RAF Lockheed C-130J Hercules retirement. Updates 2023 and onwards....

[Stratofreighter]

"Beyond irony,
in bigging them up,
presumably for a quick cash sale,
the brochure is basically a long list of reasons why we shouldn't be selling them , for example,
"The aircraft that goes where others can't, won't or don't!"....

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... re_34_.pdf

https://www.pprune.org/military-aviatio ... rly-4.html

October 17, 2022

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has added the Royal Air Force’s (Raf) C-130J fleet
to its list of military equipment that will be made available for sale through the Defence Equipment Sales Authority (DESA) from 2023,
which is slated to be the out-of-service date for the type.

The withdrawal of the 14-strong C-130J fleet for the RAF will be a blow to the service’s airlift capability,
although the induction of the larger A400 Atlas is intended to offset the loss.

According to a DESA brochure, added to the Defence Equipment and Support equipment sale list,
the UK’s C-130J fleet will be made available for acquisition as they come out of service
“between 2023 and 2025”.

UK-based company Marshall Aerospace was named as the “principal retail partner” for the sale of the C-130Js,
and would provide entry into service, sustainment and capability enhancements where required.

The decision to cut the C-130Js from UK service was announced in the 2021 Defence Command Paper,
which set out the latest in a long line of restructures of the country’s military.

The move has been hotly debated ever since,
with UK parliamentarians regularly bringing up the loss of the C-130Js
as being detrimental to operational capability.

https://www.airforce-technology.com/hom ... le-by-mod/
has much more to read...

[Le Addeur noir]

The A400M cannot do what a C-130 can. The decision to sell these off is likely to end up in people being killed in some furture conflict when the A400 goes unserviceable doring a Special Forces insertion or extraction.

Still to the chinless wonders of Whitehall cost savings are more inportant than service personell's lives.

[Alpha Kilo One]

I guess all countries have the same problems at the top. They are modern managers.
They don't care about people, technical or environmental issues. They only care about saving money, and will never be held responsible for their decisions.

[Stratofreighter]

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/britain ... 130-fleet/

Britain going ahead with sale of C-130 fleet
March 17, 2023

The Royal Air Force’s C-130J Hercules capability is planned to be withdrawn from service on 30 June 2023.

Appropriate disposal activities have already begun.

Alex Chalk, Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence, stated:

“The Royal Air Force’s C-130J Hercules capability is planned to be withdrawn from service on 30 June 2023.

Appropriate disposal activities have already begun

in support of the potential sale of the airframes, flight simulators, support equipment,
and the remaining specialised C130J spares inventory.”

In preparation for the withdrawal of the C-130J Hercules from service,
the RAF has started taking necessary measures
to facilitate the potential sale of the aircraft and associated assets.


These measures, referred to above as “appropriate disposal activities,”
involve the process of decommissioning the aircraft and organising the relevant resources for sale.

[A4scooter]

It doesn’t matter how good the Atlas is, it can’t be in two places at once & apart from Belgium / Luxembourg every other Atlas operator has a smaller aircraft to supplement the Atlas.
In addition with the on going war in the Ukraine, it seems quite shortsighted to withdraw any aircraft prematurely.

[Stratofreighter]

https://t.co/011Xzbctoy

Final RAF C-130J mission set for 17 June 2023 as Hercules retirement nears

17-04-2023

The UK’s long history as an operator of the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules will all but come to an end on 17 June 2023
when the Royal Air Force (RAF) performs its final mission with the type.

Consisting of a three-ship fly-past as part of the King’s Birthday celebrations,
the sortie will be a bittersweet moment
ahead of the official retirement of the RAF’s remaining J-model aircraft on 30 June 2023.

Defence officials announced in 2021’s Integrated Review
that the 15-strong C-130J fleet would be retired by 2023 due to cost savings,
with operations transitioning to the Airbus Defence & Space A400M.

That date was subsequently extended until end-June due to availability issues with the European type.

Group Captain Gareth Burdett, Commander Air Wing – Air Mobility, says just six Hercules remain in RAF service.

Those already withdrawn from use have been relocated to Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge
where they are being prepared for sale.

Although concerns had been raised at the A400M’s ability to take on all the missions performed by the smaller C-130J,
Burdett says the Atlas has risen to the challenge.

“There will be some capability gaps in very niche areas,
all of the capability improvements have been significantly accelerated
since the decision to sunset the Hercules was taken.

“Many have been brought forward by a number of years and the most critical capabilities have had the gap eradicated.”

He cites the A400M’s better range and payload over the C-130J,
and its short-runway performance, as key attributes for end-users.

“What our customers are saying is
that they appreciate the benefits and enhancements
the A400M can bring over the C-130
in almost every regard that enables them to deliver their mission more effectively,” he says.

Reliability and availability have been a concern for all users of the A400M,
with the type’s Europrop TP400 engines posing a particular issue.

Burdett says the situation has improved thanks to joint efforts by Airbus Defence & Space and the Ministry of Defence, adding:
“While we are yet to see the full benefit that their brochure promised,
certainly we are seeing a stable and useable amount of aircraft
that reflects the availability we’d expect from other [transport aircraft] fleets.”

The RAF as operates 21 A400Ms; a 22nd and final example will be delivered by the end of the month, adds Burdett.

The UK has been a C-130 operator since the mid-1960s, taking delivery of its latest J-model examples from 1999.

[Stratofreighter]

https://www.forces.net/technology/aircr ... -air-staff

19th May 2023 at 10:04am

The decision to replace the RAF's C-130J Hercules aircraft with the Atlas C.1 A400M will result in an initial capability gap,
the incoming Chief of the Air Staff has said.

Air Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of the Air Staff (designate),
has said that plans to replace the Hercules aircraft would leave a temporary capability hole for Special Forces operations.

The C-130J Hercules has been in service for the British Armed Forces since 1999 and is due to be retired at the end of June.

AM Sir Richard said: "There is a gap from when the Hercules goes out of service to when the A400M picks up all of those capabilities.

"The niche issues where the gap is is around the airdrop and the kind of things we can drop from the aircraft."

[Stratofreighter]

https://twitter.com/RAFBrizeNorton/stat ... 4064066563

Today, the RAF Brize Norton Serco Finish Team have applied a commemorative decal to the tail of
@RoyalAirForce
C-130J, ZH870,
in celebration of the aircraft type's 56 yrs of legendary service.

Keep an eye out over this month, to catch a glimpse it!

#FarewellHercules

2:58 p.m. · 6 jun. 2023

[Hans van Herk]

56 years?

It might be technically correct with the delivery of the first aircraft in December 1966, but showing in big numbers 1966-2023 and than have an outcome of 56 years ...

[Stratofreighter]

https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles/a- ... f-service/

09 Jun 2023

A flypast to mark the forthcoming retirement of the Hercules from RAF service

A flypast to mark the forthcoming retirement of the Hercules from RAF service will take place across all four nations of the United Kingdom on Wednesday 14 June 2023.

Details of the planned routing and timings by the three aircraft can be found below and cover locations of significance to the Hercules’ service and 47 Squadron.

1000 Depart RAF Brize Norton

1025 National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas

1034 RAF Cosford

1122 RAF Valley

1148 FS Aldergrove

1251 RAF Lossiemouth (with Typhoon escort)

1408 RAF Leeming

1410 RAF Topcliffe

1423 Beverley

1435 RAF Waddington

1438 RAF College Cranwell

1458 Cambridge Airport

1504 RAF Mildenhall

1515 Colchester Garrison

1622 MOD Boscombe Down

1625 Salisbury Plain (West Down Camp)

1632 MOD Lyneham

1636 Royal Wootton Bassett

1639 Defence Academy of the UK, Shrivenham

1643 Dalton Barracks, Abingdon

1651 RAF Halton

1655 RAF High Wycombe

1705 RAF Brize Norton