The Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin $889.5 million to supply 11 C-130J-based aircraft, announced the Pentagon. The order includes four HC-130J rescue aircraft for Air Combat Command, seven MC-130J special mission aircraft for Air Force Special Operations Command, and a single C-130J combat delivery airplane for Air Mobility Command, according to the contract description, which is included in the Defense Department’s Oct. 23 list of major contracts. The order also includes a single KC-130J tanker aircraft for the Marine Corps, company spokesman Peter Simmons told the Daily Report. Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Ga., plant is scheduled to complete delivery of these aircraft by July 2015, according to DOD.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or perhaps even President Donald Trump will have the final say on a way forward for the Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter, the nominee to serve as the Pentagon’s No. 2 civilian said at his confirmation hearing.