Botswana to get another C-130 Hercules from the United States - DefenceWeb
Botswana has accepted the donation of another C-130H Hercules transport aircraft from the United States, following the donation of a surplus C-130H in May 2024. The US Embassy in Gaborone made the announcement. . .
Botswana has accepted the donation of another C-130H Hercules transport aircraft from the United States, following the donation of a surplus C-130H in May 2024. The US Embassy in Gaborone made the announcement on Monday, saying the acceptance marks another milestone in decades of defence cooperation. During her February 2025 visit to Botswana, Kelli L Seybolt, US Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, announced that the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) had been selected to receive the aircraft, and it was confirmed last week. “The donation will strengthen Botswana’s strategic airlift capability and further deepen the long-standing partnership between our two countries,” the US Embassy said. In early 2023 Botswana was competitively selected to receive an upgraded C-130H model aircraft through the Excess Defence Articles (EDA) programme. The C-130H (OM4), worth $30 million, arrived in Botswana on 24 May 2024 and was formally handed over at Sir Seretse Khama International airport in a ceremony on 27 June that year. At the time of the handover, the United States said it would enhance Botswana’s ability to support military, humanitarian, and emergency response missions locally and within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The US Embassy in Botswana on 5 August 2025 said the United States government had formally notified Congress of the proposed donation of two additional C-130H Hercules to Botswana, each valued at $12 million. The Botswana Defence Force has operated C-130s for many years. It acquired three former US C-130B Hercules for Z10 Squadron from the North Carolina Air Guard through the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Programme. One (OM1) was subsequently placed in storage, leaving two (OM2 and OM3) in active service until the grounding of one in 2024. Since 1997 the C-130B fleet has been the backbone of BDF air operations. It has been employed locally, regionally and internationally as one of Botswana’s instruments of national power. C-130 missions over the years have included supporting the United Nations mission in Sudan, African Union missions, SADC Mission in Mozambique operations, security cooperation exercises such as SADC air power exercises, and special forces exercises with international forces. In support of the 2024 C-130H donation, in January this year the US handed over more than 12 000 spare parts, from O-rings to altimeter test kits, air compressors, lubricants, and propeller maintenance workstations. In total, 26 pallets of brand-new maintenance equipment arrived in Botswana. The C-130H features Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines, which offer about 4 591 shaft horsepower each. This allows for better performance in the “hot and high” conditions typical of the Southern African plateau. The C-130H can carry twice the payload and travel 30% faster than the smaller CASA C212 and CN235 aircraft used by the BDF, and its range is twice that of the CASA fleet. The BDF has three C212s, two CN235s, one Dornier 328, and ten BN-2 Defenders in its transport fleet.