Two more C-130Hs delivered to Colombia

The Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (FAC, Colombian Air Force) officially received the last two of three Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules transport aircraft on 3 August 2021.

In 2017, Colombia had requested the US for the supply of three C-130Hs from the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) programme. The aircraft, valued at USD 30 million each, were acquired in the condition in which they were at the time of their sale.

The first C-130H, serial FAC1016, was delivered early September 2020. The two new delivered transporters, serials FAC1017 and FAC1018, will first be transferred to the Comando Aéreo de Mantenimiento (Caman, Air Maintenance Command) to undergo a heavy maintenance process before delivery to the transport unit. This heavy maintenance will be carried out by Corporácion de la Industria Aeronáutica de Colombia S.A. (CIAC) at El Dorado, Bogotà.

The Hercules transporters are operated by the Escuadrón de Transporte (ESCTA) 811 at El Dorado air base. The delivery of the new aircraft will allow the FAC to retire the one and only C-130B Hercules.

According to the Scramble Magazine database the FAC has the following Hercules' as active with ESCTA 811:

FAC1001 C-130B (c/n 3575) ex N4653
FAC1004 KC-130H (c/n 4964) ex N4080M
FAC1005 C-130H (c/n 4965) ex N41030
FAC1015 C-130H-1 (c/n 4498) ex Aeronautica Militare MM62001
FAC1016 C-130H (c/n 5014) ex USAF 83-0488
FAC1017 C-130H-1 (c/n 4620) ex USAF 74-1670, tie-up to be confirmed
FAC1018 C-130H-1 (c/n 4687) ex USAF 74-1691, tie-up to be confirmed

Confirmation of the previous identities of the latest C-130Hs is welcome. If you have information, please send this to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Photo (FAC1015, just illustrative) by Marco van Halum (Scramble Archive)