Originally Posted by
HK144
reader8
'Just as limited as Oz C-130J'
Care to elaborate on your thoughts?
All aircrafts have their limits. I'm not saying C-130 is bad for NZ, but 'interoperability' is one way to spin 'no significant increase (or decrease) in capabilities'.
Remember, Embraer specifically designed the KC-390 as a modern replacement for the C-130-J, it's designed from the ground up to compete and, on paper, it does the job admirably and appears to have performed well during trials to date.
I'd point to range, payload, maintainability, airworthiness management and floor loading as key areas where KC-390 had been very smartly designed.
It's understandable why NZ made the decision to take C-130-J, KC-390 would have accompanying acquisition risks, training requirements and organisational change that C-130 plainly does not, but I suspect the 390 would have been a more enduring solution.
I'd also throw the proline flight deck configuration and the way that 40 Sqn manages pilots into the pot as providing some potential advantages for dual qualifications on future types.