Brrrrrrilliant! Another unscheduled meeting of the Flat Earth Society!
Once in Herc at FL350 over Canada (no RVSM those days), we were asked OUR mach no. - I think it was about 0.50 (with many ripples in the tea).
What on earth has that got to do with the price of fish? How does your jet doing 0.83M make a C130J a "pile of dung"? Similarly how does having an opinion on something in the 1970s have the same effect nearly 40 years later? On balance, I'm grateful you're sticking to writing checklists. May I suggest you also cut back on the Internet Expertery whilst you're at it too?
10 years old and we've had about 3 good years out of them so far...
I note that your location is "Oz" - interesting to note that the luddities aren't just confined to these fair shores. Can't comment on the Australians but it may distress you to know that the C130J has been the backbone of deployed UK C130 ops for the last 7 gusting 8 years.
We don't need any replacement
Js, we just need the manpower, hangar space, Marshalls time and money currently being pissed away elsewhere, to be invested in maintaining what is, in my opinion, a superb aircraft. Sadly that opinion is only based on 7 years of J flying so I will happily bow to any Flt Engs, Navs, Mess Managers, Tesco checkout girls, street sweepers, double glazing salesmen, etc who can obviously offer a more informed opinion.
So, notwithstanding all the usual horse**** this subject engenders, may I pass on my congrats to all the J crews that have put up with years and years of non-stop deployments and to the "non-deployable" eng line and GEs who have kept the aircraft going in mostly ridiculous circumstances. Despite the hurdles thrown up from the most unexpected places the fleet & crews have always delivered and will continue to do so. Keep on truckin.