Photo By Roland Leach | George Shultz, Air Mobility and Maritime Missions vice president and Lockheed Martin...... read more read more
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- A new landmark was dedicated here June 29 as a symbol of the ongoing partnership between the Air Force and its industry partners.
Erected in the last several weeks, a model of a C-130J stands proudly on a pedestal outside Bldg. 301. The Robins C-130 System Program Office is just inside.
There are also offices located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. Partners from throughout the Air Force Sustainment Center and Lockheed Martin play a vital role in building and maintaining one of the Department of Defense’s most versatile weapon systems.
In December, Lockheed Martin delivered its 2,500th Hercules from its production line in Marietta, Georgia. That HC-130J Combat King II made its new home at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia.
“More than half are still flying which is a testament to the ruggedness and the ingenuity of the designers when they first produced it,” said Mike Sorial, C-130 Hercules Division chief at Robins.
The C-130J model’s 1/15 scale includes a wingspan of about 8.8 feet and is about 7.5 feet long, and weighs more than 100 pounds.
“This model has been permanently gifted to Robins by Lockheed Martin as a symbol of our ongoing partnership,” added Sorial. “It’s, in essence, dedicated to the men and women who helped design, produce, sustain, fly and operate the C-130. I hope every time you walk or drive by this place, you will gaze at this C-130J and be proud of the job you do each and every day.”
Along with having its program office just a short drive away from the flight line, the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex’s 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron is responsible for the depot-level maintenance production of the C-130, as well as numerous squadrons in the 402nd Commodities, Electronics and Software maintenance groups that repair, install and maintain its components.
Nearly every aspect of a C-130’s life cycle is touched at Robins, from foreign military sales and maintenance and overhaul to functional test and sustainment.
It’s landed on an aircraft carrier and in landing zones in arctic freezing temperatures, fought fires, performed countless humanitarian missions and much more.
The latest model, the C-130J Super Hercules, is the newest addition to the Air Force inventory, and joins a fleet that dates back over 60 years.
George Shultz, Air Mobility and Maritime Missions vice president and general manager with Lockheed Martin, presented a plaque during the ceremony that included a flag flown on a C-130J, significant due to the Air Force’s partnership with Lockheed Martin following a 2015 fire at General Electric’s Dowty production facility in the United Kingdom. That facility makes propellers for the C-130J.
Robins helped continue Lockheed Martin’s production program by offering spare parts from the inventory here until the U.K. facility could get up and running. That led to the successful first set of production propellers which flew on a C-130J.
Shultz told the audience to remember they’re part of a worldwide franchise, and that anywhere in the world you can find someone who is affiliated with the aircraft, whether they’ve flown in it, jumped out of it or had relatives be a part of its history.
“I don’t think there’s any other airplane in the world that you can say that about,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2016 16:20 |
| Story ID: | 203457 |
| Location: | ROBINS AFB, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 684 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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