Norway requests two C-130Js to replace crashed transport

June 21, 2012 by Craig Hoyle –FG

London - Norway wants to replace the Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical transport that was destroyed in a fatal accident in Sweden on 15 March, and also expand its fleet of the type to five aircraft.

Outlined by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) earlier this month, Oslo's estimated $300 million request is for two US Air Force baseline standard, stretched-fuselage C-130J-30s, plus associated parts, equipment and support.

All five crew members aboard Royal Norwegian Air Force C-130J 5630 were killed when it crashed into a mountainside at an altitude of about 4,920ft (1,500m) while participating in a NATO exercise. The transport was the service's youngest Hercules, having been delivered in July 2010.

The accident - the cause of which is still be investigated - reduced Oslo's C-130J fleet to three aircraft. If acquired, the additional transports would be used to support Norway's military involvement in Afghanistan, the DSCA says.