A Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules prepares to land at Mount Bundey Training Area in the Northern Territory, during Exercise Diamond Storm 2022. (LAC Sam Price, RAAF)
SYDNEY — Australia, continuing to make good on its pledges to boost the country’s strategic reach, will buy an additional eight C-130Js for its fleet, boosting the number to 20, defense procurement minister Pat Conroy announced today.
“This investment of $9.8 billion AUD [$6.61 billion US] will almost double the fleet and represents a massive uplift in capability in mobility and transport for the Royal Australian Air Force,” Conroy told reporters. “So, in future, when we need to help out our region or transport troops and equipment around the world, it’ll be these new Hercules aircraft that are there.”
Deliveries will start in 2027 and the first 12 will arrive by 2030, Conroy said.
“Almost doubling the fleet gives us more capacity to deploy them on multiple operations at the same time. And that’s the critical driver,” he said. “We’ve got the C-17s as well, the Globe Masters, and the smaller [C-27J] Spartans, but the Hercs are the right size to do lots of jobs. They’ve got a great range, they can land in unprepared fields. So, advice from Defence was that there’d be a very significant increase in capability by almost doubling the fleet.”
Australia’s hopes to buy C-130s aren’t a total surprise, even if the details had not been officially released. In November, the US State Department notified the US Congress it had approved a potential sale, although that notice covered 24 planes. Asked why the government decided to go for only 20, Conroy said the final decision came down to military needs.
“The 20 is the right number, based on (departmental) advice. And these aircraft are a significant upgrade on the C-130J’s that are in service at the moment. They’ve got better electronic warfare self protection, they’ve got better performance and they’ve got stronger airframes. So, while it’s got the same name, it’s a better aircraft,” he said. “And Defence went through an exhaustive process of comparing other capabilities, other options that are out there on the global market. And I can say hand on heart that the Hercules are the best aircraft for what we need.”
Lockheed Martin Australia CEO Warren Macdonald noted in a statement that the aircraft could be particularly useful for supporting operations across northern Australia, “the importance of which was highlighted in the Defence Strategic Review.”
