The 2,500th C-130 airframe produced on Lockheed Martin’s production line at Marietta, Ga., was delivered to the 71st Rescue Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga., last week, the company announced. “The Hercules is a global asset and versatile workhorse that is truly without equal. This delivery represents the C-130’s strength in numbers and its ongoing relevancy to operators around the world,” company C-130 Vice President and General Manager George Shultz said in a release. Since Lockheed delivered the first C-130A to the Air Force in 1956, a total of 68 international operators have logged more than 22 million flying hours, according to the company. Lockheed Martin’s current production of C-130J Super Hercules alone has accrued more than 1.3 million flight hours in service with 16 different countries. The HC-130J Combat King II rescue support aircraft, serial number 13-0782, was delivered to Moody on Dec. 11, stated a release.
The Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Air Refueling Group recently put together what may be a first of its kind in the Air Force: a training program that teaches KC-135 tanker crews how to perform specialized fueling operations (SFO): ground-based procedures that could help gas up military aircraft in a…