Who Will Win the Race for the Military’s Next Transport Aircraft?

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration and the Air Force are carrying out the second phase of the large transport aircraft project to introduce new long-range transport aircraft. By 2026, they plan to invest approximately 710 billion won ($600 million) to purchase three large transport aircraft. A large transport aircraft refers to an aircraft that combines the flight and transport capabilities of a strategic transport aircraft and the takeoff and landing performance of a tactical transport aircraft. Lockheed Martin’s ‘C-130J-30’, Brazilian Embraer’s ‘C-390’, and European Airbus ‘A400M’ are all competing in this three-way battle. The final decision on the next large transport aircraft model is expected to be made by the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee on the 4th of next month.

According to military sources, until last year, it was expected that the superior performance and production numbers of Lockheed Martin’s C-130J and Airbus’ A400M would lead to a two-way battle. However, it has been reported that Embraer’s C-390 is staging a last-minute reversal by showcasing the advantages of its jet engine transport aircraft and offset trades. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration conducted a local test evaluation to check the performance of each transport aircraft last March and April. In the subsequent main negotiations evaluating price and other detailed conditions, Airbus led in terms of cruising range and transport capacity but was reportedly forced to drop out due to difficulties in meeting the military budget limit. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration completed its evaluation of the two-way battle between Lockheed Martin’s C-130J and Embraer’s C-390 last month. Currently, they are in the process of sharing the results with military authorities.

The evaluation items for this project are performance, operational suitability, price, offset trade, and cooperation consortium. So far, Embraer’s C-390 has been reported to be somewhat ahead in four items, including performance, price, offset trade, and especially cooperation with domestic companies. In response, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, “The second phase of the large transport aircraft project will be brought to the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee early next month to decide on the model,” and “There are no decisions made yet and it is under final review.”

The C-130J ‘Super Hercules’ is a ‘bestseller’ transport aircraft that has been in service for nearly 70 years since its deployment in 1957. There are various improved and derived models, and the latest model is the C-130J-30, which was deployed in the Miracle Operation and the Promise Operation. Our Air Force is also operating four of them. The C-130J is 97.4 feet long, 132.5 feet wide, and 38.7 feet high, with a payload of 34.2 tons. The cruising speed is 400 mph, and the maximum range reaches 5,528 miles. Currently, our Air Force is deploying the C-130J not only for military training and operations but also for large-scale personnel transport operations for humanitarian purposes. It has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive to acquire and maintain compared to the A400M.

Last month, our C-130J transport aircraft were mobilized for the ‘Promise Operation’, which evacuated and withdrew our Korean residents in North Africa due to armed clashes between local military factions, and the ‘Miracle Operation’ in August 2021, which brought local helpers and their families who had helped our government and institutions to Korea when the Islamic armed group Taliban seized the Afghan capital Kabul.

The C-130 is a tactical transport aircraft, not a long-range large transport aircraft. Therefore, it could not fly non-stop to Djibouti this time and had to land twice to refuel. Even when it went to Islamabad Airport in Pakistan during the Miracle Operation in 2021, it needed to refuel at an intermediate stop, which took more than 17 hours. Although the Promise Operation and the Miracle Operation seemed to go smoothly externally, it has been reported that they faced many difficulties internally due to the very short preparation and travel time. This is also why our Air Force is carrying out the second phase of the large transport aircraft introduction project, which can fly long distances non-stop.

The A400M ‘Atlas’ is a transport aircraft mainly operated by European countries such as Germany, France, the UK, and Spain. It is 148 feet long, 139 feet wide, and 48 feet high, with a payload of 40.8 tons. The cruising speed is 485 mph, and the maximum range is the same as the C-130J at 5,528 miles. In September 2022, one A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force visited Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do for mutual exchange with our military. It is a medium-sized aircraft between the C-130 and the U.S. strategic transport aircraft C-17. With a much longer range than the C-130J-30, it is actively used for special force deployment and national rescue operations in conflict areas. The maximum takeoff weight is also larger than that of the C-130J-30, so it can transport various large cargoes such as one CH-47 helicopter and two Stryker armored vehicles. However, the disadvantage is that the acquisition and operating costs are much higher than those of the C-130J-30. The A400M costs about 300 billion won ($253 million) per unit, so even introducing four units would cost well over 1 trillion won ($844 million).

The Brazilian C-390 made its first flight in 2015. It is divided into the basic model C-390 and the KC-390 with added air refueling capabilities. Equipped with two turbofan engines, it can fly up to 5,251 miles, and the takeoff and landing distance is only 3,280 to 3,609 feet. However, the maximum payload is 28.6 tons, which is more than the C-130J but less than the A400M.

If KC-390 is selected, it will be the first case of introducing a Brazilian military aircraft

The C-390 transport aircraft is currently being operated by the Brazilian Air Force with five units. Among them, four have exceeded 5,000 hours of operational flight time, recording a mission completion rate of 97%. Among the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries, Hungary and Portugal have purchased the C-390 model. Embraer, which made this transport aircraft, held an ‘Industry Day’ event in Seoul in May 2022, attended by representatives of our aviation industry, to promote the C-390 and other aircraft.

In particular, the KC-390 proposed by Embraer is based on the C-390 tactical twin-turbofan transport aircraft developed by Embraer. It is 109.6 feet long, 37.5 feet high, and 111.4 feet wide, with a maximum payload of 28.6 tons. Our military is known to require the ability to carry a maximum of 33.1 tons of cargo, a flight capability of a maximum of 559 mph, and a range of 4,350 miles. The aircraft’s engine must also have two turbofans, like the KC-390.

Embraer is an aircraft manufacturer competing for 3rd to 4th place worldwide, following Boeing and Airbus and alongside Canada’s Bombardier. If the KC-390 is selected by the Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee next month, it will be the first case of introducing a Brazilian military aircraft. However, it has been reported that there are voices opposing the Brazilian C-390 within the Air Force, as there are few operating countries and the follow-up military support and large-scale transport capabilities are unclear.

By.  Hyun Oh Lee