The Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom (RAF) continues to look for buyers for its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, whose retirement from active service took place in June 2023 with a farewell flight. There would be a total of about 14 units put up for sale, namely one aircraft in its C5 version and thirteen in its C4 variant.
The Defense Equipment Sales Authority (DESA) of the British Ministry of Defense stated that they have several potential destinations on the list but none advanced: “The Defense Equipment Sales Authority (DESA) is managing the sales program on behalf of the Ministry of Defense and continues to actively pursue sales with a number of potential buyers.”
It is worth highlighting, among the aforementioned potential destinations, the interest of the Greek Air Force in acquiring part of the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft that the RAF retired. Along these lines, there were reports from the specialized media Janes dated at the end of 2022, information that spoke of initial contacts between the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Greece and the company Marshall Aerospace and Defense Group of the United Kingdom, which was selected as main contractor to provide technical support for future users of the platform.
The process of detachment of C-130J aircraft by the United Kingdom was initiated earlier than anticipated in the initial plans, responding at the time to a defense financing crisis that made a new structuring of the armed forces as a whole necessary. . To respond to the lack that the loss of capabilities associated with the Super Hercules would represent, such as the deployment of airborne forces, the RAF began to use its new A-400M aircraft manufactured by Airbus, of which it owns about 22 units.
It is useful to remember that the RAF C-130J were acquired in 1993, being purchased as a replacement for the old Hercules C.Mk 1 units, also known as the “Legacy” fleet. At the time of undertaking said operation (in December of that year), the J version of the Super Hercules was the most modern on the market, of which 10 units were incorporated. An additional 15 aircraft in their extended fuselage C-130J-30 version were also purchased on that occasion. In nearly 20 years of service, the RAF Super Hercules flew a large number of flight hours, many more than initially projected; However, his retirement, as mentioned, also came quickly, no more and no less than 10 years earlier.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
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