determine the possibility of performing certain operations rather than others. According to British studies, a civil pilot uses his machine at two thirds of its possibilities to have a large safety margin. But a military one is often close to 100%, which is why a military aircraft has a shorter service life, albeit one that is intensely exploited. For years, air forces have tried to figure out whether the parameters imposed by the tactical airlift mission were negotiable. Some aircraft are built to offer users excellent performance in tactical missions, at the price of high procurement and service life costs. Perhaps, air forces have sometimes accepted tactical airlifters derived from regional transport aircraft, as in the Airbus C-295, which is a great commercial success. To Be or Not To Be a Benchmark? Being a benchmark in the market depends on many factors, and the replacement process for the ageing fleets of C-130 and AN-12 is instructive in this sense, as it shows that today’s requirements can be fluid, even if some interesting trends are emerging – and that being a benchmark in performance and a point of reference in the market are two rather different things. Some older C-130s have been replaced by the C-130J version, which introduces new propellers, engines, avionics and ESM suite, inter alia. Commercial success demonstrates that many countries approved the choice of having an aircraft that perfectly fitted the doctrinal requirements of a tactical airlifter. And this concept has been reiterated for C-130’s smaller brother, the Leonardo C-27J – featuring the same propellers, engine, avionics, and key components. But the replacement of the four C-130H of the Royal Netherlands Air Force – where the C-130J was the clear favourite – was surprisingly won by Embraer’s C-390M, with five aircraft to be delivered from 2026. The C-390 can carry a 26t maximum load compared to the C-130J30’s 20t, at the expenses of its maximum autonomy, inferior by 37% to its competitor, and probably making concessions also in aircraft behaviour in harsh conditions. But operators gain in speed (25% faster), ease of maintenance and operational availability. According to comments from the Dutch government, four C-390s will provide the same flight hours as five HERCULES – a key decision influencer, considering the Dutch air force The recent commercial success of the Embraer C-390 nurtures the debate on tactical air transport in Europe and, indirectly, in the rest of the world. Moreover, it comes at a time when most air forces need to retire ageing fleets of Lockheed-Martin C-130s HERCULES and Antonov AN-12 CURL – thus creating a potential global market of 3,000 tactical airlifters. Are Requirements Changing? In principle, tactical airlifters are rustic, simple aircraft featuring powerful engines that allow them to undertake any transport duty in harsh conditions, perhaps even under fire. The transport from airport A to airport B of materials/passengers/vehicles is the simplest task, but also the less specific to a military transport aircraft. Instead, tactical transport aircraft can operate anywhere, on any surface, equipped with a rear ramp that does not require any special means on the ground to unload/load passengers and materials, without ground support or airlifting men and vehicles. Thus, a tactical transport has onboard all the equipment that enables it to operate in complex theatres. The modes of cargo transport and delivery are varied, from normal palletised transport (special platforms with standard NATO pallets on which to build cargo) to a variety of parachute drop methods. These simple principles apply perfectly in wartime when tactical transport aircraft are supposed to fly ‘last-mile’ missions or cross enemy lines. Most missions flown have a reduced combat radius, as the airlifter must fly to a specific point and come back without refuelling. So, on a military aircraft, there is always the question of how much fuel to take on board, depending on the load to be carried and the distances to be covered. The weight balance of a military cargo is another very important parameter because, in addition to the runway performance, it also influences balance of the loaded and unloaded aircraft. While defining the performance of an aircraft, the builder must consider that it will take off full but return empty. In between there will be fuel and part of the load will move inside until it leaves, and this must not affect the controllability of the aircraft. Finally, runway performance, paved or not, gives an insight into where an airlift can operate. Ice, sand, earth and even boulders (semi-prepared runways) are common terrains on which a tactical transport aircraft will have to take off and land, perhaps in small spaces. This is where engine selection comes into play: the pros and cons often Marco Giulio Barone is a political-military analyst based in Paris, and a regular contributor to Monch magazines. Marco Giulio Barone The Future of Tactical Air Transport: Doctrine or Convenience? Feature MT 5/2022 · 27 The C-390 Millenium offers considerable attractions for forces seeking to recapitalise airlifter fleets and enhance tactical flexibility. (Photo: Embraer)
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