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44-year-old C-130 tactical airlifter that received a Purple Heart during the Vietnam War and has been operating in Southwest Asia has flown its last combat mission. Capt. Christopher Moore reports that the veteran Hercules, No. 63-7865, accumulated more than 29,500 flying hours over its service. It now goes back to Ramstein AB, Germany, its current assignment, before making the trip to the Boneyard at the Davis-Monthan Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told lawmakers Apr. 30 that the service’s biggest airlifter, the C-5 Galaxy, has a 37 percent mission capable rate—one of several challenges facing the mobility fleet.