KC-330 Cygnus / KK-X Refueling Tankers
The South Korean government initiated a program to add refueling tankers in March 2014 to strengthen its airborne operations. South Korea moved to buy 4 long-range aerial refueling tankers with secondary transport capabilities, with a budget variously estimated between 1.4 trillion won ($1.38 billion) and WON 2 billion (about $1.8 billion). Korea’s Defense Acquisition and Program Administration is expected to complete its competition by the end of this year. The project to build refueling tanker aircraft for South Korea drew bids from Boeing, Airbus and Israel Aerospace Industries. Boeing submitted a bid offering its 767-based KC-46, while Airbus proposed its A330 multi-role tanker transport. Israel’s IAI would offer the much cheaper K-767 MMTT, which is also on offer to Singapore.
The rising tension in the region could have prompted South Korea to proceed with the tanker program. China, India, Pakistan and China deploy the Russian IL-78 MIDAS tanker. Japan has 4 Boeing KC-767As, and increase the number to 8. Australia (5) and Singapore (4) picked the Airbus A330 MRTT, and India may buy 6 within a few years.
On June 30, 2014 Boeing formally offered to the Republic of Korea (ROK) the KC-46, the US Air Force’s next-generation tanker, as Korea prepares to acquire four aircraft for its first tanker squadron. “We’ve been a strategic and industrial partner with the Republic of Korea for more than six decades and remain committed to helping Korea strengthen its defense capabilities and aerospace industry,” said Eric John, president of Boeing Korea. “With the KC-46, Korea will acquire a force-multiplier and the ability to operate seamlessly with the U.S. Air Force during combat and humanitarian relief operations.”
Boeing made the offer in response to Korea’s request for proposals for an aerial refueling tanker. The KC-46 leverages Boeing’s 75 years of expertise with air refueling systems. In addition to its refueling mission, it can transport cargo, passengers and support aeromedical evacuations. Boeing will build and deliver to the U.S. Air Force 179 KC-46As by 2027 if all options under the contract are exercised. “Based on the proven 767 airframe, which has an in-service readiness rate of approximately 99 percent as an airliner, freighter and tanker, the KC-46 will be able to fulfill more mission requirements with fewer aircraft than is possible today,” added Chuck Johnson, Boeing vice president, Air Force Programs.
In addition to a cargo door, the KC-46 features a main deck cargo floor which can be reconfigured by one person in no more than two hours or two persons in no more than one hour to accommodate any mission. Unique among tankers, the KC-46 can operate in chemical, biological and nuclear conditions, features cockpit armor for protection from small arms fire, and can also operate from a large variety of smaller airfields and forward-deployed austere bases.
More than 50 Korean companies provided products and services for Boeing production and sustainment programs, research and development and a broad range of internal services that support Boeing operations. In 2013, Boeing spent over $400 million with Korean companies, up from $340 million in 2012 -- maintaining Korea’s position in the top quartile of nations with which Boeing does business.
South Korea chose the Airbus A330-based design 30 June 2015. The KC-330 CYGNUS is about 60 meters both in length and in width, and is capable of carrying up to 108 tons of fuel. That's enough to refuel up to around ten F-15Ks or about twenty F-16Ks, increasing the length of time they can operate without landing. To refuel a plane in the air, the tanker's boom operator closely watches the 3D camera monitors set up at the corner of the cockpit. The tanker will also be used to refuel jets during long-distance combined exercises with the U.S. and other partner countries. In addition, since the air tanker has hundreds of seats inside, just like a passenger plane, it can also carry soldiers or civilians on important missions.
South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration announced the selection decision on 30 June 2015, citing the performance and price of the European tanker over the US and Israeli alternatives. This contract will also allow Airbus Defence and Space to establish a long-term and sustainable cooperation with the Korean industry, as already exist with other divisions of Airbus Group. We will carry out our contractual obligations faithfully and are looking forward to executing this programme in a timely and efficient way as we have done with other A330 MRTT contracts and to playing our role in the security of South Korea for many years ahead. The decision meant that the A330 MRTT has won every tanker competition (outside of US) since it entered the market and has now been selected by nine nations plus the European Defence Agency.”
South Korea took delivery of the first one 13 November 2018. The first Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft for the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) has landed in Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea for its acceptance tests. The aircraft, which was piloted by a joint Airbus and ROKAF crew, arrived in South Korea after a ferry flight from the Airbus Final Assembly Line in Getafe, Spain, with a stop in Vancouver, Canada. It will now undergo ground and flight tests in Gimhae. The ROKAF will be supported by a team from Airbus, which will be based in South Korea for the duration of the tests until the aircraft is officially handed over to the customer.
Later in 2019 would get three more. The South Korean Air Force said the four aerial refueling tankers will begin normal operations from July 2020.
Hundreds of key military officials, including the nation's defense minister, the commander of the U.S. Seventh Air Force, and military attaches from major countries attended the fielding ceremony as South Korea introduced its first air-to-air refueling and transport aircraft at Gimhae Air Base, near the southern port city of Busan. In his congratulatory message, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said the refueling tanker will strengthen the air force's operational capabilities in the face of a drastically changing security situation. “With this aircraft, the ROK Air Force will be able to more perfectly take on its mission of defending the nation’s airspace. It will extend our radius of action and operation time. ... With this significantly improved operating time, the Air Force can now operate more effectively within every inch of the nation’s air defense identification zone, including Dokdo and Ieodo islands.“
A330 MRTT operators are able to support non-stop Pacific operations (e.g. USA to Australia) thanks to the superior performance and fuel offload capacities of the A330 MRTT compared with other new-generation tankers. Key regional players will be able to work, train and provide cross linkages together. The A330 MRTT fleets from Australia, Singapore and the Republic of Korea will be able to deploy their respective fighter forces together with 20 tonnes of payload per MRTT (maintenance personnel and equipment, cargo, spare parts, etc.) over 3,000 nautical miles.
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