Through its official Twitter account, the Defense Ministry informed that the Uruguayan Air Force (FAU) received the 2 KC-130H Hercules acquired from Spain, which arrived in Montevideo yesterday December 19.
El primer Hércules comprado a España, rodando en la Base Aérea número 1 de la @Fuerza_aerea_uy pic.twitter.com/iuRI4reA3U
— MDN Uruguay (@MDN_Uruguay) December 19, 2020
El primer Hércules comprado a España, rodando en la Base Aérea número 1 de la @Fuerza_aerea_uy pic.twitter.com/iuRI4reA3U
— MDN Uruguay (@MDN_Uruguay) December 19, 2020
The Spanish Air Force (EdA) is in the middle of the renewal process of its fleet of cargo planes. To make room for the 14 new Airbus A400Ms, EdA put 10 C-130 Hercules up for sale, of which 5 are C130H and the other 5 are KC-130H (in-flight refueling capacity).
The Spanish Hercules began operations from the Zaragoza airbase in 1973, but what made them interesting in the eyes of the South American Air Forces is that in 2000 they would have undergone a mid-life modernization that renewed avionics, communications and protection systems. So despite their age, these C-130s carry relatively modern equipment (by the standards of the region).
As we anticipated some time ago, both Peru and Uruguay moved quickly not to miss the opportunity and acquired 2 KC-130H each.
The Ministry of Defense of Uruguay announced that it agreed a price of 21 million euros for the purchase (plus 1 million for training, spares and transfer), which is a very good price if you take into account 2 factors:
- The 2 C-130 Hercules currently operated by the FAU are model B, manufactured in the 1960s and acquired by Uruguay in the 1990s, but one of them is not operational, and the other is about to fall into the same situation. So recovering and modernizing the Uruguayan C-130Bs would have been more expensive than buying these Spanish Hercules, which have an interesting remnant of flight hours ahead.
- Being “KC”, the new Hercules will bring a new and powerful capacity to Uruguay, the projection capacity. Until now, the Air Force did not have in-flight refuelers. Now the FAU will be able to greatly extend its armed wing, or significantly increase its coverage time over an operational theater.
The journey of the new Uruguayan Hercules had several stops. Passing through the Canary Islands, the Sal Islands and the Recife airport, as the last stop before landing at Montevideo airport.
It is certainly a smart purchase because, for little money, the FAU manages to renew its fleet of cargo planes while incorporating in-flight refueling capacity of strategic importance.
