28 December 2023
by Victor Barreira
German C-130Js are to be equipped for the SOF role, a senior Luftwaffe official has disclosed. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
Germany is to equip its Lockheed Martin C-130J transport aircraft for the special operations forces (SOF) role, it was revealed in late November.
The Head of the Air Transport/Jet/Unmanned Aircraft System Branch at the German Air Force Command, Colonel Stefan Kleinheyer, made the disclosure during the SAE Media Group Military Airlift and Air-to-Air Refuelling conference in Lisbon, Portugal.
The SOF capabilities consist of equipping the aircraft for high altitude low opening/high altitude high
opening (HALO/HAHO) parachuting, forward arming and refuelling point (FARP), and special operations surgical team (SOST) missions, Col Kleinheyer said, without detailing further.
Germany has to date taken all three C-130J-30 airlifters, with the same number of KC-130J-30 tankers to follow by 2024.
The Luftwaffe aircraft are part of the Franco-German Binational Air Transport Squadron (BATS) ‘Rhein/Rhin’ stationed at the French Air and Space Force’s (AAE’s) Air Base 105 in Évreux-Fauville.
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- Source: https://www.janes.com/defence-news/luftwaffe-c-130js-to-have-special-operations-capabilities
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