C-390 Millennium Large Transport Aircraft (LTA) II
Brazilian Embraer's C-390 was surprisingly selected in a project to introduce additional large transport aircraft for use by the Korean Air Force. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced on the 4th that it had selected the C-390 as the model for the second large transport aircraft project at the 157th Defense Acquisition Program Promotion Committee held at the Ministry of National Defense building in Yongsan, Seoul.
South Korea's Defense Project Promotion Committee selected Brazilian company Embraer's C-390 Millennium for the Air Force's Large Transport Aircraft (LTA) II public tender over rivals Lockheed Martin and Airbus. The 710 billion won (US$544.4 million) acquisition project set to run through 2026, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), which did not disclose the number of new aircraft, expected to be three units. South Korea is the C-390 Millennium’s first customer in Asia.
In the first project, Lockheed Martin's C-130J was selected, and in the second project, the C-130J and the European Airbus A400M competed with the C-390. It is considered unusual for the first and second projects to have different models. There was widespread speculation that the C-130J would be selected for this second project as well.
Embraer and Lockheed Martin each formed a consortium with a domestic company and entered the second phase of the large transport aircraft project. Three domestic companies participated in the Embraer consortium, and the value of the volume participated by domestic defense companies, including parts production, was estimated at $135 million. Airbus said that the problem is not the consortium, but that the price was too expensive to begin with.
The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) currently operates Lockheed Martin C-130J as its large military transport aircraft. Lockheed Martin offered the C-130J Super Hercules tactical airlifter in response to the LTA-II Program. The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) operates one of the largest and most active C-130 fleets in Asia, which includes C-130J-30 Super Hercules and C-130H airlifters. The ROKAF operates four C-130J-30s, receiving these Super Hercules in 2014. ROKAF crews have flown its C-130J-30s in support of peacekeeping, humanitarian, disaster response, military and training missions within South Korea, throughout Asia and across the globe.
The specifications of C-130 and C-390 are similar. The main difference is that the C-130J is a four-engine turboprop and has been in operation for a long time, and the C-390 is a two-engine turbofan engine and is relatively new, so its introduction and operation performance is still significantly lacking. However, conditions such as price and technology transfer are favorable. In many ways, the C-390 is advantageous. In addition to these three units, they can be applied for a variety of purposes in the future, such as medium-sized tankers or reconnaissance, so Korea can produce them under license, jointly develop a fuselage extension type, or spend more money to acquire the Embraer company itself (stock capitalization is about $3 billion).
A DAPA official said, "We comprehensively evaluated cost, performance, operational suitability, trade-off, etc." and added, "There was no significant difference in cost and performance, and there was a meaningful difference in contract terms, trade-off, and participation by domestic companies." He explained why 390 was selected, based on overwhelming advantages in technology transfer and joint development of next-generation transport aircraft. The Embraer KC-390 is cheaper than the American C130-J even though only a few units have been sold. There are also advantages over the C130-J in terms of performance. Since it is filled with proven Western parts, it is highly reliable. And the Embraer KC-390 is also a model that is almost exactly copied from the MC-X, a domestic transport aircraft project pursued by Korea Kai. Whether or not kai's MC-X becomes a reality, the symbolic meaning of purchasing the Embraer KC-390 is good.
Under the signed contract, Embraer will provide services & support including training, ground support equipment and spare parts. Embraer will also provide a comprehensive consortium and offset package including a significant amount of C-390 Millennium parts to be locally manufactured by Korean partner companies and the development of a local Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) provider.
“We welcome the Republic of Korea Air Force to the growing number of air forces operating the C-390 Millennium – the most modern military tactical transport aircraft. Day after day, the aircraft has proven its capability to complete a wide range of missions with great efficiency, serviceability and speed,” said Bosco da Costa Jr, President and CEO, Embraer Defense & Security. “This is a new era in Brazil-South Korea relations and together with our Korean partners, we are committed to growing the capabilities of its aerospace and defense industries.”
South Korea is the seventh nation to select the C-390 after Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria and the Czech Republic. The C-390 is redefining military airlift and challenging the thinking behind current and future generation platforms, with multi-mission capability, reliability and interoperability built by design.
Since entering operation with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019 and most recently with the Portuguese Air Force in 2023, the C-390 has proven its capacity, reliability, and performance. The current fleet of aircraft in operation has accumulated more than 10,800 flight hours, with operational availability of around 80% and mission completion rates above 99%, demonstrating exceptional productivity in the category.
The C-390 can carry more payload (26 tons) compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft and flies faster (470 knots) and farther, being capable of performing a wide range of missions such as transporting and dropping cargo and troops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting, and humanitarian missions, operating on temporary or unpaved runways such as packed earth, soil, and gravel. The aircraft configured with air-to-air refueling equipment, with the designation KC-390, has already proven its aerial refueling capacity both as a tanker and as a receiver, in this case by receiving fuel from another KC-390 using pods installed under the wings.
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