Turkey has signed a multi-year contract with Marshall Aerospace to maintain and upgrade 12 former Royal Air Force C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft acquired from the UK.
The deal encompasses regular sustainment, spare parts, tooling, training, and integration to help the Turkish Air Force build its own long-term support capability for the fleet.
The planes are being overhauled and modernized at Marshall’s facility in Cambridge, England, before delivery to Ankara.
Each aircraft will receive a replacement for its center wing box, the structural section connecting the wings to the fuselage, to extend its lifespan and ensure safety. Marshall is one of the few companies globally qualified to perform this work.
The C-139Js will be commissioned into service after the modification in Britain, with future maintenance to be carried out domestically once Turkish crews complete their training.
The reconfigured C-130Js are expected to replace older C-130B and C-130E aircraft, easing the load on the Turkish Armed Forces’ Airbus A400M fleet and strengthening the country’s capacity to transport troops, supplies, and humanitarian aid.
“We are delighted to have signed this contract to keep Türkiye’s new modern, world-class tactical airlift fleet mission-ready and mission-capable,” said Bob Baxter, CEO of Marshall Aerospace.
“Today’s announcement highlights our place in the global C-130 community as a leading provider of through-life fleet support.”
The Super Hercules
Developed by Lockheed Martin, the C-130J has a 98-foot (30-meter) long fuselage, a 133-foot (40-meter) wingspan, and a 41-foot (12-meter) cargo bay.
The platform can carry about 90 personnel or 42,000 pounds (19,051 kilograms) of cargo.
It is fitted with four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprop engines with an output of 4,637 horsepower each and six-bladed Dowty R391 composite propellers.
The plane has a maximum speed of 362 knots (417 miles/670 kilometers per hour), a flight ceiling of 40,386 feet (12,309 meters), and a range of 1,800 nautical miles (2,071 miles/3,334 kilometers).
There are more than 500 C-130Js operational in over 20 countries, in addition to approximately 1,100 C-130 Hercules standard variants worldwide.
