A C-130J Super Hercules left Lockheed Martin’s production facility at Marietta Ga., on its ferry flight to Dyess AFB, Tex. Delivered to the base’s 317th Airlift Group on April 18, the stretched C-130J-30 is the 18th of Dyess’ planned 28 new airlifters. Col. Gerald Goodfellow, Dyess’ 7th Bomb Wing vice commander, piloted the aircraft on the ferry flight and handed over the airlifter’s ceremonial keys to the 317th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, according to a base release. Dyess took delivery of its 17th C-130J—also a stretched dash-thirty—on April 4.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
