Lockheed Martin on Nov. 19 delivered to the Air Force the eighth of 14 C-130Js transports destined for the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein AB, Germany. Brig. Gen. Mark Dillon, head of the wing, accepted the aircraft at Lockheed’s plant in Marietta, Ga. “Adding another C-130J is not a linear addition; it’s geometric in terms of the capability of the airplane,” said Dillon in a release Nov. 20 from Lockheed. The wing is scheduled to receive two more C-130Js before the end of the year and its final four aircraft next year. They are replacing the C-130Es that the unit operated for years. The last E model C-130 left Ramstein for good on Nov. 2. Also on Nov. 19, Lockheed turned over to the Marine Corps the 36th of 46 KC-130J tankers on order.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.