A Korean delegation, accompanied by Airbus Defence and Space personnel, traveled to Spain for the evaluation of the A400M as a future transport aircraft for the Republic of Korea Air Force.
A delegation from the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) and Airbus visited the facilities of the Spanish Air and Space Wing 31 at the Zaragoza Air Base to evaluate and learn, in situ, about the characteristics and capabilities of the A400M as a possible strategic/tactical aircraft to be incorporated to replace their C-130H Hercules.
As reported by the Air and Space Army, the chief of the 31st Wing, Colonel José Ramón García Paniagua, received them at the unit’s headquarters building, where he explained both the characteristics of the aircraft and the vicissitudes of the unit in what has been the transition from T.10 (C130H) to T.23 (A400M) material, answering all the questions asked by the delegation in a timely manner.
The purpose of the visit was also to check closely the characteristics of the A400M and that these characteristics met the requirements established by the ROKAF in the procurement competition. Also participating in this competition are the C-130J of the US company Lockeed Martin and the KC-390 of the Brazilian company Embraer.
Meanwhile, Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) is developing its own domestic solution, the Multi-mission Cargo eXperimental (MC-X) project, which would have a maximum payload capacity in the order of 30,000 kg, placing it below the capabilities of the A400M, but above the C-130J or KC-390.
After a visual check of the aircraft in their transport and in-flight refueling configurations, the visit of the Korean delegation ended in the flight simulator of the Zaragoza training center.
