Article Posted on : - Jul 01, 2010

The two new airlifters, C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, fly in formation during a training mission. Photo: USAF

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB (BNS): US Air Force has delivered the fourth and the final C-130J to Royal Norwegian Air Force, around two months earlier than the scheduled time.

In mid-2007, USAF had signed an agreement with the Royal Norwegian Air Force to deliver four C-130J through the foreign military sales process. The delivery was turned in near record time by the Air Force Security Assistance Center (AFSAC) in less than half the normal processing time.

In the contract, USAF has to deliver four aircraft, spare parts, technical publications and training at a cost of $519 million.

"From the very beginning, this case has served as an example of how to conduct foreign military sales," Lt. Col. Peter Eide, 657th Aeronautical Systems Squadron commander, said in an USAF news release.

"The Air Force Security Assistance Center, the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Lockheed-Martin, the Air Force Security Assistance Training squadron, along with the people here in our programme office has worked extremely hard to deliver this vital capability to an important international partner,” he added.

C-130J incorporates state-of-the-art technology to reduce manpower requirements and lowers operating and support costs and provide life-cycle cost savings compared to earlier C-130 models.

The aircraft has an additional 15 feet of fuselage increasing usable space in the cargo compartment.

The new model of the aircraft is much faster and they flies farther at a higher cruise speed and takes off and lands in a shorter distance.

This aircraft includes an advanced two-pilot flight station with fully integrated digital avionics, colour multifunctional liquid crystal displays and head-up displays. It has the state-of-the-art navigation systems with dual inertial navigation system and global positioning system. It is also equipped with fully integrated defensive systems, improved fuel, environmental and ice-protection systems and an enhanced cargo-handling system.