Marshall contracted to support French C-130Hs
France operates 14 C-130Hs. (Photo: Marshall)
The second extension of Marshall’s contract to support French Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules large transport aircraft includes aircraft which first entered service four decades ago.
Marshall has been awarded a third contract to provide ongoing engineering support French Air Force C-130Hs, following on from a four-year contact placed in 2017 and a later two-year extension.
The new contract is worth £4.5 million (US$5.8 million) and was awarded by Service Industriel de l’Aéronautique (SIAé), a state-owned maintenance organisation.
Marshall will provide engineering support for the C-130H’s maintenance, repair and overhaul, with work centred around SIAé’s facility in Clermont, France. The contract also covers the ongoing provision of C-130 parts and repair kits manufactured in-house by Marshall under Authority to Manufacture permissions granted by Lockheed Martin.
The aircraft have provided airborne logistical support for NATO member nations and seen action in military operations in Africa, including participation in Operation Serval in Mali as well as humanitarian missions throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
The two oldest aircraft in the fleet, both from 1975, were initially owned by Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) but were relocated to France in the 1990s.
The push for the retirement of France’s C-160 aircraft will mean the country will be leaning even more upon the C-130H for lift capability. Eight of the C-130H are being modernised to extend their service life until the end of the 2020s and improvements include the installation of an L3 Wescam MX-20 optronic ball in the nose of the aircraft.
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