The Colombian Air Force has officially welcomed the first of three C130 Hercules aircraft in a ceremony at the Air Command for Military Transportation (CATAM) in Bogota, on October 6.
An official handover ceremony for the former US Air Force aircraft took place after it arrived from the US in late September. It is now scheduled to undergo an overhaul procedure.
Colombia bought three C130 from the US in 2018, under the US defense department’s excess defense articles program. The country is also expected to receive 200 M1117 armored security vehicles under the same program.
The purchase price for the three Hercules aircraft and related equipment is around $30 million.
The new C-130H, which will receive the callsign FAC1016, is the first in the Colombian Air Force (CAF) Hercules fleet to have a flare dispenser and chaffs. The C-130H are replacing an equal number of C-130Bs that are still in service with the CAF.
It is worth noting that the Colombian Navy is also anticipating the arrival of a former South Korean corvette to Cartagena. Former Pohang-class corvette ROKS Iksan, which has now been renamed to ARC Almirante Tono, got underway from the Jinhae Naval Base, in South Korea, on October 3, and will reach Colombia in December.
