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Sadly almost the end of the C-130 Hercules in RAF service, they will be withdrawn from service at the end of June 2023.

A three ship formation did a farewell tour of the UK today, aircraft were ZH870 ( lead aircraft ), ZH868 and ZH871

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-o ... e-65894443

What's the replacement?

The Airbus A400M Atlas, it`s a bigger aircraft, but IMHO, the RAF would have been wise to keep the C-130J`s in service, but they wanted one type does all.

I believe they have 16 airworthy examples, some of which have been sold.

paul mcallister wrote:The Airbus A400M Atlas

I've seen some of the A400's do some pretty neat tricks.

The RAF had 3 large transport aircraft, the C-130J, The A400M, and the C-17A,
from what I have read, the bean counters decided one had to go.
The word is withdrawing the C-130J has left gaps in capability, mainly to do with special forces ops.
The A400M has had some serious problems, I`m not convinced it is the aircraft the RAF wanted, or need. The C-130J and C-17A are proven work horses, and IMO the A400M is too complex for a delivery truck.

I've read here before that the A400M can be, at times, a bit of a hangar queen. Seems to me changing from the tried and true seems to be a bit of an attitude of "look at the shiny bright new object". Sort of like the phone system a company I worked for purchased. I'm convinced to this day that the salesperson involved in that deal spent the next 6 months at a Carribean high end resort with an umbrella drink in hand.

The A400 is friggin huge compared to a C-130. Honestly, my impression seeing them in person is they are closer to a C-17.

I can see the special forces not being happy about this move.

I predict they buy something like the C-27 or the similar CASA thing in small numbers in the near future to support SAS/SBS and their needs.

Here are the stats.....This shows France as the manufacturer, but it is a cross European venture.

https://aerocorner.com/comparison/c130-vs-a400m/

I very much doubt the RAF will buy anything like a Casa or C-27, but I would not be surprised if they retain a few of the C-130J`s for special jobs.
As I mentioned the MOD number crunchers do not want 3 airlifters in the RAF, and that`s fair enough as long as it does not leave big gaps in capability.
The rumor mill suggests the RAF are not best pleased about losing the Hercs.

captoveur wrote:The A400 is friggin huge compared to a C-130. Honestly, my impression seeing them in person is they are closer to a C-17.

Pretty much bang in the middle of a C-130 and a C-17, capacity and payload wise. They are a big unit.

captoveur wrote:I predict they buy something like the C-27 or the similar CASA thing in small numbers in the near future to support SAS/SBS and their needs.

There is a need for something a little more subtle than an A400M, that's for sure. The only thing close in the current fleet is the Beech R1 Shadow which is a bit tight for parachute ops, even when stripped out.

The Beech Shadow R1 and upgraded R2`s are a dedicated intel and recon aircraft, the RAF will have 8 in service.
My guess is a small number of the Hercs will be retained, perhaps four or five aircraft even in the short term.