Recent amendments to the British “Defense Review” from 2015 could also be of interest to Austria’s air force: In addition to the Hawk T.1 trainers and the Puma helicopters, the C-130J-30 transporters and the Eurofighter Tranche-1 of the Royal Air Force (RAF) are to be decommissioned from 2023 and 2025 respectively – years earlier than previously planned. In return, billions are to be invested in the 6th generation fighter jet system FCAS (Tempest, Militär Aktuell reported), but only a vague commitment to the number of 138 of Lockheed Martin’s F-35B multi-role combat aircraft planned to date.
The plans set out in a so-called “Defense Command Paper” published on March 22 “Defense Command Paper” with the somewhat unwieldy title “Defense in the age of competition” (probably referring to geostrategic competition) published on 22 March, cover the period up to 2025 and affect all branches of the armed forces. They also include significant new investments in the future FCAS project (Future Combat Air System), although only vague details are included, for example on the final expansion of the F-35B in the RAF and Royal Navy (RN).
The new “Defense Review” is more precise with regard to the 14 British C-130J Super Hercules, which are now to be decommissioned or retired as early as 2023. Of the ten with the standard fuselage (known as the C-130J C5 in the RAF), eight have already been sold since 2018/19 via Gov-to-Gov to Bahrain (2), Bangladesh (5 including adaptation to MEDEVAC and passenger configuration) and – here a guide price – one for 29.7 million US dollars (25.1 million euros) to the US Navy (ex-ZH885 as the new “Fat Albert” of the “Blue Angels”). By comparison, new C-130Js built by Lockheed Martin cost from around 60 million US dollars (Flyaway, 50.8 million euros) to around 75 million US dollars (63.5 million euros), depending on the special equipment and logistics package.) This example is now being followed – in some cases up to twelve years earlier than planned and contrary to the service life extensions introduced in 2015 – by a further “short” version and all 13 “stretched” C-130J-30s (C-130J C4 in the RAF). There are likely to be plenty of potential buyers for these aircraft, which are between 17 and 21 years old, and the German Armed Forces may even be interested in them. In any case, a committee in the army is said to already be looking for a successor solution for the three (also ex-British) red-white-red C-130Ks (built in 1967!). The maintenance measures initiated by the British in September 2016 to keep the aircraft in service beyond 2030 consisted largely of the replacement of the central wing box (CWB) by the C-130 specialist service provider Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge (MADG), which has been well known to our Hörschingers since 1966. The corresponding investment at the time amounted to 484 million pounds (around 560 million euros). Of this, the service life extensions accounted for around 200 million pounds (232 million euros), while 150 million pounds (174 million euros) were due for the installation of new capabilities and subsystems.
In an initial statement, MADG CEO Gary Moyneham expressed his surprise at the premature end of the aircraft’s service. However, the RAF will be supported to the best of its ability with the resale – as was previously the case with the resales to Bahrain, Bangladesh and Pensacola. The soon-to-be-available “30s” have few(er) hours in comparison and therefore represent an “extremely attractive offer” for second users, according to Moyneham. Most recently, the entire fleet flew a total of 7,460 hours in the 2018-2019 financial year and only 5,660 hours in 2019-2020. “We expect great demand for this and an expansion of our international MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) portfolio, which already has 17 customers.” According to MADG, the CWB program will continue until it is decommissioned – until a decision is made to the contrary. As will the replacement of the steel brakes with carbon brakes and avionics upgrades. A first “30” with a new CWB (ZH867, 23 years old) was returned to the RAF in Brize Norton in August 2020. It is not yet known on how many of the 14 C-130Js now available the work originally planned until 2027 has already begun or is now actually being carried out for future export customers.
The RAF once flew a total of 50 C-130K/J aircraft, which were then to be replaced by 25 A400Ms. The number of A400Ms was subsequently reduced to 22, of which 20 have been delivered to date. By decommissioning the 14 remaining C-130Js, the RAF is now losing around 23 percent of its air transport volume, while the capacity and performance of the A400M Atlas fleet is to be increased, according to reports. In reality, however, the RAF airlift now “only” consists of eight Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs, the aforementioned 22 Airbus A400M Atlas and ten additional Airbus A330 Voyagers (tankers/transporters). However powerful these may be – an aircraft can only be in one place at a time and the A400M is then the “smallest” device for lifting special forces or even subordinate urgent cargo, for example. Not only does this not seem very economical in terms of operating costs, but many other points in the current review – probably also with regard to post-corona expenditure – seem to be aimed primarily at “leveraging” short-term budget potential.
