#16, C-130 Hercules: Does Everything
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules has been in continuous production for over 70 years, the longest production run of any military aircraft in history. More than 2,700 have been built in over 40 variants, and 63 nations operate them. The C-130 has served as a transport, gunship, tanker, search-and-rescue platform, hurricane hunter, firefighter, electronic warfare aircraft, and even a covert operations plane that landed in a soccer stadium during the Iran hostage crisis.
What makes the Hercules irreplaceable is its ability to operate from short, unpaved airstrips that would destroy any other large aircraft. It has landed on aircraft carriers, Arctic ice, desert sand, and jungle clearings. The AC-130 gunship variant is the most lethal close air support platform ever built. The KC-130 refuels helicopters and tiltrotors. The MC-130 inserts special operations forces behind enemy lines. No other airframe in military history has proven so endlessly adaptable, and logistics experts consider it the most important military equipment of the jet age.
