First C-130J delivered to Norway Published Nov. 13, 2008 By Daryl Mayer 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The first C-130J delivered through the foreign military sales process was turned over to the Royal Norwegian Air Force in a ceremony November 12 at the Lockheed-Martin plant in Marietta, Ga. The delivery is the culmination of nearly two years of work that began when the Norwegian Ministry of Defense submitted a formal Letter of Request for the new airlifters. That request was turned in near record time by the Air Force Security Assistance Center here into a $516 million formal proposal for four aircraft, spare parts, technical publications and training. Once the proposal was accepted, it became the responsibility of the Aeronautical System Center's 657th Aeronautical Systems Squadron to execute the program. "Obviously, assisting a NATO partner with a critical need builds international good will, enables a partner in the Global War on Terror to contribute to the war effort and promotes interoperability between our air forces," said Lt. Col. Peter Eide, 657th AESS commander. It took nothing short of a "Herculean" effort to deliver this new Super Hercules in such short time, according to Neil Erno, Norway C-130J program manager. "We have a contingent at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center who is responsible to secure common spares, support equipment, and propulsion systems," Mr. Erno said. "I'd be remiss if I didn't share credit with Warner Robins, Lockheed-Martin, the Air Force Security Assistance Training squadron, among other government and vendor agencies. Delivering the aircraft and support in half the usual time required a dedicated team of professionals, each demonstrating a can-do attitude, with a singular focus to devise workaround necessary to meet this U.S. Government obligation to Norway." Another aircraft will be delivered in 2009 followed by the remaining two in 2010 to complete the transaction. With an additional 15 feet of fuselage increasing usable space in the cargo compartment, the C-130J incorporates state-of-the-art technology to reduce manpower requirements, lower operating and support costs, and provides life-cycle cost savings over earlier C-130 models. Compared to older C-130s, the J model climbs faster and higher, flies farther at a higher cruise speed, and takes off and lands in a shorter distance. This newly built aircraft includes advanced two-pilot flight station with fully integrated digital avionics; color multifunctional liquid crystal displays and head-up displays; state-of-the-art navigation systems with dual inertial navigation system and global positioning system; fully integrated defensive systems; low-power color radar; digital moving map display; new turboprop engines with six-bladed, all-composite propellers; digital auto pilot; improved fuel, environmental and ice-protection systems; and an enhanced cargo-handling system.