CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — The first of five C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft touched down in New Zealand earlier this month, part of a plan by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) to retire its 1960s-era C-130H Hercules fleet.
The initial plane, made by Lockheed Martin, was welcomed to RNZAF Base Auckland in a ceremony on Sept. 10. Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Tony Davies stated: “We’ve taken a huge step forward in our tactical air transport capability. The additional capabilities the new C-130J fleet brings will open up expanded roles for the aircraft to meet the needs of New Zealand and our partners.”
Wing Commander Bradley Scott, who spearheads the air service’s No. 40 Squadron that will operate the new fleet, told Defense News that all five C-130Js would arrive by the end of October.
The Hercules is a workhorse in an air force fleet that possesses no combat aircraft. Indeed, the first C-130J’s workload commenced the following day, as it moved cargo and provided familiarization for air movements staff at several airbases around New Zealand.
Kiwi aircraft have an L3Harris Wescam MX-20HD electro-optic camera mounted under the nose to assist search-and-rescue or disaster-relief missions, something they regularly perform around New Zealand and the South Pacific. The C-130Js also have a SATCOM-based wide-bandwidth broadband system.
Scott noted: “It’s not necessarily a step change in capability with the C-130J, but it’s certainly a modernization and capability enhancement that we’ll receive.” He said the new aircraft “can carry more things a farther distance and burn less fuel doing so.”
Flights to Antarctica are part of the C-130J’s remit, and these will occur within a few months. Final operational release for the aircraft in all roles is scheduled for late 2025.
Dispensing with a competitive tender, Wellington budgeted NZ$1.521 billion (US$990 million) for the aircraft and related infrastructure in 2020. Interoperability with partners like Australia and the U.S. was an important consideration, and the package includes a full-motion flight simulator stationed at Whenuapai.
Crew and maintainer training started in the United States last year; four aircrews have already been trained by the U.S. Air Force, with two more to go. The simulator has not arrived yet, but the first New Zealand-based training program will start in early 2026. “Under the J-model contract, we’d be aiming to achieve as much training as possible in the simulator,” Scott explained.
The air service here already retired two C-130Hs this year. All will be gone by Jan. 31, 2025, after the fleet will have collectively flown nearly 155,000 hours over 97,000+ sorties.
Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.
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