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 U.S. continued to move a significant amount of airpower toward the Middle East in recent days as talks to forge a nuclear deal with Iran hung in the balance. Flight tracking data indicate there was unusually heavy movement of dozens of fighter jets and other assets that might be…
