9. Hercules WC-130
Joined the Service in 1954
Not retired: N/A
Price: *$13 million
The US Air Forces primarily uses the medium-range, high-wing WC-130 for weather reconnaissance missions. The WC-130 is a C-130 Hercules that has been upgraded with a few new features, such as weather-specific equipment like a dropsonde receiver/deployment system.
WC-130 Hercules via Twitter (@actionaviationphotography)
A meteorologist is a necessary member of the Lockheed Martin crew. It is used to get information regarding the movement, strength, and size of tropical cyclones and blizzards. Following the Soviet Union’s atmospheric weapon tests in 1962, the Air Weather Service was the recipient of the first WC-130. Fifty have been constructed thus far.
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