MApN: A new C-130 Hercules aircraft enters Romanian Air Force endowment

A C-130 Hercules aircraft, variant H, transferred, free of charge, from the surplus of the United States Government to the Romanian Air Force, landed, on Tuesday, at the Aurel Vlaicu Bucharest Baneasa International Airport, agerpres reports.

According to the National Defence Ministry (MApN), the transport plane will enter the endowment of the 90th Air Transport Base 901 Strategic Transport Squadron. Thus, the sixth C-130 Hercules aircraft of the Romanian Air Force will increase the projection capacity of the Romanian Army by carrying out transport missions in support of its own forces or NATO partners.

After landing, the aircraft was taken over by Romaero specialists, in order to be aligned with the maintenance programme specific to the Romanian Air Force.

The transfer of the aircraft, ratified by a Letter of Offer and Acceptance agreement, is the result of a complex process, carried out in recent years under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme through the Office of Defense Cooperation - ODC - in Bucharest. In order to carry out the transfer of this aircraft with maximum efficiency, the ODC has been in close contact with the Romanian Air Force, as well as with the C-130 Program Coordination Office in the United States, the Romanian National Defence Ministry (MApN) says.

The aircraft was brought to Romania by a crew of the 120th Airlift Wing of the Air National Guard Montana, which has owned and operated the aircraft to date.

Romania is thus among the first partner states to which, under the new C-130 Ramp to Ramp (R2R) program, an American operational aircraft is flown and transferred directly.

The Romanian Air Force also has five C-130 Hercules aircraft, four in the "B" variant and one in the "H" variant.

Over 50 countries use this type of aircraft, which is the most widely used military transport aircraft in the world.