Lima Charlie: Why was the Hercules so valuable and what will we do without it?

The Royal Air Force is retiring the C-130 Hercules from service.

After 56 years of continuous active service, the aircraft affectionately known as the 'Fat Albert' is finally being withdrawn from the RAF order of battle.

This retirement, although not unexpected, brings with it both sadness and wider concern about the future of UK air transport capability.

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Why was the Hercules so valuable and what does the future look like without it?

One of the most iconic and longest-serving aircraft designs in history, the first production Hercules took to the skies in 1956 in the USA and, since that point, there probably hasn't been a single day when somewhere in the world a C-130 has carried out a mission.

The type has become probably the best-known military cargo aircraft in aviation history, capable of carrying out a diverse range of missions from dropping pallets and paratroopers, as an airborne refuelling tanker, electronic warfare operations, special forces support, airborne gunfire support – it even became an Argentine bomber during the Falklands War (attacking the ironically named oil tanker 'Hercules').

The aircraft has operated on every continent, including Antarctica, and holds the record for being the largest aircraft type ever to land and take off from an aircraft carrier (the USS Forrestal in the 1960s).

The airframe is sufficiently adaptable that designers have even worked out ways to include cruise missile launchers and turn the design into a seaplane – which may enter service to support US Special Forces in the next few years.

The RAF association with the C-130 began back in the early 1960s when it needed to replace several different types of transport aircraft with one design.

After a UK design was cancelled, the decision was taken in 1965 to order 66 Hercules aircraft to support RAF operations around the world. The first aircraft began operations in 1967 and they have continued to this day.

The Hercules force was quickly employed on a wide range of tasks around the world, for example supporting British operations around the world including during the withdrawal from 'East of Suez' in the late 1960s and the Falklands War in 1982.

In fact, it is difficult to think of a single UK major military exercise or operation over the last few decades that hasn't featured a C-130 in one form or another.

The aircraft was operationally employed right to the end of its life, with several aircraft participating in the 2023 evacuation of UK nationals from Sudan.

The roles carried out by RAF Hercules have been many and varied. For many years the force was used to support the Parachute Regiment and deliver military parachutists into action.

In 2001, as part of wider UK support to the Sierra Leone government, the RAF Regiment jumped operationally into theatre to demonstrate UK reach and military capability.

During Iraq and Afghanistan, the Hercules was used to carry out troop movements across the theatre, with aircraft flying all over these countries delivering people, post and cargo to all manner of locations.

Many veterans of TELIC and HERRICK will have flown in the back of one of these aircraft, often as their arrival and departure flight in and out of theatre.

Thousands of service personnel will be all too familiar with the sight and smell of the back of a Hercules in these locations.

To support these operations, the RAF kept C-130s in a variety of locations to support these operations – for example, airframes were kept in the Middle East, operating out of friendly airbases, or in RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus supporting OP SHADER.

In the Falkland Islands, there was, for many years, a C-130 permanently stationed at RAF Mount Pleasant, which not only carried out cargo duties but also occasionally doubled as a maritime patrol aircraft. 

In addition to the routine cargo and passenger transport operations that made up so much of the fleet's work, there was also other more specialist and sensitive work.

This ranged from the heavily converted meteorological research aircraft known as ‘Snoopy’ which was used to carry out research into weather formations through to Special Forces activity.

The RAF had a dedicated unit in 47 Squadron, whose Special Forces flight used the C-130 to carry out a wide range of extremely challenging missions in support of ground troops. For example, in 2003 during the initial invasion of Iraq, Hercules were used to insert Special Forces vehicle patrols into enemy territory.

Although many specific details of the activities of the RAF in support of Special Forces are unlikely to ever become public knowledge, it is perhaps testament to just how risky these operations were that some airframes were lost while supporting SF operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The question of ‘how to replace the Hercules’ has been ongoing since the 1990s, when the RAF realised it needed to replace the existing C-130 force with newer airframes.

At the time there were two real options available; the first was to buy the then brand-new C-130J design and introduce it to replace the older airframes.

The other was to step away from the Hercules force and instead invest in what was then known as the ‘Future Large Aircraft’ (later called the A400M) which was being developed by European nations.

Both designs offered benefits – the C-130 was already in service and a proven asset, so would require minimal adaption and could be introduced to service quickly.

The FLA was larger so could carry more troops, cargo and had a longer range and better performance.

It was significantly more capable in its design than the C-130J. The challenge was that it hadn’t been built yet and a lot of trials and testing would be needed to bring it into service – which would probably take too long to meet UK needs.

Eventually, the UK took the decision to split the purchases, with an order placed for 25 C-130Js in the late 1990s as well as a commitment to ordering 25 A400M too.

The C-130J entered service in 1999 and was initially scheduled to serve until the 2030s. The RAF plan was to use both fleets of aircraft together to fill the full range of tactical and operational airlift needs, while the decision to acquire the C17 Globemaster in 1998 meant that a genuinely strategic airlift capability was also acquired too for longer-range missions.

The outcome then meant that the UK recapitalised its airlift force throughout the 2000s as it brought in new C-130Js supported by the A400M force from 2014 onwards.

But even as the force looked like it was increasing in capability, financial and operational pressures meant it would be hard to sustain.

In 2010 the RAF C-130J force was in a more challenging position than expected due to the pressure of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Heavy operational use had eaten into the fleets airframe fatigue life, the measure which determines how long it can be operated.

Each airframe can only be used for a set number of flying hours before it either needs extremely expensive life extension work or sent for scrapping. The operational demands on the C-130 had significantly eaten into these limits, far more than had been planned, meaning that the aircraft would need to be replaced far earlier than scheduled.

At the same time, the 2010 Strategic Defence & Security Review (SDSR) needed to make significant savings to the defence budget.

It was decided that the C-130 retirement date would be brought forward to 2022, some 10 years earlier than planned and without replacement. This decision seemed to seal the fate of the C-130 although, in an unexpected turn of events, the 2015 Integrated Review took the decision to extend the force by around eight to 10 years to cover the introduction to service of various capabilities onto the A400M force and cover some niche roles, such as Special Forces activity.

All seemed set for the C-130 to continue as planned, although with a smaller fleet (some 15 airframes), only for the 2021 Defence Review to revert to the original plan of scrapping the force in 2023 to save money.

With the final C-130 now out of service what does the future look like for UK military airlift and how capable is it? There is no doubt that the future RAF force will be a lot smaller than planned, having lost the entire C-130 fleet without replacement.

Initial suggestions that the MOD would buy some additional A400M to cover the gaps appear to have been cancelled on funding grounds.

This means that for the foreseeable future, the RAF will operate an airlift force built around 22 x A400M 'Atlas' transports, all of which are now in service. This will be supported by the 8 x C17 Globemaster aircraft that have been used for strategic airlift and the force of up to 14 A330 Voyager tanker jets used for both air-to-air refuelling and moving passengers globally. This gives a force of around 44 jets in total.

The A400M will be an extremely busy aircraft as it will need to not only carry out the roles it has been acquired for, but also fill the gap with the C-130 force too.

With only 22 airframes available, this means that with maintenance and training considered, there will only be a fairly small number of aircraft available to support all these tasks.

The sort of work will range from cargo delivery and support to UK military forces deployed abroad – for example, as the C-130 did for OP SHADER, to supporting paratrooper training for the Army and helping deliver Special Forces operational capability – such as airdropping equipment like inflatable boats for the SBS.

It seems likely that there will be a significant and negative impact on the Armed Forces as they adapt to the significantly reduced force size.

Even if an A400M can carry more troops than a C-130, it can still only be in one location. This means MOD planners will need to think carefully about where to use these assets. For example, is it going to be possible to have two to three airframes deployed for the long term in support of an enduring UK military operation as was done with the C-130 in Iraq?

Will the Army be able to continue to plan for launching large-scale parachute operations with the Parachute Regiment – even if the A400M can carry a lot more troops, there are only so many aircraft available.

The risk is that it may be harder than ever to carry out a battalion-sized parachute jump and support the troops on the ground due to lack of airframes.

There may need to be very serious questions asked in Whitehall as to whether the loss of the C-130 force could potentially call into question the long-term future of military parachuting in the British Army.

The loss of the Special Forces capability may also be keenly felt as although larger, the A400M has reportedly not completed all the trials and integration work necessary to fully support SAS and SBS operations.

This means that for at least a year or two there is going to be a significant risk as the UK will lack the means to insert SF vehicle or boat patrols into hostile territory.

While there is likely to be some regaining of this capability over time, the challenge will be to find enough serviceable airframes for the delivery of both specialist missions like this and wider routine tasking.

This is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the A400M now – despite being in RAF service for almost 10 years, it appears to still be suffering from significant availability issues.

According to open-source data analysis, at any one time, roughly one-third of the fleet (some seven aircraft) is fully available for tasking and up to another third in maintenance.

While this may increase over time, it is clear that availability isn't currently as good as could be hoped for. This means that with only 22 aircraft in service, the RAF will be lucky to have between 12 to 15 available regularly for use.

This is a serious reduction in capability compared to even a few years ago at a time when the need for airlift has increased dramatically. 

In the last 18 months alone, the RAF C-130 force was regularly used to fly supplies into Poland to support Ukrainian forces, conduct support to OP SHADER and other locations and managed to participate in the evacuation of UK nationals from Sudan.

Trying to ensure that enough A400 airframes are available to do all these sorts of tasks will be a big challenge, particularly without any C-130s available to help.

What does the future hold for UK military airlift? The RAF has taken a bold choice in deciding to move away completely from the C-130 force, a move that no other major air force has taken.

France and Germany, who both operate significant numbers of the A400M have continued to operate the C-130 and are planning to buy new ones.

By all accounts, there is significant interest, including from the USA, to buy the ex-RAF airframes and give them a new lease of life.

With no tactical transport aircraft smaller than an A400M in service now, the RAF will lack the ability to move smaller groups such as SF patrols or company-sized forces around without using one of its scarce A400s to do the job. This isn't the ideal use of the aircraft for this purpose.

The result is a significant gap in RAF capability that will need to be filled, either by purchasing additional A400s or looking to alternative options.

It doesn't seem completely impossible to imagine that in a few years' time, the RAF may well find itself buying a new batch of C-130s to provide additional tactical lift and support to the sort of tasks that an A400M isn't ideally suited for.

The withdrawal of the C-130J from service may mark the end of the aircraft types story in the RAF but it is entirely possible that this isn't the end of the Hercules story for the RAF as a whole.

There is likely to be some truth in the saying that 'the only aircraft that can replace a Hercules is a Hercules'!

This article is the latest contribution in our Lima Charlie columnist section.

This is part of a series featuring unattributed contributions from experts and insiders providing opinion, insight and analysis on today's Armed Forces, the wider politics of the military and observations on military life.

Under the pseudonym Lima Charlie, our contributors aim to explore the issues facing the military and their comment remains unattributed to allow our writers to present their analysis candidly and under one editorial voice.