Also worth noting that the Koreans, which have no industrial drum to beat, selected the A330 MRTT over the KC-46A. When it made its selection in 2015, DAPA noted it had largely chosen the MRTT because of its superior performance - specifically endurance, fuel capacity, personnel and cargo capacity were all cited.
And I imagine if any nation is going to be flying their tankers 'close to the fight' it will be South Korea.
Go figure.