The Air Force recently received two more C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, including one HC-130J model dedicated to personnel recovery, Lockheed Martin announced. On Dec. 17, Air Force crews ferried an extended-range C-130J-30 Super Hercules from the Lockheed facility in Marietta, Ga., to Little Rock AFB, Ark., and on Dec. 18 another crew ferried an HC-130J Combat King II to Moody AFB, Ga. The aircraft are the latest in a line of deliveries of the J-model to the Air Force, which are replacing older C-130s, such as the aging H-model. Also this month, an Air Force crew received the fifth C-130J model for conversion to the new AC-130J Ghostrider gunship for Air Force Special Operations Command.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III conducted virtual talks on April 16 with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, Beijing's Minister of Defense, marking the first direct talk between defense chiefs of the two nations in close to two years.