Several recent press reports have leapt onto the annual Pentagon operational test and evaluation report to question—again—the wisdom of fielding the Air Force’s newest Hercules, the C-130J. The report covers testing during Fiscal 2006 for a range of military systems, and says of the C-130J that it is “not effective … in a non-permissive threat environment.” The Air Force has not publicly commented on this latest report, however there is ample evidence that the J Model has performed very well in Southwest Asia since starting a “four-month” test that turned into a nearly two-year deployment. Air National Guard crews from California, Maryland, and Rhode Island took their C-130Js to SWA, where they turned in mission effectiveness rates above 95 percent, reports the Desert Eagle. Air Guard crews quickly adapted to the hostile environment, and it was partly the sterling J model performance that changed Donald Rumsfeld’s mind about canceling the program.
The Air Force reports that Air Force Special Operations Command flew a total of more than 13,000 hours and nearly 3,150 sorties over the course of 2006. Those flying statistics were spread across six models (see chart). The leader in flying hours is the AC-130V, with more than 6,500; the leader in sorties is the MH-53 helicopter, besting the gunship by 35 sorties, but flying about half as many hours.
The airmen of the 517th Airlift Squadron deployed to Southwest Asia from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, have marked the last combat flight they will make in the C-130 Hercules tactical airlifter, which the squadron has flown since 1960. The Alaskan unit is transitioning to the new C-17 strategic airlifter. According to the Rock Slate, the 517th Firebirds amassed more than 6,000 mishap-free combat flying hours covering operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.