C-130J Super Hercules

Lockheed Martin · USA · first flew 1996 · transport aircraft

The C-130J Super Hercules is visually unmistakable from all earlier marks by its six-blade composite propellers driven by Rolls-Royce AE 2100 turboprops.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	4 × turboprop, wing-mounted
F — Fuselage	Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 engines in revised nacelles; shorter fuselage nose with digital glass cockpit
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Six-blade scimitar composite propellers — the single most decisive field identification over all classic Hercules
Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 engines in revised nacelles; shorter fuselage nose with digital glass cockpit
No flight engineer station; cockpit has two crew side-by-side with large MFDs visible through windscreen

Six-blade props versus four blades on all C-130A/B/E/H; glass cockpit visible from outside contrasts with the classic marks' round-dial windscreen silhouette.

Specifications

The C-130J Super Hercules has a length of 29.8 m (98 ft).
It has a wingspan of 40.4 m (133 ft).
Its maximum speed is 671 km/h (417 mph).
Typical crew: 2-3.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Developed in the 1990s as a radical avionics and propulsion update rather than a new airframe, the J entered service with the RAF in 1999 as the Hercules C.4 (standard) and C.5 (stretched). Over 400 have been ordered worldwide.

Variants

The C-130J-30 is a 4.57 m stretch; the RAF Hercules C.5 is the J-30. Special-mission derivatives include the HC-130J tanker and MC-130J.

Where you'll see it

The RAF retired the last classic Hercules in 2013, consolidating on C.4/C.5 marks; the type also serves with Australia, India, Italy, Norway and many others.

Related aircraft

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