Marshall recognised by Lockheed Martin as first C-130 Hercules centre of excellence

Marshall has been recognised by Lockheed Martin as the world’s first authorised Centre of Excellence for centre wing box replacements on the C-130 Hercules tactical airlifter.

The Cambridge-based aeronautical group has supported the global C-130 fleet since 1966, and has completed nearly 80 centre wing box replacements since 2004.

The purpose of a centre wing box replacement is to extend the operational life of an aircraft. The centre wing is a major primary structure of an aircraft, referred to as a “lifed article.”

The original centre wings fitted during aircraft manufacture have a lifespan of approximately 19,000 hours. Installing a new enhanced service life centre wing effectively re-lifes the aircraft, maintaining airworthiness and potentially extending its lifespan by decades.

Lockheed Martin supplies Marshall with service bulletins, bespoke tooling and kits with all of the parts and components required to perform the replacement on the aircraft. While the original centre wing is removed, interfacing structures and main frames are thoroughly inspected and serviced before the enhanced service life centre wing is installed and the internal wiring and plumbing is replaced.

Rod McLean, vice president and general manager of the Air Mobility & Maritime Missions Line of Business at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, called Marshall “a vital part of the C-130 Hercules community” and added: “Recognising Marshall as the first Lockheed Martin-approved Centre of Excellence for its work leading the C-130 centre wing box replacement programme is a natural choice.”

Bob Baxter, chief growth officer, Marshall, said: “We are incredibly proud to have added yet another world-first to our C-130 engineering credentials.

“This recognition from Lockheed Martin reinforces our position as an industry leader in non-standard repair and replacement, and demonstrates the strength of our capability enhancement offering.”