Lockheed Martin delivered its sixth C-130J Super Hercules to the 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard unit yesterday at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, Calif. The aircraft was flown from the Lockheed Martin Ga. production facility in Marietta to its new home by Maj. Gen. Charles Ickes II, Deputy Director of the Air National Guard and Col. Steven Friedricks, Commander of the 146th AW.

"The C-130J model was fully embraced early on by the Guard," said Ickes during the delivery ceremony at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta. "The C-130J has proven that it can do everything that people said it would do. The C-130J has truly shone overseas and the J-model has brought the Guard to a whole new level, and we would like to see all the Js we can. The C-130J has us perfectly situated for the Global War on Terror, and the aircraft is proving itself daily. The Guard C-130 units are operating flat-out all the time and the C-130J is our key to success in the future."

C-130J operators around the world are now operating at a high tempo in both combat and relief operations. The United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Australia and Denmark are all experiencing the high reliability and increased range, speed and payload capabilities of the C-130J.

The 146th AW's newly delivered aircraft, the sixth of eight aircraft that will eventually be assigned to the wing, is the longer fuselage C-130J, which features a strengthened cargo ramp and improved airdrop system, allowing crews to make airdrops at 250 knots, which minimizes exposure to anti-aircraft fire in hostile areas. The Enhanced Cargo Handling System allows for rapidly converting the aircraft from hauling rolling stock to palletized cargo. These aircraft are 112 feet long, which provides more usable volume for increased seating, litters, pallets, or airdrop platforms. In service, two C-130Js often do the work of three legacy C-130E or H-model aircraft. A total of 182 C-130Js are on order, and 142 have been delivered to date.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 135,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion.

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SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company