1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait immensely in the evacuation efforts of fellow Indians. The invasion of Kuwait started on August 2, 1990, and within two days of combat, most of the Kuwaiti armed forces were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard or fell back to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The Emirate of Kuwait was annexed, and Saddam Hussein announced a few days later that it was the 19th province of Iraq. More than 171,000 Indians were stranded on Kuwaiti soil. Initial efforts were made by the government of India to evacuate nationals by military aircraft. However, due to difficulties in air-space clearances the switch
Lockheed C-130 Hercules in Australian service that country. An operation to fly about 95 Australians and New Zealanders directly out of Iraq and Kuwait was also planned, but would have only been conducted as a last resort due to the great dangers involved. These evacuation flights were not required as Iraq did not invade Saudi Arabia, and the Australians in Iraq departed by road. A proposal to deploy some of the Hercules as part of Australia's contribution to the ensuing Gulf War was also rejected in late 1990 as the aircraft had to be held in reserve in case fighting on the Pacific island of Bougainville