United States approves delivery of C-130H military transport aircraft to Tunisia and Morocco.

According to information released by the Africa Military Blog on June 20, 2020, the United States has approved the delivery of four C-130H Hercules military transport aircraft to Tunisia and Morocco. The C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin.

Follow Air Recognition on Google News at this link

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Courtney Hill, an aircraft maintainer assigned to the 621st Contingency Response Wing stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., and a South Korean air force Airman, marshal a South Korean air force C-130H during exercise Turbo Distribution 17-3, at Pohang Air Base, South Korea, April 10, 2017. (Picture source U.S. Air Force)

According to the Facebook account of Scramble Magazine, Royal Moroccan Air Force has sixteen C-130H Hercules in their active inventory, of which two have been modified as KC-130H tankers and one has been modified as an EC-130H.

The Tunisian air Force has a mixed fleet of C-130B, C-130H Hercules and strikingly also brand-new C-130J-30 Super Hercules'.

The C-130 Hercules primarily performs the tactical portion of the airlift mission. The aircraft is capable of operating from rough, dirt strips and is the prime transport for airdropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.

Using its aft loading ramp and door, the C-130 can accommodate a wide variety of oversized cargo, including everything from utility helicopters and six-wheeled armored vehicles to standard palletized cargo and military personnel. In an aerial delivery role, it can airdrop loads up to 42,000 pounds (19,000 kg) or use its high-flotation landing gear to land and deliver cargo on rough, dirt strips.

The C-130H was introduced in 1974 with the U.S Air Force with with the more powerful Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engine. Nearly identical to the C-130E externally, the new engine brought major performance improvements to the aircraft.