Lockheed Martin delivered the eighth factory-fresh MC-130J Commando II special-mission aircraft to its operational unit at Cannon AFB, N.M., announced the company. Tail No. 5694 arrived at Cannon on Aug. 7 and Maj. Gen. Robert Kane, director of global reach programs in the Air Force Secretariat’s acquisition office, accepted its delivery, according to the company. Assigned to the base’s 522nd Special Operations Squadron, the new airframe will support the unit’s mission of covertly inserting and extracting special operations forces, refueling SOF helicopters, and resupplying SOF personnel. This Commando II is one of 11 new-build MC-130Js that will gradually replace Cannon’s aging fleet of MC-130E/Ps. Lockheed Martin assembles the MC-130J at its plant in Marietta, Ga. (See also Air Force Buying 48 More Special-Mission C-130Js.)
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.