France orders KC-130J for helicopter refueling
It's beginning to look official, France has given up on trying to use the A400M for helicopter refueling, even though that is a contract requirement. Interestingly, they also bought two non-tanker C-130Js. Since the A400 was optimized for tactical aerial delivery, why do they need C-130Js to do the same thing?
France Orders New C-130s From U.S. Air Force
PARIS – French defense procurement agency DGA has
ordered four new Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules
airlifters from the U.S. Air Force in an effort to make
up for capabilities shortfalls and delayed deliveries of
the Airbus A400M.
Signed on Jan. 29, the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) agreement
calls for two of the four aircraft to be sold to the French air force
in the KC-130J configuration, which is capable of inflight refueling
of aircraft and helicopters. The latter, a requirement stipulated
in the Airbus A400M contract, is one that company officials have
said may never be met.
In a Feb. 1 announcement, DGA said French Defense Minister
Jean-Yves Le Drian approved the purchase last Dec. 15, after a midyear
update of the nation’s multi-year defense budget that included
an increase of €330 million ($357 million) to pay for the new aircraft.
As a key measure in the budget increase, the C-130J purchase
was concluded in a very short time, DGA said. France had also
considered buying modernized secondhand C-130 aircraft.
Under the terms of the agreement, the first two C-130Js will
be delivered in late 2017 and early 2018, respectively, while the
two KC-130J refuelers will be delivered in 2019.
DGA said the aircraft will strengthen the middle segment of
France’s tactical transport fleet, which currently comprises C-160
Transall and C-130H Hercules airlifters, with the latter undergoing
a midlife upgrade.
“These aircraft are in particularly high demand now and are
facing challenges given the difficult environmental conditions
in which they operate,” DGA said in the statement, referring to
French operations in Africa and the Middle East.
In November, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency,
which manages FMS sales, said the cost of major defense equipment
under the agreement is valued at $355 million, though the
total value – including items such as electronic countermeasures
and missile warning systems and other non-defense equipment –
is $650 million.