Bravo Industries to purchase ten LM-100J freighters [VIDEO]

Bravo Industries said it will purchase ten LM-100J Super Hercules commercial freighter aircraft from Lockheed Martin. The Brazil-focused logistics and defense group made the announcement at this week’s Farnborough Air Show in the U.K. The freighters will be used for air cargo operations in Brazil by Bravo’s Logística division, which consists of Bravo Cargas and Bravo MRO.

JR Pereira, president and CEO of Bravo Industries, explained that the LM-100J “was only one aircraft that could do all the jobs we needed it to do,” and that it is “uniquely suited to reach Brazil’s underserved regions where we do business.” Pereira also noted that many areas in Brazil “lack ground support and certain critical infrastructure required by other commercial freighters. The LM-100J was designed to meet the varying needs of the Brazilian landscape.”

The LM-100J is built to serve locations that other, more conventional aircraft cannot safely reach. “The LM-100J is the only commercial freighter that can fully meet the varying demands of the Brazilian market,” added Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

The first LM-100J is currently in production and will undergo an FAA type certificate update prior to delivery in 2018. Through select design innovations, the LM-100J will perform as a commercial multi-purpose air freighter capable of rapid and efficient cargo transport.

The LM-100J is the civilian version of Lockheed Martin’s proven C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The latter was introduced in 1999 as a military transport aircraft, but stems from the Hercules family of aircraft, which have the distinction of being the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history, lasting more than 60 years.

In a demonstration of the aircraft’s capabilities, the Indian Air Force landed a C-130J, the LM-100J’s military counterpart, at the world’s highest airfield, the Daulat Beg Oldi airstrip in Ladakh near the India-China border at the height of 5,064 meters (see video).