MELBOURNE, Australia — Lockheed Martin foresees extra alternatives for the C-130J turboprop airlifter within the Indo-Pacific area, highlighting the efficiencies of the newest model over legacy variants as the important thing promoting level.
Talking throughout a briefing on the Singapore Airshow, the corporate’s vice chairman for world pursuits, Randy Howard, mentioned the C-130J Tremendous Hercules “represents, pound for pound, important worth for our clients.” He mentioned the corporate continues so as to add capabilities to the platform by way of block upgrades and remains to be in robust demand, with the manufacturing line in Georgia engaged on an order backlog that will preserve it open for a number of extra years.
A few of that backlog comes from regional nations, with Indonesia and New Zealand having 5 plane on order every. They may add to the 495 C-130Js delivered globally over the previous 20 years.
There are additionally 4 different Indo-Pacific operators of the C-130J: the air forces of Australia, Bangladesh, India and South Korea.
Lockheed Martin revealed in November on the Dubai Air Present that the Royal Australian Air Power was contemplating shopping for an extra 24 C-130Js and 6 KC-130J tankers.
The service has been a longstanding Hercules operator and one of many first to take supply of C-130Js, having began working the sort in 1958 with C-130As earlier than adopting the “E” and “H” variants after which taking supply of 12 “J” sorts beginning in 1999 — making for an unbroken 64-years-plus stretch of flying the plane.
Potential future clients within the area for the C-130J embrace Singapore and Thailand, who’re each working legacy C-130 fashions and haven’t refreshed their medium or heavy airlift capabilities in recent times.
Thailand has already expressed curiosity in changing its C-130Hs, with a protection whitepaper in 2020 calling for a dozen new airlifters. This system can be cut up into three acquisition phases of 4 plane every between 2022 and 2029.
In distinction, Singapore doesn’t look like in a rush to function its 10 upgraded, but legacy C-130B and C-130H plane. The nation determined to improve the fleet and obtained the primary in 2010, regardless of the oldest C-130B being greater than 60 years previous.
Responding to media inquiries within the lead as much as the Singapore Airshow, the chief of the Republic of Singapore Air Power, Maj. Gen. Kelvin Khong, mentioned the service will “proceed to function it [the existing C-130 fleet] for so long as it’s operationally and economically possible, while persevering with to maintain a glance out for brand new capabilities that may higher meet our future wants.”
The native improve noticed the service’s C-130s fitted with new avionics, mission methods, self-protection suites and digital glass cockpits. An earlier improve noticed the fleet’s tools streamlined, with the C-130Bs — all of which had been former U.S. Air Power or Jordanian plane — receiving new engines, avionics and a more practical cooling system.
Nonetheless, Howard mentioned, if the corporate is ready to pitch the C-130J to Singapore, he would stress the newer mannequin’s improved effectivity and mission effectiveness from the standpoint of working prices.
“You are able to do extra with much less, and over the fullness of time, you’ll earn again your cash for a extra succesful fleet,” he mentioned.
Mike Yeo is the Asia correspondent for Protection Information. He wrote his first defense-related journal article in 1998 earlier than pursuing an aerospace engineering diploma on the Royal Melbourne Institute of Know-how in Australia. Following a stint in engineering, he grew to become a contract protection reporter in 2013 and has written for a number of media retailers.