The Air Force’s fifth HC-130J Combat King II aircraft left Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Marietta, Ga., on Nov. 29, bound for Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., announced the company. This airframe, aircraft number 5708, is one of 15 HC-130Js that the Air Force has on order to date for Air Combat Command. Overall, the service intends to acquire 37 of these specially configured airplanes for personnel recovery roles, including tasks like airdrops, helicopter air-to-air refueling, and forward-area ground refueling. They will replace the Air Force’s legacy HC-130N/Ps. (See also First Combat-Ready HC-130J Enters the Inventory.)
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
