US clears sale of C130J Super Hercules support systems to India

In a boost to Indian humanitarian and disaster response capabilities, the US state department has cleared a $96 million package of spares and support equipment for the Indian fleet of 6 C130J Super Hercules aircraft.

The C130J has been in the news recently for being used in the Nepal relief effort.

But the aircraft has come under strict scrutiny in the past few years ever since a US Senate investigation that revealed the presence of ‘Chinese counterfeit parts’ found in critical display systems of the C130J, C-27J, and other US military systems. These parts were traced to a company in Shenzhen, China, called Hong Dark Electronic Trade Company which sold it to L-3 Communications Display Systems, which supplied it to Lockheed Martin, the US military’s prime contractor for the C-130J.

Last year one of the Indian C130J aircraft crashed in Gwalior, leading to calls for the IAF’s court of inquiry to determine whether any of the Indian C130Js systems are counterfeit.

The proposed sale is to, “enable the Indian Air Force sustain a higher mission-ready status for its C-130J fleet,” the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said, following India’s request for support for five years for their fleet of C-130J Super Hercules that includes 8 spare AN/ALE-47 Counter-Measures Dispensing Systems and 6 spare AN/ALR-56M Advanced Radar Warning Receivers. It also wants to buy up to 9,000 flare cartridges, spare and repair parts, configuration updates, support and test equipment, publications and technical data, technical services, personnel training and training equipment.

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