Turkey has signed a multi-year agreement with the UK’s Marshall Aerospace to upgrade and maintain a fleet of 12 ex-Royal Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The transport planes, recently acquired from the UK, will undergo comprehensive modernization to enhance their operational life and performance for the Turkish Air Force.
Under the contract, Marshall Aerospace will provide complete sustainment support, including spare parts, specialized tooling, crew training, and systems integration. The program also aims to help Turkey develop an indigenous maintenance and support capability, ensuring long-term self-reliance in fleet operations.
The overhaul and modernization are being conducted at Marshall’s Cambridge facility in England, where each aircraft will receive a new center wing box — a critical structure connecting the wings to the fuselage. This replacement extends the aircraft’s service life and improves safety during heavy-lift missions. Marshall remains one of the few global firms authorized to carry out this complex work on the C-130J series.
Once refurbished in the UK, the aircraft will be delivered to Ankara and officially commissioned into service. Turkish Air Force personnel are undergoing training to take over future maintenance tasks domestically. The upgraded C-130Js will gradually replace aging C-130B and C-130E models, reducing pressure on the Airbus A400M fleet and bolstering Turkey’s logistics and humanitarian airlift capabilities.
