Lockheed Martin Delivers First of Four C-130J Airlifters to Royal Norwegian Air Force

PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) delivered the first of four C-130Js to the Royal Norwegian Air Force at a ceremony today with U.S. and Norwegian officials at the company's Marietta, Ga, facility.

"As the first C-130J order under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, the Norway contract marks an important milestone for sales of the C-130J internationally," said Ross Reynolds, vice president of C-130 programs for Lockheed Martin. "Norway joins the growing list of countries that are realizing the flexibility of the Super Hercules and the benefits it brings to a nation's overall airlift capability. With the arrival of its new C-130J aircraft, the Royal Norwegian Air Force will have one of the most advanced cargo fleets in the world."

Other nations that are operating or have ordered the C-130J include Australia, Canada, Denmark, India, Italy, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the United States. A second ceremony will occur in Norway when the aircraft flies there at the end of the month.

The Norwegian Super Hercules are the longer fuselage, or "stretched," variant of the C-130J similar to those being delivered to the U.S. Air Force. Future C-130J deliveries to Norway will include one in 2009 and two in 2010.

"C-130Js provide greater availability, flexibility and reliability than other airlifters," said Reynolds. "Currently they are deployed in two combat theaters and are operating at a very high tempo, efficiently and reliably." In non-combat environments, the C-130Js are used in humanitarian relief efforts such as those following Hurricane Katrina, Thailand's tsunami and Myanmar's typhoon. The worldwide fleet of C-130Js has flown nearly half a million flight hours, with some C-130J operators flying as much as 1,000 hours per month.

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