High resolution photos: Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules lands at Daulat Beg Oldi

by Devesh Agarwal

Yesterday, we wrote about the world record breaking effort of the Indian Air Force landing one of its C-130J Super Hercules strategic air transporters at the world's highest airfield at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO). Read the story here.

With a hat-tip to Shiv Aroor, we present some high resolution pictures of the 'Herc' at DBO. The aircraft was on the ground for 30 minutes and kept its engines on the entire time it was on the ground.

-- Story continues below the fold --

The C-130J is part of the six aircraft that India ordered from the U.S. Government, and is based at Hindon near the capital New Delhi, with the newly raised 77 Squadron IAF named ‘Veiled Vipers’, and is used by the special forces, including the famous NSG Black Cats.

The squadron's motto “Kill with Stealth”, signifies the all-weather, stealthy 'black-ops' mission capabilities in deploying the special forces to deal with many varieties of threats. India has realised the capabilities of this great aircraft and is ordering another six.

The important of Daulat Beg Oldi Advanced Landing Ground (ALG)

The Aksai Chin region of Ladakh is hotly contested by both India and China. India and China fought a border war in 1962 and in 1993 accepted the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as the de-facto international border.

Daulat Beg Oldi is located just 4.5 kms away from the Karakoram pass and supports Indian troops on the Siachen glacier, which a major thorn in China's strategic interests in the region. This map shows a clearer picture.

Western borders of India and China with Aksai Chin region. Image courtesy Wikipedia

While the Chinese side of Aksai Chin is easily approachable from the east, for India, it is extremely difficult, and involves traversing the highest motor-able road in the world, the Khardung La pass.

This paper in PDF format from the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis gives significant insight on why this high altitude desert called DBO is so important.



Chinese troops have been repeatedly violating agreements with India, and have crossed the LAC (Line of Actual Control) more than 150 times this year alone.

On April 15th, Chinese troops blatantly crossed the border near DBO and pitched tents right in the face of the Indian army. This infographic shows what happened.

Instead of fighting back the aggression, the UPA2 government took no action, and even sent its foreign minister Salman Khurshid to Beijing, pretending nothing had happened. At that time, Parliament had to be adjourned when the government was cornered by the opposition for its spineless tactics.

The landing of the Hercules today with its ability to carry in 20 tons, is a definite signal to the Chinese of the unmuzzling of the Indian armed forces and their ability to respond.

In the longer term, expect India to upgrade the landing strip to accommodate the big daddy, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy airlifter.

Read more »

IAF achieves landing of C-130J Hercules at world's highest airstrip Daulat Beg Oldie

by Devesh Agarwal

DBO near the top of the map. Image: Wikipedia

In a significant capability demonstration move by the Indian Air Force (IAF) achieved a world record when it landed a C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft landed at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) Advanced Landing Ground (ALG), the highest airstrip in the world at 06:54 hrs today.

The Commanding Officer Group Captain Tejbir Singh and the crew of the “Veiled Vipers” along with senior officer of Air Headquarters touched down on the DBO airstrip located at 16,614 feet (5,065 meters) in the Aksai Chin area after taking off from their home base at Hindon, near the capital New Delhi.

DBO is a very important and highly strategic post for India. DBO is located a stone's throw from the Karakoram Pass which links China with Pakistan.

The base was built during the Indo-China conflict in 1962. The IAF operated a Packet aircraft between 1962 and 1965. In recent years, China has become increasingly belligerent in the Aksai Chin area, with repeated violations of the border.  The IAF along with the Indian Army re-operationalised the DBO ALG and landed a twin engine AN 32 aircraft from Chandigarh in 2008 after a gap of 43 years.


However, the AN-32 has a limited payload at these extreme altitudes, and India does not have road connectivity in to this area. This limits the ability of the Indian armed forces to react to repeated Chinese provocations.

The IAF decided to land the C-130J-30 Super Hercules which is capable of lifting up to 20 tonnes of load, to improve supply lines. With this enhanced airlift capability the IAF will now be in a better position to meet the requirements of Indian land forces who are heavily dependent on the air bridge for sustenance in these higher and inhospitable areas.

The tactical airlift C-130J-30 Super Hercules of the special operations squadron the “Veiled Vipers” is capable of undertaking quick deployment of forces in all weather conditions, including air-drops and landings on unprepared or semi prepared surfaces created history today by landing at this altitude and hostile terrain conditions.

This achievement qualifies for the world record for the highest landing by an aircraft of this class. The Super Hercules was the same aircraft and crew that operated at Dharasu during “Op Rahat” for the Uttarakhand flood relief.

Read more »

Indian Air Force takes delivery of first C-130J super Hercules for Black Cats' transport

The Indian Air Force (IAF) took delivery of the first of its stretched fuselage C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft from Lockheed Martin at a ceremony in Marietta, Georgia, USA. The Indian Air Force has ordered six C-130Js under a $1.2 billion order under the United States' Foreign Military Sale program, in late 2008. This order was the first of several orders placed on US vendors for a variety of aircraft.

Video of first flight below the fold.

Equipped with Rolls Royce AE2100 engines and Dowty six bladed propellers, three aircraft are already in flight testing while three are in final stages of construction. KC-3801, the first of six C-130J Hercules, made its first flight, at Marietta, Georgia, USA on October 4th.

Lorraine Martin, Lockheed Martin’s vice president for C-130 Programs touched upon the motto of the IAF - Touch the sky with glory, and welcomed the fourth largest air force in the world as an operator of the C130.

Ordered in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai debacle when the NSG (Black Cats) commandos could not be transported from Delhi to Mumbai in time, the IAF version of the C-130J Super Hercules is a highly integrated and sophisticated configuration primarily intended to support India’s special operations and counter-terrorism requirements.

Equipped with a Forward Looking Infra-red (FLIR) AAQ-22 Star Safire III sensor turret, the aircraft can operate in complete darkness. The C-130J's are also equipped with self-protection systems and other features are included to ensure aircraft survivability in hostile environments and with air-to-air receiver refuelling capability for extended range operations.

The sale package being provided by the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin is comprehensive and includes six aircraft, training of aircrew and maintenance technicians, spares, ground support and test equipment, servicing carts, forklifts, loading vehicles, cargo pallets and a team of technical specialists who will be based in India during a three-year initial support period. Also included in the package is India-unique operational equipment designed to increase Special Operations capabilities.

The first two C-130Js will be flown to India early next year, followed by the remaining four aircraft deliveries later in 2011. The fleet will be based at Hindon Air Force Station just outside the national capital New Delhi.

Video of first flight

Read more »

Lockheed Martin prepares to deliver India's C-130J Super Hercules aircraft amidst controversy

India′s order for six C-130J stretch Super Hercules transports is fast approaching completion. KC-3804, KC-3805, and KC-3806 the final three C-130Js have now reached their final production positions at the Lockheed Martin Marietta facility.

India's C-130J Super Hercules on the Lockheed Martin production line

This news comes as the Business Standard newspaper reports a growing controversy at India's Ministry of Defence viewing the company as flouting India's offsets norms.

Signed back in 2007, the $962 million Super Hercules contract was the first major defence deal between India and United States. These aircraft are expected to be used by the special forces of India like the Black Cats, and will be equipped with a Forward Looking Infra-red (FLIR) AAQ-22 Star Safire III sensor turret which permits operations in complete darkness as well as an in-flight refuelling probe.

These aircraft will join the first three, which are already in flight test prior to deliveries that will begin later this month.

The first C-130J KC-3801 will be formally delivered on Thursday, December 16 at a ceremony in Marietta, Georgia, USA.

Two aircraft will be flown to India in early 2011, two more will arrive in early summer 2011, with the last two being delivered in late summer of 2011.

Related articles

• Republic Of Korea Selects Lockheed Martin's Proven C-130J Super Hercules For New Airlift Fleet. (planenews.com)
• Aparna Pande: Obama's Upcoming India Trip (huffingtonpost.com)
• USAFE Airmen to Assist Israel With Wildfires. (planenews.com)

Read more »

Images: Indian Air Force Lockheed Martin C130J makes first flight

KC-3801, the first of six stretched fuselage Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force, made its first flight, at Marietta, Georgia, USA on October 4th.

Along with these pictures, Lockheed Martin released a simple statement

The first of six C-130J Super Hercules for India took to the skies for its maiden flight yesterday. The aircraft will now complete a series of company and customer flight tests prior to delivery in December. The second and third aircraft are due to fly within the next few weeks.

All images © Lockheed Martin

Signed back in 2007, the $962 million Super Hercules contract was the first major defence deal between India and United States. These aircraft are expected to be used by the special forces of India like the Black Cats, and will be equipped with a Forward Looking Infra-red (FLIR) AAQ-22 Star Safire III sensor turret which permits operations in complete darkness as well as an in-flight refuelling probe.

The United States and Boeing are looking forward to close another deal with the Indian Air Force later this year, when President Obama visits India, for a proposed fleet of ten Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft, a deal expected to be valued around $4.4~$5.6 billion.

The C-17 procurement will be the second procurement by Indian armed forces from Boeing. The Indian Navy signed a $2.2 billion contract in January 2009, to procure eight of an Indian variant of the Boeing P-8a Poseidon called the P-8I. The P-8I is maritime patrol and anti submarine warfare aircraft based on the Boeing 737 commercial aircraft platform.

Both Lockheed Martin (F-16IN SuperViper) and Boeing (F/A-18 SuperHornet) are also competing with vendors across the globe for the $5.5+ billion Indian Air Forces Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) tender which should be finalised in 2011.

Read more »

Photo essay: Transit of Singapore Air Force elite 145 squadron F-16s, KC-135R, C-130H at Bangalore

On Monday evening an entire contingent of the elite 145 squadron of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) touched down at Bangalore's HAL airport.

The 145 Squadron "Hornet" is a strike fighter squadron of the RSAF currently based at the new airbase Changi Airbase (East) which to the east of Singapore Changi Airport. With hornets as their motif and a motto "Swift & Valiant", the 145 squadron is considered one of, if not the best squadron of the RSAF.

The 145 squadron operates 20 Lockheed Martin F-16D+ Fighting Falcons procurred during 2003~2004 under the Peace Carvin IV. The twenty aircraft of the squadron which are upgraded versions known as the Block 52+ or F-16D+, are equipped with state-of-the-art Conformal Fuel Tanks, extended spines which house a formidable radar, targeting pod, and ECM suite enabling the squadron to conduct precision day and night operations at a greater combat range and duration.

In many ways the F-16D+ looks very similar to the F-16IN SuperViper which Lockheed Martin is pitching for the Indian Air Force Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender.

Six F-16D+ (tail numbers 661, 662, 669, 674, 678, 679) accompanied by the Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers (tail numbers 750 and 753) and Lockheed C-130H Hercules filled with ground support personnel transited through Bangalore on the night of 7th June. After an overnight stop, the whole fleet took off for Qatar, and most likely proceeding on to Europe.

I managed to capture some of the aircraft as they departed. First to leave were the two KC-135R tankers.
Observe the flight of F-16s in the background

Soon after came the six F-16D+. HAL airport has a 10,000ft runway, and these planes were airborne well before the centre point of the runway. Streaking across the sky with full afterburners, they were well above 400kts (800 kmph) even before reaching the end of the runway. In typical Singapore precision they even took off by tail number.

Sorry, it was a cloudy morning and with the high speed of the F-16s I could not achieve a high quality of the pictures.


Last to leave was the C-130H Hercules by which time the sun had come out of the clouds. Really beautiful looking aircraft.

Please note, these images are the copyright of Bangalore Aviation and may not be used without permission.

Read more »

Death toll rises to 79 in Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash

An Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules carrying 98 passengers and 14 crew on a regular flight from the capital, Jakarta, to the eastern most province of Papua crashed in a rice field at about 06:20 (23:20-1 GMT) in Geplak village and burst into flames crashed into several homes and burst into flames Wednesday, killing at least 79 people, including two on the ground.

Nineteen survivors have been rescued and transported to hospital. Recovery of badly burnt bodies continues and we can expect the death toll to increase. Local television is reported to be flashing footage of fire engulfed mangled wreckage.

The aircraft was transporting troops and their families, including at least 10 children, when it tumbled from the sky near an air force base in East Java province smashing in to a row of houses in Geplak village, killing three on the ground, before skidding into a rice field. Large chunks of the wreckage lie strewn across the paddy fields and bordering bushes.

It was not clear what caused the crash, but several witnesses described hearing a large explosion while it was still in the air and then seeing it split apart.

The Indonesian Air Force is still recovering from the crippling effects of sanctions and low budget allocations. This is the second fatal accident involving their planes in recent weeks. Just 5 weeks earlier, on April 6, a Fokker F-27 crashed and burst into flames in West Java’s capital, Bandung, killing all 24 officers on board.

Read more »