Lockheed Martin is set to deliver the first HC-130J to Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., later this week, kicking off Air Combat Command’s recapitalization of the combat search and rescue fleet. Next week, Cannon AFB, N.M., will receive its first MC-130J and another HC-130J will go to Kirtland AFB, N.M., said Jim Grant, vice president of air mobility and special operations programs for Lockheed Martin, at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Monday. “We are set to deliver 33 airplanes this year, and we expect to continue that production rate in the mid-30s over the next several years,” said Grant. The Air Force announced recently that it will add 48 MC-130J special operations aircraft to its HC/MC-130J recapitalization program of record, increasing the intended buy from 74 to 122 airframes. Thirty-two of the new aircraft will supplant Air Force Special Operation Command’s older MC-130s, while the remaining 16 will undergo post-production conversion to AC-130J gunships.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.