Paul Lewis/SINGAPORE
INDIA IS considering an offer to purchase up to ten secondhand Lockheed Martin C-130K transport aircraft, scheduled to be phased out of Royal Air Force service with the delivery of replacement C-130Js.
The aircraft are among 25 C-130Ks Lockheed Martin has agreed to buy back as part of the RAF's order for a similar number of new C-130Js.
The US manufacturer is now actively seeking foreign military and civil buyers for the transports.
The Indian air force has a long-standing requirement for C-130s to replace its time-expired Antonov An-12 transports. The first RAF aircraft is not expected to be available until towards the end of 1997.
According to an industry source, the RAF C-130Ks have an "impeccable maintenance history" and represent an attractive proposition when compared to the earlier-build C-130B and E models, now being offered to foreign operators by the USAF.
The RAF transports, the oldest of which is 30 years old, are essentially C-130H standard aircraft. The aircraft are equipped with the more powerful 360kW (4,500shp) Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines and UK-sourced avionics.
The Sri Lanka air force also has a requirement for up to four C-130s to replace its recently lost Shaanxi Y-8 transports.
It has already been offered two civil Lockheed Martin L100s by South African cargo carrier Safair, but is looking for military-configured transports.
Source: Flight International
