C-130

Latest in C-130

Videos show a Turkish Air Force C-130E Hercules cargo plane falling in multiple pieces from the sky earlier today.

Detached Wings From Doomed Turkish C-130 Seen Spiraling Into The Ground (Updated)

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Nov 11, 2025

C-130H Eight-Bladed NP2000 Prop Upgrade Plans Cut Short By USAF

C-130H Eight-Bladed NP2000 Prop Upgrade Plans Cut Short By USAF

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Oct 8, 2025

A LC-130 "Skibird" assigned to the 109th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard, operates in Antarctica in 2022.

Funds Shifted To Develop New LC-130J “Ski Bird” Polar Airlifters

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Oct 1, 2025

New pictures offer the best look to date at an Air Force HC-130J Combat King II combat search and rescue aircraft (CSAR) carrying an Angry Kitten electronic warfare pod.

Angry Kitten Electronic Warfare Pod Spotted Flying On HC-130J Combat Rescue Plane

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 29, 2025

Leidos has raised the possibility of eventually integrating its Black Arrow, also known as the Small Cruise Missile, in the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the OA-1K Skyraider II light attack aircraft. The roughly 200-pound munition has, so far, been tested from C-130 variants but offers the kinds of capabilities that U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is increasingly looking at harnessing.

Tiny Black Arrow Cruise Missile Demonstrates A Whopping 400-Mile Range

By Thomas Newdick, Howard Altman

Updated on Sep 24, 2025

The U.S. Air Force is currently looking toward a single next-generation airlifter to supplant both the C-17A Globemaster III and the C-5M Galaxy, starting in the mid-2040s.

C-17 and C-5 Cargo Planes Will Be Replaced With One Aircraft: USAF

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Sep 23, 2025

Taiwan is testing a new external electronic countermeasures pod, reportedly due to be integrated on its F-CK-1 Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF). The multirole combat aircraft has undergone a comprehensive upgrade in recent years, but until now has not had anything approaching a comprehensive electronic warfare self-protection capability. This requirement is now even more urgent, as the threat from the China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continues to grow.

Electronic Warfare Pod For Taiwan’s F-CK-1 Fighter Is In Testing

By Thomas Newdick

Updated on Aug 14, 2025

C-130 from the IAF dropping material via airdrop.

Could Israeli C-130s Drop GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator Bunker Busters?

By Tyler Rogoway

Posted on Jun 18, 2025

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has called into question the viability of using the C-130J Hercules cargo aircraft as the basis for a new plane, called the E-130J, to support the U.S. Navy's Take Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) mission.

Choice Of C-130 For New Navy ‘Doomsday Plane’ Questioned In Watchdog Report

By Joseph Trevithick

Updated on Jun 12, 2025

The head of the U.S. Navy Reserve says that acquiring new C-130J Hercules aircraft is a top priority, particularly because of the critical organic aerial refueling capacity they could provide in a future Pacific fight.

Buying KC-130Js Key To Navy’s Ability To Fight In Pacific: Reserve Boss

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 21, 2025

KC-130T Hercules tanker/transports belonging to the U.S. Navy's Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 30 (VX-30), the “Bloodhounds,” are gaining the ability to link up to the Starlink satellite constellation to help with long-range missile and other test work out in the Pacific.

Starlink-Equipped Navy C-130s Offer Communication Boost For Pacific Missile Tests

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 12, 2025

A U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Jan. 31, 2025. Designed for close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance, the AC-130J provides CENTCOM forces an expeditionary, direct-fire platform with 30mm and 105mm cannons. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Gerald R. Willis)

Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile-Armed AC-130J Gunships Could Be On The Horizon

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on May 8, 2025

A CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft assigned to the 20th Special Operations Squadron approaches the air-refueling receptacle of an MC-130 Commando II during a night flight at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, Sept. 12, 2024. The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft that combines a helicopter's vertical takeoff, hover, and vertical landing qualities with the long-range, fuel efficiency, and speed characteristics of a turboprop aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Gracelyn Hess)

Electronic Warfare Lessons From Ukraine Informing Air Force Special Operations Future

By Howard Altman

Updated on May 5, 2025

Aurora Flight Sciences has provided new details about the demonstrator design it is working on for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Liberty Lifter X-plane program.

Liberty Lifter Ekranoplan Demonstrator Aims To Lift C-130-Sized Payloads

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Apr 29, 2025

The Black Arrow, also known as the Small Cruise Missile, has completed a guided flight test, from an AC-130J Ghostrider gunships, the weapon’s manufacturer Leidos has confirmed. The Black Arrow — which is intended to carry a range of different payloads, and not just a kinetic warhead — arrives at a time when the Pentagon is looking at harnessing the potential of lower-cost weapons that can be readily produced at scale to meet the likely demands of future conflicts.

AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship Launches Black Arrow Small Cruise Missile In New Video

By Thomas Newdick

Posted on Apr 5, 2025

Navy’s Future E-130J TACAMO ‘Doomsday Plane’ Seen In New Rendering

Navy’s Future E-130J TACAMO ‘Doomsday Plane’ Seen In New Rendering

By Joseph Trevithick

Posted on Dec 19, 2024