Lockheed C-130 Hercules |Role||Military transport aircraft|
|National origin||United States| |First flight||23 August 1954|
|Introduction||9 December 1957| |Status||In production, in
service| |Primary users||United States Air Force United States
Marine Corps Royal Air Force See Operators for others |Number
built||Over 2,300 as of 2009| |Unit cost||US$62 million[when?]|
Lockheed Martin KC-130 Lockheed L-100 Hercules |Developed
into||Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules| The Lockheed C-130
Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft
designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin.
Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings,
the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical
evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft. The versatile airframe
has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a
gunship (AC-130), for airborne assault, search and rescue,
scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, aerial
refueling, maritime patrol, and aerial fir