TSAMTO, April 5. The Defense Procurement Programs Agency of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea (DAPA) announced the launch of a project for the purchase of heavy-duty military transport aircraft.
As reported by Janes.com, the project should be implemented by 2026 (apparently, the delivery of the first machine is meant – approx. CAMTO) using, among other things, the potential of the national aviation industry.
Investments in the aircraft acquisition project for the period from 2022 to 2026 are expected to amount to 710 billion South Korean won (581.5 million US dollars). The Defense Projects Promotion Committee has already approved the budget. However, it is not yet reported how many cars are planned to be purchased at this stage.
According to the DAPA Agency, the project is expected to involve the American Lockheed Martin with C-130J-30 "Super Hercules", the European concern Airbus with A-400M "Atlas" and the Brazilian company Embraer with C-390 "Millennium".
Recall that in 2018, Airbus Defense and Space (Airbus DS) offered a military transport aircraft A-400M as part of the previously announced program of the Air Force of the Republic of Korea for the purchase of aircraft of this type.
Despite the fact that the Request for Information (RFI) it was never released, the European company saw the potential need of the Air Force of the Republic of Kazakhstan for this type of aircraft in the future. Therefore, since the end of 2018, the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) have been negotiating an agreement on the exchange of 4-6 Airbus A-400M VTA aircraft for 30 KT-1 training aircraft and 20 KAI T-50 units. The parties failed to reach an agreement.
