US Navy signs contract for former RAF C-130J to replace Fat Albert of Blue Angels.

U.S. Navy recently ordered a new Fat Albert Blue Angels logistics aircraft from the UK, in the form of a used C-130J of the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The last Fat Albert of the Blue Angels, a C-130T Hercules that retired in May 2019 (Picture Source: U.S. Navy)

According to the US Navy, the last dedicated Fat Albert, a C-130T Hercules, retired in May 2019 and now serves as a ground-based training platform in Fort Worth, Texas.

“Just as the Navy recognized the imminent need to replace the Fat Albert aircraft, the UK MOD was divesting of an American made, C-130J; aircraft allowing us to acquire a suitable replacement aircraft at major cost savings.”

Scheduled for delivery in spring 2020, the $US 29.7 million contract was awarded to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on June the 13th for a divested C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.

The US Navy said in a statement that cost savings associated with the acquisition of the used aircraft and other airworthiness requirements are approximately $US 50 million less than the cost of a new aircraft. “This is a win-win for the U.S. Navy and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence,” said Capt. Steven Nassau, PMA-207 programme manager.