The Indian Air Force awarded a $328.8 million, five-year contract to Lockheed Martin to provide dedicated and full-fledged ground support for their fleet of 12 C-130J Super Hercules Aircraft, according to India Today. Lockheed Martin is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the C-130Js, and the firm is responsible for servicing and production of the aircraft globally.
The deal involves a Follow On Support II (FOS) contract in which Lockheed Martin will oversee the maintenance program, logistics, and engineering support elements necessary to sustain the IAF’s C-130J fleet. The entire prospect of the deal spans a five-year work contract, and was signed under Direct Commercial Sale by the IAF. This service will be a continuation of a prior five-year FOS contract where Lockheed Martin managed the maintenance services and engineering support for the IAF’s C-130J fleet.
This new deal under the FOS II contract will feature Lockheed Martin’s maintenance works for the IAF’s entire Super Hercules fleet, as well as extended services, including Lockheed Martin support for the C-130J airframe, ground handling equipment (GHE), ground support equipment (GSE) and test equipment, Contractor Furnished Equipment (CFE), peculiar and common items, engines, propellers, software, and publication services. During this phase of the FOS II contract, five C-130J aircraft will be sent to 12-year servicing to Lockheed Martin certified Heavy Maintenance Center (HMC) in the first quarter of the 2022 fiscal year.
IAF has been operating Super Hercules for a decade since the Government of India announced its purchase of six C-130J Super Hercules airlifters via a Foreign Military Sale with the U.S. Air Force in 2008, according to Lockheed Martin. All aircraft were delivered between 2010 and 2011. India received additional C-130Js in 2017 and in 2019, increasing the fleet to 12 aircraft in the active squadron.
