Indonesian C-130/L-100 Fleet Overview
As of 2024, the Indonesian Air Force’s C-130/L-100 Hercules fleet shows varying numbers across different sources. According to Wikipedia, referencing FlightGlobal, the fleet comprised 5 C-130J-30s, 22 C-130B/H/H-30s, and one KC-130B, totaling 28 aircraft. Another source, samlib.ru, reports a total of 21 aircraft, including 3 C-130J-30s, 3 C-130Bs, 7 C-130Hs, 6 C-130H-30s, and two L-100-30s for the same year.
Scramble.nl, as of October 2024, lists 5 C-130J-30s, 4 C-130Bs, 11 C-130Hs, 5 C-130H-30s, and 4 L-100-30s, bringing their total to 29 aircraft. These discrepancies highlight the challenge in getting a precise, unified count of active aircraft.
Discrepancies and Fleet Status
In total, 44 Hercules aircraft of all modifications were supplied to Indonesia. As of December 10, 2024, nine aircraft had been lost in accidents, one is preserved in a museum, and two were officially marked as “withdrawn from use” (WFU). Additionally, three aircraft were officially noted as being in storage, with the number of actively flying machines varying from 21 to 29 units across different reports.
A notable discrepancy arises with c-130.net, which claims the Indonesian Air Force received 45 Hercules aircraft, contradicting the commonly cited figure of 44. A closer examination revealed that the registration A-1329 appears twice in this source, referring to two different L-100-30 aircraft (c/n 4824 and c/n 4889), both with the same loss date of December 20, 2001. This illustrates how even authoritative sources can contain significant errors.
Unresolved Questions
Questions persist regarding the fate of some aircraft. For instance, why did the aircraft with registration A-1311 receive a “withdrawn from use” status in 2001? What exactly happened? There are no available photographs or detailed records to clarify its fate, making it plausible that the aircraft may have been decommissioned and scrapped long ago.