On Thursday, 11 December 2025, a ceremony was held at the 33rd Air Transport Base in Powidz (33. BLTr.) to mark the handover of a Lockheed C-130H Hercules medium transport aircraft, the fourth of its type in service with the Polish Air Force, bearing tactical number 1513 (former U.S. Air Force serial 89-1135).
Photo: 33rd Air Transport Base
The aircraft landed at the base on 8 December after completing scheduled maintenance and a structural inspection (PDM – Programmed Depot Maintenance) at the facilities of the Portuguese company OGMA – Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal.
The formal handover ceremony was attended by representatives of the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), as well as personnel of the 33rd Air Transport Base.
The aircraft joined the already operated examples bearing tactical numbers 1509 (85-0035), 1511 (91-9141) and 1512 (89-1182). The fifth and final aircraft, number 1510 (85-0036), is awaiting handover at Military Aviation Works No. 2 in Bydgoszcz following scheduled PDM maintenance and structural inspection, along with modifications to its onboard equipment.
The aircraft were acquired under the original contract of 14 April 2021, valued at 14.3 million USD, in the form of a grant under the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program. They were manufactured in 1985 and ended their service in 2017 with the U.S. Air Force’s 357th Airlift Squadron, based at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, after which they were placed in storage and preservation at the facility operated by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) in Tucson, Arizona. Following an amendment to the agreement, the final two aircraft were acquired under the C-130 Ramp-to-Ramp (R2R) program, meaning they were transferred directly from active military service.
The C-130H aircraft will replace the ageing C-130E fleet delivered to Poland between 2009 and 2012 on a one-for-one basis, four of which have already been withdrawn from service, with only aircraft no. 1501 remaining in the inventory.
The H variant features new avionics, laser gyros, and the Northrop Grumman AN/APN-241 LPCR (Low Power Color Radar) onboard radar. In addition, it is powered by upgraded Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines rated at 3,377 kW (4,591 shp). The C-130H has a cruise speed of 589 km/h at an altitude of 6,060 m, while its service ceiling with the maximum payload of 19,090 kg is 7,077 m. Maximum take-off weight is 69,750 kg, of which 16,590 kg is the nominal payload. Range with the nominal payload is 1,945 km.
Poland has domestic C-130 maintenance and overhaul facilities, both within the Polish Armed Forces and among entities belonging to the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), enabling a high level of operational availability with the involvement of national industry. This is made possible by a strategic agreement signed on 23 January 2020 between PGZ and Lockheed Martin.
Poland is currently interested in acquiring heavier transport aircraft under the Drop program, as well as transport and aerial refueling aircraft under the Karkonosze program, both of which are to be financed through the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) loan mechanism.
