The Pentagon has approved the sale of three Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules military transport aircraft to Israel. The current approval is for the first aircraft and support infrastructure, worth $115, plus options for two additional transport planes. The cost of the aircraft is significantly higher than the standard production C-130J, since the Israeli version will be modified, to include Israeli-specific systems;
significantly higher than the standard production C-130J, since the Israeli version will be modified, to include Israeli-specific systems; Israel insists on equipping all its aircraft with indigenously developed communications and self protection systems (this has already become a major obstacle in the procurement of the F-35, whose unique design cannot accommodate such modifications). The first C-130J aircraft is scheduled for delivery by 2013. Israel is interested in modernizing its fleet of C-130 transports, planning to buy up to nine planes worth an estimated $1.9 billion. Other nations that are already operating, or have ordered the new C-130J, include Australia, Canada, Denmark, India, Iraq, Italy, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Britain, Tunisia and the United States.
