The Peruvian Air Force has finally taken delivery of the two KC-130H Hercules transport aircraft it bought second-hand from Spain in 2020.
The aircraft were welcomed in a ceremony in Lima on February 15, which was attended by the Peruvian president Francisco Sagasti.
The two planes took off from Zaragoza, Spain, on February 11 and had initially been scheduled to arrive at the Jorge Chavez airport in Lima on Sunday, following a three-day voyage.
Uruguay, who also bought two of the ten in-flight refueling variants of the Hercules aircraft that were retired by the Spanish Air Force, received the aircraft in December 2020.
In addition to Peru and Uruguay, Florida-based Blue Aerospace, which specializes in C130 support and claims the world’s largest inventory of C-130B/H rotable and structural parts, bought six of the retired aircraft. According to reports, Spain sold off its Hercules fleet after 50 years of operations for some 97 million dollars.
Peru has already set aside 35 million dollars for the incorporation of the Lockheed-built aircraft into its air force.
Just as was the case with the Uruguayan Air force, the Hercules aircraft will introduce an in-flight refuelling capability to the Peruvian Air Force.
