Australia's fleet of 12 C-130Es have been in constant service since 1966, providing the backbone of the RMF's strategic airlift capability. Aside from the usual scheduled transport operations around Australia and the region, Australian E model Heres were in constant use during the Vietnam War ferrying supplies and troops between Australia and South East Asia, have operated for the UN on humanitarian relief efforts, and were put to constant use as airliners during the 1989 domestic pilots dispute: As time goes on the need for an E model replacement gains urgency as wing fatigue problems come to the fore. Current estimates predict that the E would need to be replaced by the end of the decade