On Friday, May 8, 2026, the press service of the 33rd Transport Aviation Base in Powidz (33. BLTr.) reported on social media that the fifth and final Lockheed C-130H Hercules medium transport aircraft, serial number 1510, had arrived from Military Aviation Works No. 2 in Bydgoszcz. The aircraft is the former U.S. Air Force 85-0036.
Illustrative photo: U.S. Embassy in Poland
We are completing the fleet — and in what style! C-130H number 1510 has reported to Powidz as the fifth and final H-version Hercules to arrive at our base. This means the 33rd Transport Aviation Base now has a full complement of C-130H aircraft. The traditional water salute prepared by the Military Fire Service could not be missed in welcoming the new aircraft.
33rd Transport Aviation Base
After completing several years of programmed depot maintenance/structural inspection (PDM) at facilities belonging to the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), the aircraft joined the already operated examples bearing tactical numbers 1509 (85-0035), 1511 (91-9141), 1512 (89-1182), and 1513 (89-113).
They were acquired under the original agreement of April 14, 2021, worth 14.3 million USD, as a grant under the EDA (Excess Defense Articles) program. They were manufactured in 1985 and ended their service with the U.S. Air Force’s 357th Airlift Squadron, stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, in 2017. They were subsequently preserved in storage at the facility controlled by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Tucson, Arizona. After the agreement was amended, the final two examples were acquired under the C-130 Ramp-to-Ramp (R2R) procedure, directly from the armed forces.
Deliveries were originally expected to take place in 2022–2024, but were ultimately moved to 2023–2026 due to the need to carry out more extensive PDM work.
The C-130H aircraft will replace the worn-out C-130E aircraft delivered to Poland in 2009–2012 on a one-for-one basis. Four of them have already been withdrawn, with only number 1501 remaining in service.
The H variant received new avionics, laser gyroscopes, and a Northrop Grumman AN/APN-241 LPCR (Low Power Color Radar) onboard radar. It also has modernized Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines with an output of 3,377 kW (4,591 hp). The C-130H has a cruising speed of 589 km/h at an altitude of 6,060 m, while its service ceiling with a maximum payload of 19,090 kg is 7,077 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 69,750 kg, of which 16,590 kg is the nominal payload. Its range with a nominal payload is 1,945 km.
Poland has maintenance and repair facilities for C-130 aircraft, both within the Polish Armed Forces and in entities belonging to PGZ, which makes it possible to maintain a high level of operational availability with the involvement of domestic industry. This is all thanks to the strategic agreement of January 23, 2020, between PGZ and Lockheed Martin.
Poland is currently interested in purchasing heavier transport aircraft under the Drop program and transport/tanker aircraft under the Karkonosze program, which are to be financed through the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) loan program.
Video: 33. BLTr./Photos: Grzegorz Czerniak
