El C-130J SUPERHÉRCULES | Análisis

Video from the channel Cosas Militares about Lockheed C-130 Hercules, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 7:50. Language: Spanish. Video type: Documentary.

An analysis of the C-130J-30 Super Hercules, the latest version of the tactical transport, with footage from the Dubai Airshow, where the channel visited an example and spoke with its crew. The video covers the crew, the powerplant, the interior layout and the aircraft's cargo capacity.

The C-130 was conceived in the United States in the 1950s to replace the piston-engined transports of the Second World War with more efficient turboprops. In 2019 it was presented as the military aircraft with the longest production run, more than 60 years. The video recalls its role in Operation Desert Shield, where it helped deploy the first airborne brigades, and the use of the Super Hercules in Afghanistan, with rapid descents onto the runway to avoid Taliban fire.

The crew is reduced to three people: pilot, co-pilot and loadmaster. The navigator and flight engineer of earlier versions were replaced by computers. It is powered by four Rolls-Royce AE 2100D3 turboprops with six-blade composite propellers, totaling up to 18,400 horsepower, and its lengthened fuselage increases cargo capacity. It can carry 128 soldiers or 22 tonnes over 4,000 km, with a cruise speed of more than 600 km/h. It can also carry 92 paratroopers, four vehicles, a helicopter or 97 stretchers. Its large radar signature forces it to operate in the rear area and with air superiority. The example visited was built in 2015.