More Hercules for RAAF?

03 Desember 2021

RAAF C-130J Hercules (photo : Aus DoD)

Speaking at the Dubai Air Show in mid-November, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Executive Vice President Greg Ulmer said that the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has requested details for the supply of 30 C-130J Hercules.

“They are talking to us about potential for 24 C-130J-30s and six KC-130Js,” Ulmer told overseas journalists.

The C-130J-30s could be seen as a solution to the RAAF’s requirement for a replacement medium airlift capability forecast by the recent Force Structure Plan. The FSP 2020 document allocates up to $13.2 billion to replace the RAAF’s existing 12 C-130J-30 aircraft and expand the fleet under Air 7404, with funding to begin in 2029.

However, Ulmer’s specific mention of six KC-130Js – which are dedicated air-to-air refuelling variants of the Hercules – is interesting. The KC-130J is a tactical tanker, lacking both the speed and fuel offload capability of the RAAF’s current Airbus KC-30A tanker fleet and can also only refuel receivers which are fitted with a probe.

With the retirement of the ‘classic’ Hornet this week (see story elsewhere), the only current ADF aircraft able to refuel from a KC-130J are the RAAF’s F/A-18F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.

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