'C-130J with "Promise" deployed returns after Sudanese evacuee mission'

The C-130J "Super Hercules" transport aircraft and more than 20 mission personnel from the Air Force 5th Air Mobility Wing, deployed for the evacuation support operation "Promise" for Korean residents in Sudan, safely returned to Gimhae Air Base on the 28th.

The C-130J and mission personnel arrived at Gimhae Air Base around 6 p.m. that day, receiving a warm welcome from Air Force Chief of Staff Jeong Sang-hwa, fellow soldiers at Gimhae Base, and their families.

The C-130J is equipped with an onboard warning system to counter surface-to-air threats and is capable of tactical maneuvers in threat situations. It can take off and land even when navigation safety facilities or control towers are non-functional, and features protective designs such as airframe armor and fuel leak prevention, enabling mission execution even if hit.

For these reasons, the mission to transport Korean residents to safe areas amid the armed conflict and bloodshed caused by military factions in Sudan was assigned to the C-130J.

After receiving the "Promise" operation order on the 21st, the C-130J and mission personnel completed takeoff preparations at Gimhae Air Base within three hours. They made mid-air refueling stops in Thailand and India, passed through the airspace of 10 countries, and arrived at the U.S. military base in Djibouti, a country near Sudan, within 24 hours.

Waiting at the Djibouti base, the C-130J and personnel moved to the airport in Port Sudan, a northeastern port city of Sudan, on the afternoon of the 23rd to prepare for transporting Korean residents to Jeddah Airport in Saudi Arabia. Then, on the 24th, after the Korean residents traveled 1,174 km overland from the capital Khartoum to Port Sudan, they were safely transported to Jeddah Airport.

The Korean residents transferred at Jeddah Airport to the Air Force's KC-330 "Cygnus" multipurpose air refueling transport aircraft, and safely returned to Seoul Airport around 4 p.m. on the 25th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.