The Indian Air Force (IAF) would procure six more C-130J Super Hercules special operations aircraft from the United States in addition to the six already ordered, local media reported Monday.

Head of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, said that the aircraft had performed well in the recent earthquake relief operations in northeastern India, the Times of India newspaper reported.

The C-130J can land and take off from unpaved, grassy fields with the size of a football ground and can be a big support in both peace and war to drop or pick up equipment, soldiers and those hit by calamities, the newspaper said.

The IAF had earlier signed a deal for six C-130J aircraft for about 1.1 billion U.S. dollars with the U.S. military systems giant Lockheed Martin on Jan. 31, 2008.