Turkey Signs Multi-Year Contract with Marshall Aerospace for 12 Legacy C-130J Super Hercules Aircraft
The Turkish Ministry of National Defense has signed a multi-year contract with Marshall Aerospace for the maintenance and modernization of 12 second-hand Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft that the Turkish Air Force will procure from the United Kingdom.
Marshall Aerospace announced that the agreement includes scheduled maintenance, spare parts, tooling , and sustainment services. The UK-based company has previously supported the purchase and commissioning of eight leagcy C-130 and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, including for the Austrian Air Force, the Bangladesh Air Force, and the US Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration team.
In addition to scheduled maintenance work, Marshall Aerospace will perform center wing box replacements on all 12 airframes prior to their entry into service and will provide training support to help the Turkish Air Force build domestic capabilities on the C-130J platform.
Commenting on the agreement, Marshall Aerospace CEO Bob Baxter said, “We are delighted to have signed this contract to keep Türkiye’s new modern, world-class tactical airlift fleet mission-ready and mission-capable.” Baxter added, “Today’s announcement highlights our place in the global C-130 community as a leading provider of through-life fleet support.”
Reports that Turkey would purchase 12 of the 15 C-130J Super Hercules tactical transport aircraft retired from by the Royal Air Force since June 2022 were confirmed last week by MSB Spokesperson Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk. Rear Admiral Aktürk stated the following during his weekly press conference: “The aircraft will be gradually incorporated into our Air Force inventory once maintenance and modernization are completed in the United Kingdom under the signed contract. In addition, the maintenance and upkeep of the C-130J aircraft will be carried out domestically after the corresponding training for the purchased aircraft type.”
The Turkish Air Force currently has a total of nineteen Super Hercules tactical transport aircraft in its inventory, thirteen of which are C-130E models and six are C-130B models. Although the avionics systems of this fleet were modernized under the ERCiYES modernization program launched in 2006, the C-130J-30s coming from the UK will provide much greater benefit to Turkey’s transport fleet due to their capacity and younger age. They will also lighten the load on the A400M transport aircraft fleet.