Norway just spent $516 million on four new C-130J Hercules aircraft to replace their 1969-vintage C-130H models. Two will arrive next year, one is slated to come in 2009, and the fourth is due in 2010. Air Force Materiel Command Foreign Military Sales organizations and Air Force Security Assistance Center personnel had to act fast to seal the deal for these aircraft because the Norwegian ministry needed to present its parliament with details about the purchase. The normal timeframe for completing such a sale is 180 days, but AFSAC at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, managed the feat in less than 90 days. Norway plans to use the new Hercules for intratheater humanitarian relief operations in such locations as Sudan and Afghanistan, as well as to support Norway’s military involvement in global operations.
Amid a high-profile recruiting crisis, Air Force leaders and experts have increasingly noted the challenging long-term trends the service will face in enticing young Americans to sign up—decreasing eligibility to serve, less propensity to do so, and less familiarity with the military. But while those same leaders say there’s no “silver…