Lockheed Martin delivered its 400th J-model Hercules on 9 February, as operations with the global fleet have passed 1.7 million flying hours.

Transferred to the US Air Force Special Operations Command, the aircraft will be converted from its current MC-130J configuration into an AC-130J “Ghostrider” gunship.

Lockheed Martin

Seventeen nations currently operate variants of the “Super Hercules”, which is assembled at Lockheed's Marietta site in Georgia. The J-model airlifter was first flown in April 1996, with deliveries starting in September 1998, to the UK Royal Air Force.

Flight Fleets Analyzer records operating nations as being Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, India, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kuwait, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Tunisia, the UK and the USA.

Source: FlightGlobal.com