Matthew Nelson
Lockheed Martin has handed the Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 452's first KC-130J tanker aircraft, one of the company's nine Super Hercules production models.
U.S. Marines brought the aerial refueling vehicle from a Lockheed facility in Marietta, Ga., to Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York, the company said Friday.
VMGR-452, nicknamed the Yankees, has used Hercules planes over the past three decades to support international missions such as Operations Enduring Freedom, Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.
The KC-130J variant features an integrated defensive system, automated maintenance fault reporting tools, a high-altitude ramp, door hydraulics, a dual heads-up display, digital avionics components and payload technologies.
Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of Lockheed’s air mobility and maritime missions line of business, said the KC-130 Hercules platform has supported Marines' aviation operations since 1960.
