The MC-130H is a special operations tanker/mobility aircraft based on the C-130H. Its primary missions are covert day, night, and adverse weather infiltration, exfiltration, and resupply of special operations forces in hostile or denied territory. MC-130H also provides airdrop resupply, rotary wing aerial refueling, and psyops.
The aircraft are equipped with TF/TA radar, precision INS/GPS navigation, and electronic and IR counter-measures for self-protection. The fleet is fitted with wing-mounted external fuel tanks and drogue refueling pods to refuel HH-60 and CV-22 and can also receive fuel in flight. Aircraft are capable of airdrop using the Joint Precision Airdrop System and operating from austere and unmarked strips. The original MC130Es were converted in the mid-1960s, followed by the MC-130P (previously HC-130N/P), which were delivered in the mid-1980s and retired in 2017. MC-130Hs were converted from base-model C-130H to supplement the Combat Talon I and Combat Shadow fleets and the first aircraft was delivered to Hurlburt on June 29, 1992. MC-130H have been continuously upgraded over their service life and boast an integrated glass cockpit and a modernized pod-based aerial refueling system. The type notably undertook noncombatant evacuations from Liberia in 1996, saw combat during Allied Force, and kicked off both Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, seizing key airfields during the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Two aircraft conducted the type’s final combatant operation evacuating Afghanistan during Allies Refuge in 2021. AFSOC retired the final MC-130H to storage at Davis-Monthan on April 2, 2023, completing transition to the MC-130J Commando II. The fleet accumulated some 264,442 flying hours over 106,850 sorties since entering operational service in late 1992.
Contractors: Lockheed Martin (airframe); Boeing.
First Flight: 1984.
Delivered: 1991-1994.
IOC: June 30, 1993.
Production: 24.
Inventory: 16.
Operator: AFSOC.
Aircraft Location: Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Active Variants: •MC-130H Combat Talon II. SOF support and aerial refueling tanker fielded in 1991.
Dimensions: Span 132.6 ft, height 38.5 ft, length 99.8 ft.
Weight: Max T-O 155,000 lb.
Power Plant: Four Allison T56-A-15 turboprops, each 4,910 shp.
Performance: Speed 300 mph, range 3,105 miles.
Fuel Capacity: Approx. 63,000 lb (81,120 lb with additional internal tanks) at up to 450 gpm.
Ceiling: 33,000 ft.
Accommodation: Two pilots, navigator, EWO, flight engineer, two loadmasters.
Load: 77 troops, 52 paratroops, or 57 litters.