The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Marshall Aerospace a contract worth £1.5 billion ($2.8 billion) to support the Royal Air Force’s Lockheed Martin C-130J/K transports for the remainder of their service lives, writes Craig Hoyle.
Reflecting an MoD trend to establish long-term availability-based deals, the Hercules Integrated Operational Support (HIOS) contract covers the provision of forward and depth maintenance services for the RAF’s 24 C-130Ks and 25 C-130Js, the latter of which are expected to remain in service until around 2030. Marshall Aerospace will head the work from its Cambridge airport site, with propulsion support by Rolls-Royce and the supply- chain management overseen by Lockheed.
All servicing activities will now take place at the Marshall site using a central maintenance and upgrade facility comprising existing hangars and capable of accommodating at least seven aircraft at a time. Forward support will take place at the UK’s current Hercules main operating base, RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
UK minister for defence procurement Lord Drayson says the HIOS deal “guarantees aircraft to the front line, ready to fly, more of the time”. It will also result in logistics savings of more than £170 million. The 24-year deal, which has an initial break option after five years, also expands a long-term relationship between Marshall Aerospace and Lockheed, formed when the US company delivered its first C-130 to the RAF in 1966.
Source: Flight International
