Lockheed Martin recently delivered two new-build Air Force C-130J variants in addition to a single HC-130J for the US Coast Guard, the company announced. An Air Force Special Operations Command crew ferried an MC-130J Commando II from the company’s Marietta, Ga., facility to the 353rd Special Operations Group at Kadena AB, Japan, March 19. The Kadena unit began transitioning from the legacy MC-130P Combat Shadow as part of AFSOC’s overall C-130 recap with the arrival of its first MC-130J last December. The second aircraft—an HC-130J Combat King II rescue tanker—made the short hop to the 347th Rescue Group at Moody AFB, Ga., March 24, according to the company. The Coast Guard HC-130J was transferred from Marietta to the company’s conversion facility at Greenville, S.C., for mission specific equipment, modifications, and paint before final delivery to the USCG next year.
The Air Force plans to complete testing of a full-scale blended wing body cargo/tanker aircraft within four years, according to the department’s new Climate Action Plan. The demonstrator could be a prototype for a future operational mobility aircraft or family of aircraft, and the plan suggests the Air Force may…