Egypt orders two C-130J Super Hercules

Egypt has ordered two new C-130J-30 Super Hercules transport aircraft from Lockheed Martin.

The procurement was announced at the Egypt International Air Show on 5 September. It will be delivered via the US State Department’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) mechanism and comes two years after the US Senate approved the sale of “up to a dozen” Super Hercules to the Egyptian government.

Had Egypt pressed ahead and bought the full dozen aircraft at one time, the move would have come with a US$2.2 billion price tag.

It is expected that Egypt will exercise its options to buy anything up to the remaining 10 aircraft over time.

The timeline for those procurements may be more natural than forced. The Egyptian Air Force is a long-term customer for Hercules aircraft, and has one of the largest C-130H fleets in the world, consisting of 22 C-130H and three C-130H-30S aircraft, dating from between 1976 and 1990.

Some of the older airframes are, therefore, coming to the end of their safe active lifespan and are ready for replacement by the latest variant in the Hercules fleet. The Super Hercules marks a significant leap forward in power and sophistication over the C-130 Hercules aircraft that make up the majority of Egypt’s current fleet. With Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engines, they have more speed and range than the machines they are replacing, and modern navigation and avionics with head-up displays make them very different propositions to fly.

While no announcement beyond the sale of the first two Super Hercules has yet been made, it seems likely that the full extent of the FMS will be honoured, with Egypt updating its fleet with the full dozen Super Hercules over time.

The purchase makes Egypt the 23^rd country to include the Super Hercules in its fleet.

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