Editing Lockheed MC-130 (section)

{{short description|Special mission military aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = MC-130
| image = File:MC-130J Commando II - RIAT 2016 (30359171162).jpg
| caption = A MC-130J Commando II "[[RIAT]]ing" in 2016
| type = [[STOL]] [[Special operations]] [[military transport aircraft]]
| manufacturer = [[Lockheed Corporation]]
| designer = 
| first_flight = MC-130J: April 2011
| introduction = MC-130E: 1966<ref>{{cite journal |date=May 2008 |title=Gallery of USAF Weapons |journal=Air Force Magazine|publisher=Air Force Association|page=148}}.</ref><br />MC-130P: 1986<br />MC-130H: 1991 <br />MC-130W: 2006 <br />MC-130J: 2012
| retired = MC-130E: April 15, 2013
MC-130P: May 15, 2015

MC-130H: April 2, 2023
| status = Active
| primary_user = [[United States Air Force]]
| more_users = 
| produced = 
| number_built = MC-130E: 18<ref name="thig461"/> <br />MC-130H: 24<ref name="thig461"/> <br />MC-130P: 28<ref name="Gallery of USAF Weapons">{{cite journal |date=May 2008 |title=Gallery of USAF Weapons|journal=Air Force Magazine|publisher=Air Force Association|page= 145}}.</ref> <br />MC-130W: 12<ref name="tsj">{{cite web |last=Putrich |first=Gayle S. |url=http://www.tsjonline.com/story.php?F=3866026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717111717/http://www.tsjonline.com/story.php?F=3866026 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2011 |title=ARINC Flightsafety on U.S. Air Force Combat Spear Trainer |work=Training & Simulation Journal |access-date=8 March 2009}}</ref><br />MC-130J: 57
| unit cost = MC-130E $75&nbsp;million<ref name="fact"/> <br />MC-130H $155&nbsp;million<ref name="fact"/> <br />MC-130W $60&nbsp;million<ref name="stinger2"/> <br />MC-130J $67.3&nbsp;million<ref name="CombatShadowII"/>
| developed_from = [[C-130 Hercules]] <br />[[C-130J Super Hercules]]
| variants = 
}}

The '''Lockheed MC-130''' is the basic designation for a family of special mission aircraft operated by the [[Air Force Special Operations Command|United States Air Force Special Operations Command]] (AFSOC), a wing of the [[Air Education and Training Command]], and an AFSOC-gained wing of the [[Air Force Reserve Command]]. Based on the [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]] [[C-130 Hercules]] [[Military transport aircraft|transport]], the MC-130s' missions are the [[infiltration tactics|infiltration]], [[exfil]]tration, and resupply of [[special operations]] forces, and the [[air refueling]] of (primarily) special operations [[helicopter]] and [[tilt-rotor]] aircraft.

The first of the variants, the MC-130E, was developed to support [[clandestine operation|clandestine special operations]] missions during the Vietnam War. Eighteen were created by modifying C-130E transports, and four were lost through attrition,{{Citation needed|reason=What does this mean?|date=January 2018}} but the remainder served more than four decades after their initial modification. An update, the MC-130H Combat Talon II, was developed in the 1980s from the C-130H and went into service in the 1990s. Four of the original 24 H-series aircraft have been lost in operations.

The Combat Shadows were built during the Vietnam War for [[search and rescue]] operations and repurposed in the 1980s as AFSOC air-refueling tankers; the last of the 24 retired in 2015.

The Combat Spear was developed in 2006 as an inexpensive version of the Combat Talon II but was reconfigured and designated the [[Lockheed AC-130|AC-130W Stinger II]] in 2012.

The MC-130J, which became operational in 2011, is the new-production variant that is replacing the other special operations MC-130s.<ref name="newmc">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723225943/http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/December%202009/1209world.aspx "First HC/MC-130J Assembled"]}}, ''Air Force Magazine'' December 2009. Air Force Association. Retrieved 4 December 2009.</ref> As of 2023, the Air Force has taken delivery of 57 MC-130J models.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=2024 World Air Forces directory |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/reports/2024-world-air-forces-directory/156008.article |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Flight Global |language=en}}</ref> The final MC-130J produced was delivered to USAF in January 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2025/end-of-era-for-mc-130j-with-delivery-of-final-aircraft-to-us-air-force |title=End of Era for MC-130J with Delivery of Final Aircraft to US Air Force. |website=Army Recognition |date=27 Jan 2025 |access-date=2025-02-18}}</ref>