[El Gato]

The obvious question is left unanswered: how many of these precious workhorses are left?

They, C-130J's are still being built down in Georgia. But here is the current inventory from the Air Force Fact Sheet on the C-130:

Inventory: Active force, 186; Air National Guard, 222; Air Force Reserve, 106

[xusafflyer]

There is also different variations out there as well. The AC-130 and my old aircraft, the EC-130 Compass Call.