Senior British defense commanders in the Royal Air Force (RAF) have strongly advocated the retirement of Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules tactical transport aircraft despite acknowledging that the decision will lead to a two-year gap in airlift capabilities.

“There are a small number of capabilities specific to the C-130J that will not transfer to the A400M program by the time the C-130 is retired in the summer [of 2023],” RAF Deputy Commander Capabilities stated on Wednesday. Air Marshal Richard Knighton, at a UK defense committee hearing.

At the hearing, Mike Wigston, RAF Chief of Air Staff, also revealed that, as part of the replacement program, the service also intends to procure a further six Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft by 2030, in conflict with the assessment of the National Audit Office (NAO), a financial watchdog, which considers the acquisition “unaffordable.”

At the time, the early retirement of the C-130J fleet from 2035 to 2023 was one of the most surprising decisions to emerge from the UK’s 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, in which the A400M was to replace it.

“When ministers made the decision in 2021 [to retire the C-130J fleet], we were very clear with the niche capabilities and potential operational impact,” Knighton said. “By our operations staff, the ministers concluded that the [indicated] level of operational risk was small enough to be tolerable.”

Wigston explained to the commission that the decision to retire the C-130J had been made despite “strong pressure” from service members who opposed it.

Lawmakers wondered why the C-130J fleet couldn’t be dispensed with until the A400 M’s gap capabilities had been proven, but that idea was brushed aside because “you had to pay for it, and you had to take something else back.” [another aircraft or acquisition],” according to Knighton.

In addition to funding, other issues influenced the decision to expedite the retirement of the C-130J.

“It was about the Air Force’s ability to manage two tactical airlift fleets, each with their own supply chain, their own training requirements, their own crew requirements,” Wigston explained.

Elaborating on the matter, Wigston also noted that “part of the deal” to prematurely retire the aircraft included the RAF committing to add the range of capabilities available on the C-130J to the A400M as soon as possible.

According to Wigston, four of the 14 C-130Js have been retired to date. Still, concerns remain about operational airlift performance and Special Forces limitations, as the A400M fleet has experienced reliability issues, suffered technical failures, discovered corrosion in the landing gear bay, and requires long runways.

Tobias Ellwood, MP and Chairman of the Defense Committee, expressed concern about the decommissioning of the C-130J as it deprives Special Forces of “the capabilities they need” to carry out their missions, noting that the Royal Marines will not be able to launch from the A400M like they can from the C-130J.

During the hearing, Wigston confirmed for the first time that the RAF plans to buy a further six A400Ms “by the end of the decade,” which would increase the fleet to 28 aircraft, 21 of which have already been delivered by Airbus.

That decision came in light of the National Audit Office’s 2022 to 2032 Equipment Plan, published in November 2022, which stated: “The option to purchase additional A400M aircraft was assessed as unaffordable,” noting that the Air Command it was “developing an affordable option to improve the availability of the A400M.”

The NAO  (National Audit Office) has no enforcement powers, so the RAF is free to proceed with the new order, despite the funding warning. Formal approval for the six additional aircraft could be issued by the next update to the Integrated Review, as the UK seeks to update national defense priorities in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Aside from air mobility issues, Wigston said the RAF would field a second front-line squadron of F-35 fifth-generation fighters and take delivery of the first delivery of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aerial system (RPAS). known as Protector in British service) “this year.”

According to the NAO, Protector’s costs increased by 74% between the initial cost assessment and the year of acquisition approval. The drone was originally scheduled to enter service in 2018 but was delayed due to budget issues. The RAF has since set a new date, 2024.

This high cost is one reason observers have argued that platforms like the Protector and MQ-9 Reaper would not be as valuable in a contested environment, such as the skies of Ukraine, compared to cheaper, expendable platforms Wigston strongly agreed.

“There are many platforms that I would not choose to operate in the Ukraine environment, Protector and Reaper would be two of them,” he said.