel efficiency is up 15 per cent, while 29 per cent more power is available, says Lockheed Martin.

As with previous Hercules models, Lockheed Martin is building both a standard and a stretched version (the latter variously referred to as C-130J-30 or CC-130J in USAF terminology). A refueling probe is optional. As indicated by the US orders, kits for use as tankers or weather reconnaissance can be fitted. Also, electronic combat versions and an AEW variant with rotodome on the fuselage is offered.

History (Geschichte)
Lockheed first proposed an improved Hercules in August 1988 in response to a US Military Airlift Command concept. A military request for information was issued in June 1990, but by November of that year the USAF renounced development as too costly. The company then went on to opt for a privately funded development programme, with a go decision in December 1991.
Parts production began in March 1994, and while the first aircraft took shape at Marietta (Georgia), an RAF Hercules C.1 was used to evaluate the new propulsion system. Roll-out of the first C-130J-30 for the RAF was on October 18, 1995, and two days later the first USAF C-130J also emerged from the assembly line hangar.
Maiden flight was delayed substantially due to avionics problems and did not occur until 5 April 1996. The first USAF aircraft followed on 4 June. To make up delays, Lockheed Martin used more aircraft than planned in the flight test programme, which hit further trouble when it was discovered that stall behaviour was unsatisfactory due to strong propeller vortices. Better stall warning and a stick pusher had to be incorporated.
Problems with the de-icing of the fin contributed to further delays, and pending the completion of natural icing tests (in South America in the spring of 1998), the first Hercules for the RAF was not delivered until August 24, 1998, which is some two years late. This has led to penalty payments of at least 25 million pounds for Lockheed Martin, which also has agreed to remarket used aircraft taken back from the UK air arm.
To foster interest in the new Hercules, Lockheed Martin was using a USAF aircraft for a world tour, which covered 33 countries in the Mideast, South America and Asia as well as Europe (May 1998) with stops at the Berlin airshow, in Switzerland, Italy, France, Norway and Spain.
FAA certification of the C-130J was achieved in 1998. During the year, 19 aircraft were delivered.
Nine WC-130J were ordered in September 1998. These get specialised avionics, weather sensors and structural modifications.
Lockheed Martin formally turned over the first C-130J to the US Air Force Reserve on March 3, 1999, at Keesler AFB in Biloxi (Mississippi). It will be operated by the 403rd Wing.
The Air National Guard got its first C-130J on 3 May 1999 at Baltimore. There the Hercules is operated by the newly reformed 135th Airlift Group of the 175th Wing.
The first WC-130J was formally accepted on 12 October 1999 at Keesler AFB, Mississippi.
The first operational C-130J aircraft was delivered to RAF Lyneham on 23 November 1999.
Lockheed Martins Aeronautics sector operating profit for 1999 was reduced by 210 million US-Dollars due to changes in estimates in the C-130J program due to cost growth and a reduction in production rates, based on a current evaluation of the program's performance. It was decided that "until further favorable progress occurs in terms of orders and cost, the Corporation does not intend to record profit on future deliveries of the aircraft, and will reduce production levels over time from 16 to 8 aircraft per year". By year-end 1999, some 30 aircraft were delivered.
The first C-130J destined for Italy made its first flight on 11 February 2000. It was then used for the test programme.
The Royal Air Force achieved its ISD (In Service Date) in June 2000. By January 2001, the RAF had a total of 16 aircraft in service.
The first C-130J to be converted into an EC-130J Command Solo was delivered to Palmdale in early July 2000.
The Royal Australian Air Force awarded the C-130J-30 its Military Type Certificate at the end of July 2000, thus allowing military operations. Full clearance, for paratroop, airdrop, assault landings and max. weight missions, was anticipated for early 2001. Italy also certified the Hercules on 14 July.
The first KC-130J made its maiden flight on 9 June 2000. A total of three aircraft were assigned to a test programme at Patuxent River. A first drogue engagement with a F/A-18 Hornet was achieved on 30. August 2000. A first KC-130J was delivered to MCAS Cherry Point in September, but this was just used for hands-on training of the maintainers.
On 16 August 2000, the first C-130J for the Italian Air Force departed the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta. It was ferried to Pisa via the Azores. Roll-out ceremonies had been held at Marietta on 11 July.
On 26 September 2000, the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Training Centre at Pisa, Italy was conducted. It was said that the NTC will open in 2002.
On 1 December 2000, in a ceremony at Varloese, the Royal Danish Air Force ordered three C-130J-30s with an option on a fourth. This brought the orderbook up to 99.
In January 2001, the US Air Force issued an expanded operational release for the C-130J. The aircraft was now permitted to carry passengers and cargo in operations throughout the continental US, Alaska and Canada. The previous release was restricted to conversion training.
By the beginning of 2001, there were 111 orders and 69 deliveries. This was after a contract for 12 C-130Js (sic HC-130J, two C-130J-30, an EC-130J and three KC-130J) had been signed at a value of 734 million US-Dollars.
After modifications to the refueling pod, tests with the KC-130J was continued in the second quarter of 2001.
In June 2001, Lockheed Martin ferried the first three C-130J-30 for the US Air Force to the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, to begin airdrop testing.
The Royal Air Force took its last C-130J on 21 June 2001.
The US Marine Corps took delivery of the first three fully configured production KC-130J Hercules on 31 August 2001 in Marietta. They were destined for the VMGRT-253 squadron at Cherry Point. Two of the aircraft joined the first two KC-130Js at Patuxent River for tests.
The new Block 5.3 software, which remedied many of the earlier problems, was available from September 2001 and was then retroffited to earlier aircraft. This new block brought the avionic system to full functionality, allowing radar approaches and fully automatic formation flying. Testing had been conducted from March 2001 at Edwards AFB.
On 2 December 2001, Lockheed Martin formally delivered the first C-130J-30 to the US Air Force in ceremonies at the 143rd Airlift Wing, the Air National Guard unit based at Quonset State Airport on Rhode Island.
On 11 December 2001, the chief of the Royal Australian Air Force formally accepted into operational service the fleet of 12 C-130Js, after the contracted configuration was finally proven.
Lockheed Martin delivered 15 Hercules in 2001, among them seven KC-130J tankers and four C-130Js to Italy.
Five CC-130Js were contracted in March 2002 at 355 million US-Dollars for delivery to the USAF from 2004.
On 2 June 2002, the 146th Wing of the California Air National Guard accepted delivery of the first two new CC-130Js. The are capable of being equipped with the Airborne Fire Fighting System (AFFS).
Italy accepted the first two of 10 stretched C-130J-30 on 2 July 2002. They were later ferried to Pisa for service with the 46th Air Brigade.
The worldwide C-130J fleet passed 50000 flying hours in the summer of 2002.
In November 2002, the US Air Force completed austere airfield take-off and landing trials of the stretched CC-130J at a dirt strip in Yuma, Arizona. Landings at a weight of 135000 lbs were achieved in less than 2000 ft.
In 2002, seven fewer C-130Js were handed over than in 2001, reducing net sales by 335 million US-Dollars (i.e.47 million per aircraft).
The 100th member of the C-130J Super Hercules family rolled out of the production hangar at Marietta, Georgia, on 17 February 2003. It was an HH-130J for the US Coast Guard. Deliveries had reached 92 at that time.
Lockheed Martin received a 4 billion Dollar multiyear acquisition contract for 60 C-130Js on 14 March 2003. This included 40 CC-130Js for the US Air Force and 20 KC-130Js for the Marine Corps. Deliveries will stretch over six years, with ten (6 and 4) Hercules to be ordered per year. According to Lockheed Martin, this order will bring savings of 500 million US-Dollars to the customer and stabilise production at 12 per year. Total orders from the Air Force were expected to reach 168 (among them 10 WC-130J and eight EC-130J), while the Marine Corps had a need of 59 KC-130Js.
The Aeronautica Militare Italiana commemorated the acceptance of its National Training Center at Pisa on 3 April 2003. Initial equipment included an Operational Flight Trainer and a Cockpit Avionics Part Taks Trainer, built by CAE.

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Last updated 8 March 2003

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