Sunday, November 29, 2009

DTN News: Lockheed Martin Super Hercules Deliveries Strengthen USAF and USMC Fleets

DTN News: Lockheed Martin Super Hercules Deliveries Strengthen USAF and USMC Fleets *Source: DTN News / Lockheed Martin (NSI News Source Info) MARIETTA, Ga., - November 29, 2009: Demonstrating the increase in the C-130J build and delivery rate, Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] simultaneously delivered two C-130Js on Nov. 19 to two different customers – a C-130J to the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and a KC-130J to the U.S. Marine Corps.The Lockheed Martin C-130 is the US Air Force principal tactical cargo and personnel transport aircraft, and the C-130J Hercules is the latest model, featuring a glass cockpit, digital avionics and a new propulsion system with a six-bladed propeller. The C-130 has been in continuous production since 1954 and over 2,300 Hercules have been built for 67 countries. The improvements built into the C-130J, which entered production in 1997, have enhanced the performance of the aircraft in terms of range, cruise ceiling time to climb, speed and airfield requirements. A stretched version, the C-130J-30 has been developed and is designated CC-130J by the USAF. The first C-130J-30 for the UK RAF (the launch customer) was delivered in November 1999. The C-130J entered active service with the USAF at Little Rock Air Force Base in April 2004 and was first deployed in December 2004. The first combat airdrop for the USAF was in July 2005. The US Air Mobility Command declared initial operating capability for the C-130J in October 2006. C-130J orders 186 C-130J and C-130J-30 aircraft have been ordered and over 150 delivered. Orders are : US Air Force, Air National Guard, Marine Corps and Coastguard (89 C-130J and C-130J-30 and 20 KC-130J tankers), UK (ten C-130J, 15 C-130J-30 all delivered), Italian Air Force (12 C-130J and ten C-130J-30 all delivered), Royal Australian Air Force (12 C-130J, all delivered), Kuwaiti Air Force (four C-130J-30) and the Danish Air Force (four C-130J-30 all delivered). In April 2004, the US Marine Corps formally accepted the first KC-130J tanker / transport into service. The aircraft was first deployed in combat in April 2005 in Iraq. By the end of 2006, 24 aircraft had been delivered. In December 2006, an additional order was placed for three C-130J-30 for the USAF and one KC-130J for the USMC, for delivery in 2010. In May 2007, India requested the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of six C-130J aircraft. The contract was placed in February 2008. In November 2007, Norway paced an order for the purchase of four C-130J aircraft. One aircraft was delivered in November 2008, one will be delivered in 2009 and two in 2010. In January 2008, Canada placed an order for 17 C-130J aircraft. First deliveries are planned for the end of 2010. In June 2008, the USAF ordered six HC/MC-130J special operations variants of the C-130J for delivery from 2011. In July 2008, the government of Israel requested the sale of nine C-130J-30 aircraft. Also in July 2008, Qatar ordered four C-130J-30 aircraft with deliveries to begin in 2011. In August 2008, Iraq requested the sale of six C-130J-30 aircraft. The USAFE C-130J was accepted by Brig. Gen. Mark C. “Marshal” Dillon, commander of the 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein Air Base, and commander, Kaiserslautern Military Community, Germany. The KC-130J Tanker was accepted by a Marine Corps flight crew and will be based at VMGR-152, Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan. "Adding another C-130J is not a linear addition; it's geometric in terms of the capability of the airplane," Dillon said. "One plus one doesn't always equal two, sometimes it equals three or four because of the great capability of the C-130J. After spending the last two weeks at Little Rock Air Force Base and seeing the tremendous capability of the C-130J, it's just going to add capability to Ramstein, Europe and that part of the world – which our country needs and our European partners need." "Delivery of two aircraft to two customers in one day is a clear indication of the accelerating pace of the C-130J program," said Ross Reynolds, Lockheed Martin vice-president, C-130 programs. "The worldwide demand for this proven airlifter continues to grow and we are steadily increasing production to meet the demand." The Ramstein delivery represents the eighth C-130J for the base, which will receive 10 C-130Js by the end of 2009. Four more will be delivered in 2010. The KC-130J is the 36th of 46 aircraft on order to be delivered to the USMC. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion. 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