Poland’s Minister of Defence announced the country is buying five surplus C-130H Hercules multipurpose transport aircraft from the US Air Force. The aircrafts would go to the 33rd Transport Aviation Base in Powidz and will increase Polish air force transport capacity. As part of the Excess Defense Articles programme, excess defence articles and military equipment that are no longer needed by the US armed forces are eligible for transfer to foreign countries. The first plane is set to arrive in Poland later this year.
The new Hercules aircraft expands the Polish air force’s ability to transport troops and equipment while providing support for evacuation and humanitarian operations. Its presence in the Polish fleet. The surplus C-130Hs were manufactured in 1985, and ended USAF service in 2017. The airframes are 15 years younger than the E-model Hercules currently operated by the Polish air force. The Polish air force took delivery of 5 C-130E in 2009. 3 more C-130E leased between 2009 and 2012 as interim solution, two of them are retired and given to Poland for spares, last one returned to U.S..
Podpisali?my umow? na pozyskanie w ramach programu Excess Defense Articles 5 samolotów C-130H. Samoloty trafi? do 33. Bazy Lotnictwa Transportowego w #Powidz i zwi?ksz? nasze mo?liwo?ci transportowe. Przylotu pierwszego z nich spodziewamy si? jeszcze w tym roku. pic.twitter.com/vHmNilMzoN
— Mariusz B?aszczak (@mblaszczak) April 14, 2021
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medevac, and cargo transport aircraft. It is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. More than 40 variants of the Hercules, including civilian versions marketed as the Lockheed L-100, operate in more than 60 nations.
The C-130H model has updated Allison T56-A-15 turboprops, a redesigned outer wing, updated avionics and other minor improvements. Later H models had a new, fatigue-life-improved, center wing that was retrofitted to many earlier H-models. For structural reasons, some models are required to land with reduced amounts of fuel when carrying heavy cargo, reducing usable range.The H model remains in widespread use with the U.S. Air Force and many foreign air forces. C-130H models produced from 1992 to 1996 were designated as C-130H3 by the U.S. Air Force.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Public Affairs)
