Hercules Contract Will Benefit Front Line Ahead of Time

UK Ministry of Defence, A £1.6bn contract to make more Hercules aircraft available to the front line has shifted up a gear and reached an important milestone two months earlier than planned. 
 
The Hercules Integrated Operational Support (HIOS) contract was awarded to Marshall of Cambridge Aerospace Ltd, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company and Rolls-Royce plc in May 2006 and transformed the way the Hercules had traditionally been supported. 
 
HIOS ensures aircraft availability and performance at optimum levels for the life of the contract while saving around £260m over the next 20 years. 
 
The contract has now moved from the 'transition' to incentivised 'availability' phase and will result in additional aircraft availability to support operations. Group Captain Mark Hobbs, Hercules Integrated Project Team (IPT) leader, said: 
 
“The HIOS contact is at the forefront of the new partnered incentivised availability contracts being entered into by the MOD. The past 16 months have been challenging but the partnership has proven strong, delivering at a time of high operational tempo. 
 
“I am delighted that we feel confident enough to move into the incentivised 'availability' phase two months early. This is a noteworthy achievement and one that brings significant benefit to the warfighter.” 
 
Graham Nix, Marshall Aerospace chief operating officer, said on behalf of the industry partners: 
 
“We are delighted that the transition phase has progressed to the point where we can move to 'availability' two months ahead of schedule. 
 
“This is a reflection of the excellent relationships that have been established between the industry and MOD partners.” 
 
The contract covers maintenance and logistics of 19 C-130K and 24 C-130J aircraft with a value of £1.5bn up to March 31, 2030. It is aimed at keeping the RAF's Hercules fleet available all day, every day worldwide.