Flight International – 11 June 2019

58 | Flight International | 11-17 June 2019 flightglobal.com

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refuelling for helicopters,” says Pinto.
“So we need to fly very slow, like 120kt, for
these missions.”
Lockheed hits back again, saying that a tur-
bine could be easily damaged on a rough
landing strip if foreign object debris is sucked
into its compressor. For its part, Embraer says
that is irrelevant because of the high position
of its engines on the wing. In turn, it criticises
Lockheed’s turboprop configuration by saying
that the modern six-bladed composite propel-
lers found on the C-130J are expensive to re-
place if damaged.

TWO VERSUS FOUR
When it comes to the maintainability of its en-
gines, Embraer may have a point, says Douglas
Royce, an analyst with Forecast International.
“My expectation would be that having to
maintain what are essentially two commer-
cial jet engines versus four turboprop engines
is going to be cheaper,” he says. “You may
give up some level of operational flexibility.
But if you don’t find your air force constantly
landing in rough strips you may be able to
work around that.”
That point might be moot with US Special
Operations Command (SOCOM), which
seems to prefer turboprops for their
ruggedness. SOCOM is one of the world’s
largest buyers of tactical transports and could
attest to the KC-390’s value to foreign buyers,
says Aboulafia.
“There’s always been that mantra, ‘SOCOM
is the thin edge of the wedge. They’ll buy six
or a dozen of everything’,” he says. “But the
problem is looking at their buying habits –
and every special operation air arm’s buying
habits – they are not enamoured of huge iron
Hoovers under a wing.”
Also, adds Royce, the US military uses the
C-130J in harsh environments. “The US uses

the C-130 as a real battlefield truck that can

land in hot conditions,” he says. “It’s a very

rough, very rugged aircraft. Very versatile.”

Facing possible scepticism from SOCOM,

Embraer’s best bet for the KC-390 might be to

move or duplicate part of the transport pro-

duction line to the USA to take advantage of

the US Department of Defense’s Foreign Mili-

tary Sales (FMS) programme.

Embraer says it is too early to say if it will

add production facilities in the USA, though

it had some success rebranding its light-attack

Super Tucano as the A-29 and adding produc-

tion in Jacksonville, Florida, in partnership

with Sierra Nevada. The A-29 has been sold

via the FMS framework to countries includ-

ing Afghanistan, Lebanon and Nigeria.

The company could try to repeat the Super

Tucano strategy with the KC-390, says Abou-

lafia. “Whatever upside there is in a limited

market, you take advantage of it with FMS,” he

says. “In other words, you make the most of it.”

BRAZILIAN DEAL

Embraer’s current KC-390 customer is the Bra-

zilian air force, which has placed 27 firm or-

ders for the transport, according to Cirium’s

Fleets Analyzer. The service is likely to re-

ceive its first production aircraft before July

2019. There are also letters of intent from po-
      tential international customers covering up to
      another 37: 12 for Colombia, six each for Ar-
      gentina and Chile, five for Portugal, two for
      the Czech Republic and six for Lisbon-based
      aviation services firm SkyTech, according to
      Fleets Analyzer.
      Embraer may find more ways to firm up or-
      ders and expand its backlog with the weight
      of Boeing behind the programme, says Royce.
      “Boeing now has a strategy, which we have
      seen in several different programmes, of being
      very aggressive on pricing on the forward
      end,” he says. “And then, they have a 20- to
      30-year, if not longer, ability to generate
      money through all the maintenance services
      and upgrade services that will be provided
      over the lifecycle of the aircraft.”
      Ultimately, expectations should be moder-
      ated by the small size of the tactical airlift
      market, says Aboulafia.
      “We will see how many other letters of in-
      tent they can convert. That’s a big challenge.
      It’s certainly an easier challenge with Boeing,”
      he says. “If they can get one [aircraft] a month
      [produced] and succeed with Boeing’s help,
      then that’s not an unhappy ending.” ■

❯❯
C-27J appeals as half-sized
Hercules, but comes in at
“two-thirds the price”

Market-leading C-130J is versatile

performer in US Air Force service

Leonardo

US Air Force