First two Kentucky ANG Super Hercules have arrived
On 6 November 2021, two Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft arrived at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville (KY).
Starting a new era of aviation, the Kentucky Air National Guard's 165th Airlift Squadron/123rd Airlift Wing received the first two C-130J-30s from an expected eight.
The J-model aircraft are replacing eight ageing C-130H-model aircraft which were built in 1992. At the end of September 2021, the last C-130H left Louisville. See the Scramble Magazine report of 26 September.
The first two delivered aircraft to the Kentucky ANG are 18-5919 and 18-5921. Delivery of the final C-130J-30 is slated for September 2022.
Kentucky was selected to receive the aircraft last year following a lengthy competition among Air National Guard units in eight states. After evaluating a number of factors, including existing facilities, aircraft maintenance capability and a unit’s history of operational missions, the National Guard Bureau, Air Mobility Command and US Air Force announced that J-models would be deployed to wings in Kentucky, Georgia, Texas and West Virginia.
Credit photos: USAF