A Lockheed Martin C-130J airlifter in flight. Image courtesy of Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin and India’s Tata Advanced Systems Limited have reached an agreement to “expand their relationship through the C-130J Super Hercules tactical airlifter” to include the manufacturing of C-130Js at facilities in India subject to approval from the U.S. and Indian governments.

According to Lockheed Martin’s news release, “This announcement marks a significant step in enhancing India’s defence and aerospace capabilities while also deepening India-U.S. strategic ties.”

To this point, C-130s have been built in the Marietta facility in Cobb County.

This agreement includes:

• Establishing a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India to support the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) existing fleet of 12 C-130Js as well as other global Super Hercules fleets;
• Expanding C-130J manufacturing and assembly in India to produce aircraft for the IAF’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) program, subject to U.S. and Indian government approvals.

According to the news release:

Lockheed Martin will continue to build C-130Js for the U.S. government and other global operators at the existing Super Hercules production facility in Marietta, Georgia, USA. Lockheed Martin will establish additional production and assembly capacity in India if awarded the MTA contract.

“Collaborating with Lockheed Martin on the C-130J platform proposition for IAF’s MTA project is a milestone for Tata Advanced Systems,” said Sukaran Singh, chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Advanced Systems. “The current announcement is also significant as it marks the entry of Tata Advanced Systems into the defence MRO space in India for large aircraft platforms. This also helps towards a deeper relationship between the two companies, adding to the aerostructure work by Tata Advanced Systems for Lockheed Martin platforms.”

“The C-130J is known as the world’s workhorse, not just for its large global presence, but also for its international supply chain partners including the single source provider of empennages — Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited in Hyderabad,” said Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of the Air Mobility and Maritime Missions line of business at Lockheed Martin. “This teaming agreement between Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems further demonstrates Lockheed Martin’s commitment to a self-reliant India and the degree of confidence that exists in our relationships with our partners in India and the Indian industry at large.”

The Indian Air Force seeks to acquire up to 80 medium transport aircraft and issued a request for information (RFI) last year. 

Lockheed Martin proposed, in response to the RFI, that the C-130J-30 Super Hercules is ideally suited to meet the requirements.

Follow this link to read the complete press release.

Lockheed Martin and Cobb County

The Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta has been a major employer in Cobb County since 1951, when the Lockheed Corporation, a predecessor of Lockheed Martin, took over the former site of the WWII Bell Bomber plant.

The C-130 program is the largest program operating at the Marietta facility. The plant currently produces the C-130J Super Hercules (see the company’s Fast Facts on the C-130J or the company’s C-30J brochure for more information).

The Marietta plant also provides ongoing support for the C-5 Galaxy, which celebrated its 50^th year in operation in 2018. The C-5 Galaxy is expected to remain in service until 2045.

The Marietta location also supports the P-3 Orion, and manufactures the center wings for the F-35.