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Royal Air Force of Oman accepted its first C-130J Super Hercules transport from Lockheed Martin in a ceremony at the company’s Marietta, Ga., production facility, announced the company on Sept. 5. Defense Department and Lockheed Martin officials presented the aircraft to Omani Commander Suleiman al Brashdy during the Aug. 30 event. This airframe is the first of three on order for Oman. The first Super Hercules destined for Iraq also recently flew on its maiden check flight from Marietta, according to a separate Lockheed Martin release. The company is building six C-130Js for Iraq, the first of which is slated for delivery later this year. Oman’s first Super Herk will be ferried for delivery later this year as well, according to the company.
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…