This week, the new self-protection system and sensors of the first Lockheed C-130K "Hercules" of the Austrian Armed Forces Air Force to be equipped with them were impressively tested over the Allentsteig military training area in the Waldviertel. The transport aircraft, which were taken over by the Royal Air Force in 2003 and are now 53 years old, have been completely overhauled in recent years by Marshall Aerospace and Defence in Cambridge, a proven specialist in the modernization of military aircraft, and equipped with new avionics to ensure their safe use in the coming years. This also includes the safest possible evacuation of soldiers or civilians under threat from crisis areas, as Brigadier Wolfgang Wagner, Commander of the Air Support Command, stated in a press release from the Austrian Armed Forces. To make this possible, the C-130 air transport system is being further developed and the first of the three "Hercules" is being equipped with the new self-protection capability.
Together with passive sensors for detecting radar, infrared and laser-guided missiles, decoys - so-called "flares" - can be emitted in the future to ensure the greatest possible self-protection for the Austrian Army's "Hercules". With the completion and initial testing of the new security system over the Allentsteig military training area, training of the crews in the relevant procedures is now beginning in order to be able to use this new capability accordingly. The Austrian Army's two other Lockheed C-130Ks will then also be equipped with the new self-protection system to enable full operational readiness.
The lack of a self-protection system, as it has been used by many other user nations of the most diverse derivatives of the Lockheed C-130 for decades, has long been a point of criticism from domestic military experts. With the acquisition of the new self-protection system, the air forces are now complying with this long-standing requirement in order to safely fly out soldiers or Austrian citizens on duty after terrorist attacks or other warlike escalations, e.g. Austrian vacationers from Egypt.
Lockheed C-130K Hercules in Linz-Hörsching 8T-CC (Photo: Michael David)
The third and final "Hercules" recently returned from modernization work in England with a new coat of paint, meaning that all three transport aircraft are now available again with their home base in Linz-Hörsching. In addition to supply flights for domestic soldiers in Kosovo, the aircraft are currently being used to bring home Covid-19 patients abroad, as well as for other nations such as France and Denmark as part of a partnership agreement for peaceful cooperation. The three "Hercules", supplemented by an example taken over from the Royal Air Force in 2015 and stored in Linz-Hörsching for use as a spare parts donor, are now among the flying workhorses of the Austrian Armed Forces. The modernizations carried out will probably ensure continued flight operations until 2030, but military experts are already encouraging discussion about a possible successor model, such as used Lockheed C-130J Hercules. The purchase of new aircraft such as the Airbus A175M, which costs around 400 million euros, can be ruled out as completely unrealistic in view of the defence budget and numerous open procurement tasks in the Austrian Armed Forces.
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