by Dan Perkins

A new generation of the C-130 Hercules aircraft assumed active-duty on March 19, 2004.  The C-130 is a versatile workhorse within the Air Force's fleet of airplanes, performing a wide range of airlift missions.  The C-130 operates throughout the Air Force, serving with Air Mobility Command, Air Force Special Operations, theater commands, Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve Command.

If you have ever attended an air show, there's a good chance you've seen the C-130 perform.  The C-130 can be outfitted for a wide range of missions, including airlift support, Antarctic ice re-supply, aero-medical missions, fire-fighting duties for the U.S. Forest Service and natural disaster relief missions.

Last month, the Little Rock Air Force Base (AFB), in Little Rock, Arkansas, took delivery of United States Air Force's first active-duty C-130J.  The first J-Model came on board after six Guard, Reserve and active-duty Air Force units spent a month examining the J-Model's operations and capabilities.

Although the C-130 aircraft has been a round for more than 40 years, the J-Model represents a quantum leap forward in transport airlift technology.  The J-Model reportedly has 40-percent greater performance capability over the current version of the C-130.  The plane's versatility has been greatly enhanced to enable the J-Model to fly farther, faster, higher and longer while carrying more equipment or people.  The J-Model can also take off or land on shorter runways than previous models were able to do.

Technology has made flying the aircraft a whole new experience and brought major changes to the C-130's cockpit.  An advanced onboard computer has eliminated the need for both the flight engineer and the navigator.  Downsizing the aircrew has made the J-Model less expensive to operate in terms of man-hours. 

"The J-Model looks like a C-130 and it sounds like a C-130, but in reality, it is a totally new airplane," said Colonel Joseph Reheiser, commander of the 314th Aircraft Wing, which is the first Air Force Wing to take receipt of the first C-130J.

Little Rock AFB is scheduled to receive seven C-130Js by December 2005, and the 314th Aircraft Wing will assume responsibility for training aircrew members as well as maintenance crews.

The C-130J will eventually replace the aging C-130E's, which are currently in use in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The initial production model, the C-130A, entered Air Force service in December 1956.  A succession of upgrades of the aircraft has brought it to the J-Model.

The Air Force is thrilled to have the new J-Model, with its high-tech digital brain.  The onboard computer allows real-time information to be shared between the aircraft and the maintenance crews.  If the aircraft experiences operating difficulties, the onboard computer identifies the problem, then notifies the pilots, and configures a solution.

The C-130 is built by Lockheed-Martin, a Boeing company, at its production facility at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Georgia.

The End

Sources:  Article (and photo) by Senior Airman Jason Neal, 314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, appearing in the Air Force Print News for March 22, 2004 and the Air Force Link web site.  Also, "Hey J" article by Maj. Nahaku McFadden, which appeared in the March 8, 2004 edition of Air Force Link web site.  All prep photos taken by Maj. Nahaku McFadden, USAF.