i can see the FMTC as a smaller, shortened twin-engine version of the Airbus A400M (maybe an Airbus A410M)
This is very unlikely IMHO as an A410M would be an extremely unattractive proposition due to the A400M design heritage as a long range quasi-strategic transport (high structural empty weight, oversized wing and cross section etc).
The real question is which C130 mission(s) this FMTC is replacing.
1) Is it meant to be exclusively a short-ranged intra-theater tactical transport for mostly passengers, pallets and light vehicles? (Basically a Transall replacement more than a C-130J)
2) Or does it need to carry heavy payloads such as light armored vehicles? What about outsize payloads such as helicopters? And how much range does it need, e.g. for inter-theatre missions? In which case it needs to be « bigger and better » than the C-130J…
I personally prefer option 1) as 2) overlaps too much with the KC-390 and A400M itself.
Here’s a good snapshot of the current offerings out there:
(Graph deleted for space)
this is a very interesting graph
i didnt realize the KC-390 was as large as the C-130 and Y-9.. and had always thought it would be where the An-178 would be.
Since the C-130 user base is quite large, I am surprised there isnt more KC-390 orders
Still in IOC, but we already got orders from 3 NATO members (Portugal, Hungary and now Netherlands).
KC-390 has two big rivals:
There are many old C-130 around, especially of H and older vintages, some of which are being replaced with C-130J. Uruguay recently got some old C-130H from Spain. UK will ditch some nice C-130J with not many hours flown, and these will surely eat up KC-390 orders.
That said, KC-390 has a bigger payload than the graph shows (23 tons for regular use, 26 ton for emergency use), payload-range is comparable to C-130J (if not better, especially with higher weights), plus its cruise speed is way higher.
Another data point may surprise you - stall speed of KC-390 is almost the same as C-130! We will use KC-390 to refuel our helos here in Brazil!!
There's still some work to do in testing and integration, but things are going smoothly. FAB (Brazilian Air Force) is very pleased with the KC-390, they worked a lot during the pandemics, including with transport of liquid oxygen, something you don't see often.
https://aeromagazine.uol.com.br/amp...vos-tanques-de-oxigenio-para-manaus_6184.html (Portuguese only, online translation is your BFF).
Oxygen is being taken from Guarulhos to Manaus. The approximate distance between the cities is 2700 km.
The KC-390 can carry 23 ton and takes about 3 hours for this flight.
The C-130 can carry 13 ton and takes about 5 hours for this flight.*
Considering that the volume is sufficient to carry 300 ton of materials, it would be necessary:
23 KC-130 flights x 5h = 115 hours
13 KC-390 flights x 3h = 39h
That is, the KC-390 could accomplish the mission taking only 1/3 of the time!
* our C-130H are non-stretch, therefore they're limited in regards to weights.
If we're talking about volume...
C-130 - 127 m³
KC-390 - 169 m³
Considering the same route,
C-130 - 25.4 m³/hour
KC-390 - ~56.3 m³/hour
That is, KC-390 is more than twice as effective as a non-stretch C-130H. If we compare to C-130 stretch (eg C-130H-30):
C-130H-30 - 169 m³ - 33.8 m³/hour
KC-390 still delivers 67% more.
"But muh Super Hercules". Alright, I got you covered.
C-130J (and C-130J-30) cruise speed is 657 km/h (sorry folks, I think better in metric; 355 knots for you).
Considering 2700 km (~1460 nm), one-way trip, and using the same metrics (carrying 300 tons considering gross out only, no max out; max normal load taken from
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/1555054/c-130-hercules/):
C-130J - 127 m³, ~4h, 31.75 m³/hour, max load 15.4 ton, 20 flights, 80 hours
C-130J-30 - 169 m³, ~4h, 42.25 m³/hour, max load 16.3 ton, 19 flights, 76 hours
KC-390 - 169 m³, ~3h, ~56.3 m³/hour, max load 23 ton, 14 flights (or 12+1 with extra 1 ton load, still well within limits) 42 hours (39 w/ extra load)
That is, KC-390 does the same job in about half the time as C-130J (1 flight with extra cargo)!
If we're talking about carrying volume, using C-130J as base
C-130J: 1x
C-130J-30: ~1.33x
KC-390: ~1.77x
We're very proud of our new "fat boy" ("airplane" in Portuguese is a he)!