On Thursday 5 April 2018, RAF Brize Norton, home of the Air Mobility Force, welcomed home the Hercules C-130 after completing 36 years of support to the British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI).
Returning from its 20 hour journey from Mount Pleasant Complex in the Falkland Islands, the C-130 has now formally handed over the role to the Atlas A400M which will continue to provide tactical airlift, maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue capabilities.
The A400M will also step in to the role of providing humanitarian assistance in the region; a task undertaken recently by the Hercules during the multi-national search for the Argentinian submarine the ARA San Juan in 2017.