USAF 71st RQS HC-130J Combat King II Serial 11-5725 stopover in Curaçao for Exercise TÁPIO 2026
Following visits by LI-coded HC-130J Combat King II from the 102nd Rescue Squadron (RQS) to Curaçao, another of the type also made a short stop on the island on September 15th, 2026.
Assigned to the 71st RQS / 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, serial 11-5725 flew in from Campo Grande Air Force Base, Brazil using the callsign “KING 34”. It departed back to Campo Grande on September 16th. It seems likely that the aircraft came to Curaçao to pickup whatever had been transported from Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base by 16-5823 (102nd RQS). That aircraft returned home with technical issues on September 15th.
Constituted in October 1952 at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska, the 71st RQS has spent decades conducting search, rescue and recovery missions worldwide. After periods at Elmendorf, Patrick Air Force Base in Florida and its current home at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, the squadron has supported combat search and rescue missions in Southwest Asia continuously since 1992, deploying through Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom before transitioning from the HC-130P Combat King to the HC-130J Combat King II in 2014.
Operating under the rescue community's motto "That Others May Live," the 71st specializes in low-level night operations using night vision goggles, tactical helicopter air refueling and precision airdrop of Pararescue personnel, the exact capabilities being exercised at Exercise Tápio 2026 in Brazil.
Exercise Tápio is an annual joint combat search and rescue training exercise conducted at Campo Grande Air Base (CGR/SBCG) in Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, as part of the State Partnership Program between the New York National Guard and the Brazilian Armed Forces. The 2026 edition forms the second phase of the broader Resolute Sentinel 2026 exercise, with the current "Rescue" phase running September 9th through 24th, focusing on the recovery of isolated personnel in hostile territory and integration between HC-130J Combat King II aircraft, HH-60W Jolly Green II rescue helicopters and special operations teams from both nations
The HC-130J Combat King II is the U.S. Air Force’s only dedicated fixed-wing personnel recovery aircraft. Built by Lockheed Martin, this extended-range tactical transport is built on the proven C-130J Super Hercules airframe but modified extensively for Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) missions. It excels at low-level, adverse-weather flights to infiltrate or exfiltrate personnel, drop survival equipment, and serve as an airborne command post. Crucially for exercises like Tápio, its signature capability is helicopter in-flight refueling, allowing rescue helicopters like the HH-60W Jolly Green II to extend their range and reach isolated personnel deep within hostile territory.
