Australia will increase the numbers of its military transport aviation – the country will spend billions of dollars on the purchase of new Super Hercules aircraft, according to an article by Scramble published yesterday, Monday, July 25th.
Earlier, the US Department of State approved the potential sale of Lockheed Martin aircraft and associated equipment to Australia. Now it transpired that the Australians will spend approximately AUD 9.8 billion (USD 6.6 billion) on the purchase of 20 transport jets of the C-130J Super Hercules type.
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Although the US government allowed to sell 24 aircraft to Australia, in the end, the line was drawn at 20 units. Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy noted that the final number of aircraft was agreed upon at a procurement department meeting, and mentioned that these Super Hercules are modernized compared to the C-130J version already in the Royal Australian Air Force:
"They've got better electronic warfare self protection, they've got better performance and they've got stronger airframes," the minister said, as quoted by Breaking Defense. "So, while it's got the same name, it's a better aircraft."
He also said the defense department had carried out "an exhaustive process of comparing other capabilities, other options that are out there on the global market" and ultimately decided that the C-130J Super Hercules is the best aircraft for the needs of the RAAF.
The delivery of the new planes should start in 2027, reaching the milestone of the first 12 aircraft arriving by 2030.
The new aircraft will initially supplement the current Australian C-130J-30 fleet comprising 12 aircraft belonging to the No. 37 "Foremost" Squadron, until eventually replacing the older version with brand-new new modernized planes.
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