Global competition in the 20-ton air transport segment continues to intensify, with Brazil’s launch of its KC-390 program. >
Embraer figures reportedly place the global C-130 replacement market at around 700 aircraft.
In response, it will develop a jet-powered rival to compete with Lockheed Martin’s C-130J, the larger Airbus A400M, Russia’s AN-12 and its Chinese copy the Yun-8/9, and the bi-national Irkut/HAL MRTA project. >
Smaller aircraft like the EADS-CASA C-295M, and Alenia’s C-27J, may also represent indirect competition.
Embraer will now seek to extend its efforts and markets by crafting a jet-powered medium transport with a cargo capacity of around 25 tons, that can be refueled in the air, and can provide refueling services to other aircraft by adding dedicated pods. >
The KC-390 has become a multinational effort, and could even become a transatlantic project.
Brazil’s aerospace industry has made impressive global gains in the civilian business and regional jet segments, and in the military market for primary trainer and counterinsurgency aircraft. Slumping civilian demand recently led to layoffs, but rising Brazilian defense budgets give the government a lever to inject funds into the company, while completing a strategic project that has been under consideration for a couple of years. >
The initial Brazilian contract calls for 3 development aircraft. A 25-28 plane order is expected to follow, in order to replace the Brazilian Air Force’s 21 C-130E/H and 2 KC-130H Hercules planes. That country also flies 10 aged DHC-5 Buffalo tactical transports; they are excellent aircraft, but their remaining lifespans are questionable.
Embraer’s schedule is an aggressive one. The KC-390’s initial configuration is frozen, with the end of definition studies and wind tunnel testing. Other foreign risk sharing partners would likely ramp up their own participation during the 12-month follow-on Joint Definition Phase, set to begin in 2011. The first prototypes are expected in 2014. >
The aircraft design itself will belong to the Brazilian government, with Embraer as the lead technical and industrial partner. All talks to join the program will be conducted at a government-to-government level, and the process of adding “risk sharing” partners will be a top-down process that results in directives handed down to Embraer. Note that this kind of arrangement can create program risks, and obstacles to an aggressive schedule, if the partners selected by the Brazilian government fail to perform on an industrial level.
Another emerging aspect of the program involves foreign partners. Chile and Colombia have taken steps toward joining the program, which would put the Brazilian military aviation industry at the center of a Latin American network. To date, possible orders stand at 60, including Brazil (28), Argentina (6), Chile (6), Colombia (12), the Czech Republic (2), and Portugal (6). South Africa’s cancellation of its A400M order may create another opportunity. >
Brazil’s F-X-2 fighter competition may also lead to European orders: France has reportedly pledged to join the program and buy KC-390s if its Rafale fighter wins, and Sweden has promised to consider the KC-390 to replace its recently-upgraded C-130s with the KC-390 if the JAS-39BR wins.
Note, however, that none of these orders is yet backed by a formal contract. Brazil has stated credible intent, but the terms and conditions of other countries’ participation remain topics for negotiation, and no funds have been set aside yet. Until prospective orders turn into firm contracts, relying on any numerical commitments is premature. >
In comparison to a stretched C-130J-30, the KC-390’s cargo compartment is 17.75m long (vs. 16.9m), 3.45m wide (vs 3.12m); 2.9m high forward of the wing (vs 2.74m) and 3.2m aft of the wing. The KC-390’s wings were lengthened to 35.03m during the configuration phase, in order to allow helicopter refueling at speeds around 120 kt .
The airplane will incorporate a modern, night-vision compatible avionics system, including 2 Head-Up Displays (HUD), and will use fly-by-wire technologies instead of all-mechanical control systems.
Key decisions will include the aircraft’s engines, which will need to be in the 27,000 pound thrust class. A number of commercial aircraft engines from manufacturers like GE/Safran’s CFM, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls Royce could fit that requirement. France’s participation in the KC-390 program seems set to weight that choice very heavily in favor of CFM, whose CFM56-5B is one of several variants that could fit the project’s requirements. A complete self-defense system will also be fitted, but no winner has been announced yet.
With the right engines, the Force Aerea Braziliera (FAB) has confirmed that each aircraft will carry up to 80 troops, or a 23.6 tonnes/ 26 ton total cargo load.
That surpasses initial expectations of 19t, and also places it above competitors like Lockheed Martin’s C-130J at 21.8t.
The most unusual feature may be a movable pressure bulkhead that retracts into the roof and descends to seal the cargo cabin. While it shortens the cabin from 17.75m to to 12.78m when deployed, it could allow high altitude airdrops from the space behind, without depressurizing the entire cabin. In order to improve airdrop accuracy, the KC-390 will use Computed Air Release Point (CARP) technology integrated with the fly-by-wire system.
