Coast Guard buys 6 long-range aircraft

The U.S. Coast Guard will spend up to $735 million to buy six long-range C-130J Super Hercules aircraft from Lockheed Martin, Coast Guard officials said Friday.

“The acquisition was funded using the fiscal year 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” said Lt. Krystal Wolfe, a Coast Guard spokesperson.

Under the bill, the Coast Guard received a record one-time infusion of $24.6 billion in congressional funds, earmarked to buy new icebreakers, cutters, planes, helicopters and facility upgrades.

The purchase will expand the Coast Guard’s fleet of Super Hercules aircraft to 25. The service said it expects to receive the first aircraft in the 2028 fiscal year, with all orders delivered by 2030.

“Compared with the legacy C-130H model, the new C-130J aircraft features a more advanced engine and propellers, yielding a 20% increase in speed and altitude, as well as a 40% increase in range,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Following delivery, the Coast Guard will award separate contracts to configure the aircraft to meet the Coast Guard’s mission requirements that designate the aircraft as specialized HC-130Js.

According to the Coast Guard, the HC-130J Super Hercules variant includes long-range surface-search radar, infrared cameras, direction-finding equipment, advanced communications and the Minotaur mission system used for maritime surveillance.

“The HC-130J is the largest and most capable airlift asset for the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security,” Michael Haycock, director of systems integration for the Coast Guard, said in a statement.

The aircraft are used for a range of Coast Guard missions, including search and rescue recoveries, counterdrug operations, and border interdiction, the service said.

The Coast Guard said the new planes would enable it to expand operations to more air stations.

Air Station Sacramento in California took possession of its first HC-130J in July. The aircraft already operated out of three other air stations: Elizabeth City, North Carolina; Kodiak, Alaska; and Barbers Point, Hawaii.