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Coast Guard brings first HC‑130J to Air Station Sacramento, boosting long‑range surveillance and increase capabilities

Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Kenneth Wiese | U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Tad Wilson, assistant commandant for Aviation (CG-AIR),...... read more read more

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES

09.10.2026

Courtesy Story

U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Coast Guardcommemoratedthe delivery of the first HC‑130J Super Herculesaircraftto Air Station Sacramento during a ceremony Thursday.

The HC‑130J provides heavy air transport andlong‑rangemaritime patrol capability. The aircraft’s missionized configuration delivers intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities that enable the Coast Guard to save lives, control, secure, and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches,facilitatecommerce, and respond to crises and contingencies.

The ceremony was presided over by Vice Adm. Joseph Buzzella, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area and the Coast Guard’sAncient Albatross. It marked the delivery of HC-130J capability to the air station and recognized the government and industry teams that funded, built, missionized,testedand delivered CGNR-2018.

“This is a monumental step forward for Air Station Sacramento and the future of Coast Guard aviation,” said Buzzella. “The HC‑130J will be critical to detecting and interdicting migrant and narcotics flows through the maritime approaches to our nation.”

The HC-130J has a cruise speed of 320 knots, a range of 4,900 nautical miles, and an endurance of more than 20 hours. Theaircraftcan serve as anon-scenecommand-and-control platform or as a surveillance asset with the ability to detect, classify, andidentifyobjects and share that information with operational forces.

CGNR-2018 is the 18thmissionized Super Hercules in the Coast Guard fleet. A second HC-130JaircraftforSacramentois undergoing missionization at L3Harris in Waco, Texas, with deliveryanticipatedin spring 2027.

The Coast Guard is using aportionof the $1.142 billion received for fixed-wingaircraftin the fiscal 2025 budget reconciliation funding to expand HC-130J operations totwoadditionalair stations, including Air Station Sacramento.

CGNR-2018 is part of the service’s broader HC-130J expansion effort. Future reconciliation-fundedaircraftwill include the third and fourth HC-130Js planned for Sacramento, with deliveries expected to begin in fiscal year 2030.