June 30, 2023, has been set as the day of the withdrawal of all C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, which now totals 14 units. Apparently before that, the British Air Force (Royal Air Force / RAF) will carry out its last flight mission on June 17, 2023.
Britain's history as an operator of the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules will end on June 17 when the Royal Air Force (RAF) conducts its final mission with the type. Comprising a three-plane fly-past as part of the King's Birthday celebrations, the farewell flight will be a poignant moment ahead of the C-130J's official retirement on June 30.
Defense officials announced during the Integrated Review 2021 that the (then) 15-strong C-130J fleet would be retired in 2023 for cost savings reasons, with the UK Air Force switching to the Airbus A400M Atlas.
Group Captain Gareth Burdett, Commander of the Air Wing – Air Mobility, said currently only six Super Hercules remain in RAF service. Meanwhile, the others have been withdrawn from use and transferred to Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge where they are being prepared for sale.
While concerns have been raised about the A400M's ability to perform all of the missions the C-130J has undertaken, Burdett said the A400 has met the challenge.
“There will be some capability gaps in very special areas, all upgrades have accelerated significantly since the decision to retire Hercules was taken.”
He cited that the A400M's better range and payload than the C-130J, and performance in use of its short runways, were attributes of the Super Hercules' real advantage.
Cirium's fleet data shows the RAF operates 21 A400Ms; the 22nd and final unit will ship at the end of the month, Burdett added. Britain has been a C-130 operator since the mid-1960s, and took delivery of the newest C-130J variant starting in 1999.
It is believed that a number of countries are currently eyeing the British Air Force's C-130J. In preparation for the C-130J Super Hercules withdrawal from service, the UK Air Force has begun taking the necessary steps to facilitate the potential sale of the aircraft and related assets.
These steps, referred to above as “proper disposal activities”, involve decommissioning the aircraft and arranging the relevant resources for sale. Some of the items that will be sold from the C-130J are airframes, flight simulators, support equipment and specialized C130J spares inventory.
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