Available C-130 Hercules transport planes rises to five

The arrival on Monday of the C-130 Hercules of the Hellenic Air Force at the Elefsina Air Base has raised the number of available transport force aircraft of the 356 Tactical Transport Squadron to five.

This is one of two C-130 Hercules that joined the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NATO NSPA) support program and were transferred to Portugal to be maintained by OGMA.

Optimistic estimates place the delivery time of the other plane in Portugal within 2025.

The goal set by the Defense Ministry and the Air Staff is for the Air Force to have at least 10 available C-130 Hercules and C-27 Spartan transport aircraft by 2027.

The availability of five C-130 Hercules is a record in Greece, as in recent years there have been times when only one was flying and it was often grounded due to breakdown or maintenance.