My ex-USAF sweetie, a former warthawg mechanic with a continuing professional interest in all things close air support, tells me that the MC-130 Talon II version of the C-130 is the preferred aircraft platform, since the C-17, though having the capacity and capable of flying the required flight profile, has yet to be certified for GBU-43 delivery. They haven't figured out a way to sling one under an A-10. Yet.
