Herculean formation: This is what a (loose) "right echelon" of seven C-130 Hercules looks like

June 1, 2012 Military Aviation

David Cenciotti

Taken during the recent MAFEX Exercise, attended by nearly 70 cargo planes in Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, the following image shows C-130J Hercules planes from across the Air Force fly over the Nevada Test and Training Range on May 23, 2012.

For operational purposes, the C-130s were flying a sort-of right echelon loose formation.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

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About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.