Lockheed Martin has handed over its first KC-130J Super Hercules multi-role tanker/transport to Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 452 (VMGR-452) ‘Yankees' – a US Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) unit.
The aircraft – BuNo 169536 (c/n 382-5896) – was delivered to the unit at Stewart Air National Guard Base (ANGB), New York, on May 28. It was ferried to the base from Lockheed Martin’s production facility in Marietta, Georgia, by a USMC flight crew.
![KC-130J [David Key via Lockheed Martin] #1](/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/Lockheed%20Martin%20KC-130J%20Super%20Hercules%20%5BDavid%20Key%20via%20LM%5D%20%231.jpg)
VMGR-452 is the second USMCR unit to receive the KC-130J and this handover marks the start of the squadron’s recapitalisation of its existing KC-130T Hercules fleet. It has operated KC-130s for more than 30 years and has flown in support of Operations Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Air Mobility and Maritime Missions business area, said: “The KC-130 Hercules tanker has been a pivotal part of [USMC] aviation operations since 1960… Our C-130 team knows this delivery is significant and represents increased capability for VMGR-452. We are proud to support our marine aviation partners as they continue to be ‘first to fight.’”
KC-130s are operated in support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) commander, most notably by providing the tactical in-flight refuelling of fixed-wing, rotary-wing and tiltrotor aircraft. The platform can also deliver pathfinder support, ground-based refuelling of aircraft and tactical vehicles, aeromedical evacuation, battlefield illumination and aerial-delivered personnel and equipment, which are deployed with parachutes.
