The first HC-130J Combat King II personnel recovery aircraft for the US Air Force was delivered to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, in ceremonies on 24 September 2011. The aircraft (Air Force serial number 09-0108) was flown from the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia, to the base in Tucson by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz. He was greeted by Col. John Cherrey, commander of the 355th Fighter Wing, the host unit at Davis-Monthan. The HC-130J is based on the KC-130J tanker and features a boom refueling receptacle, an electro-optical/infrared sensor, and a combat systems operator station on the flight deck. This aircraft, assigned to the 79th Rescue Squadron, is the first of eleven HC-130Js currently on order.
