In Europe, Airbus introduced a unique solution in A400M that meets at least some of the strategic envelope of a heavy lift transporter but also tactical capabilities too.

Bronk neatly observed that the design operates on “the lighter side of heavy lift” but with all the tactical trimmings of insertion on unpaved airstrips and cruising at low altitudes despite its 37-tonne payload capacity. Blurring the lines as a ‘strat-tact’ airlifter, the A400 demonstrated that it can reach places the C-17, a conventional strategic airlifter, cannot.

In May 2015, a relief mission in Nepal revealed the weight limits of numerous American and British C-17s on the runway of Kathmandu airport, where cracks appeared, forcing the local authorities with the help of the airmen to repair 250 square feet of tarmac.

A few years later, the UK demonstrated the long-term priority of the aircraft in its force structure. Initially, the government decided to induct more A400s rather than letting the proven C-130J reach the end of its in-service date despite parliamentary pressure. In 2023, the Defence Committee argued:

“One of the most significant cuts… was the early retirement of the C-130J Hercules fleet some seven years before its planned out-of-service date. Our witnesses were almost unanimously critical of this decision, which has significantly reduced the overall capacity of the air mobility fleet.”

With 131 aircraft in service among seven European users, A400 is the latest design to shift the military airlift sector, even encouraging other aircraft manufacturers to look at niches.

“Ten to fifteen years ago, with C-130, you wouldn’t expect the Leonardo C-27 to sell as well as it does now,” Bronk pointed out.

A tactical transporter, the C-27 Spartan has been upgraded over the years with new avionics, enhanced systems and aerodynamic winglets in an enduring effort to extend the aircraft’s efficiencies much like the MRTT+.

For a more obvious modern tactical transport option, Europe has recently gravitated toward Embraer’s C-390 Millennium, a Brazilian design, that is not so much a successor to the C-130 than it is a competitor to the Cold War cargo plane still in production.

C-390 can carry up to 26 tonnes and reach a range of up to 1,080 nautical miles with a full payload. The medium-lift aircraft, which is smaller than the turboprop A400M, requires a greater takeoff distance of up to 1,500 metres due to its jet engines.

The difference comes down to the use of a traditional turboprop engine compared to a jet engine. It is the latter where the C-390 comes into its own. This feature challenges the dominance of turboprop for tactical airlift missions due to fuel efficiency, cost effectiveness, and thrust at low speeds.

However, the jet powered Millennium still maintains short-field performance and the ability to operate in austere environments. Embraer mounted the two V2500 engines high on the wings and incorporated a specialised landing gear to withstand operations in semi-prepared airfields.

As manufacturers seek marginal efficiencies and look to offer a particular niche, the user, in the end, is faced with certain trade-offs to fit their operational requirements.

An intense game of wills between the US and China is playing out in the vast Indo-Pacific region, the result of which will determine the future world order. In such a complex and largely maritime space, range is key for both powers.

For the US, which will be forward operating, its armed forces will need to benefit from versatile airlift capabilities to enable their movement of troops and equipment.

A Pacific Air Force Public Affairs officer told this reporter that the US ultimately “requires resilient logistics, facilitated by fixed-wing airlifters that support Agile Combat Employment [ACE] by swiftly moving personnel and resources to dispersed locations.”

A mix of platforms – like the C-130J for tactical lift and the C-17 for strategic range – will provide the balanced capability the region demands, the officer contends, “and it is strengthened by our alliances and partnerships [in the region], providing an asymmetric advantage as we enhance maintenance and logistics to meet those requirements.”

However, Boeing ended C-17 production in 2015, leaving a finite albeit large American strategic fleet available for service – 222 units according to GlobalData intelligence – making the aircraft ever more valuable.

Meanwhile, another critical area of concern is ‘last-mile logistics’. Unlike commercial logistics, this final leg of the supply chain is typically in a hostile, complex and contested environment, making it the most challenging and dangerous part of the resupply process. This area is undergoing significant change; what a tactical airlifter like the C-130J would accomplish could now be done by cheaper uncrewed aerial systems (UAS).

The Marine Corps is already making this transition with drones in the air, on and below the sea. Cathy Close, a Marine Corps Combat Development and Integration spokesperson, said that they are pursuing any design that is “affordable, attritable, and capable to deliver sustainment effectively to the operating forces.”

To this end, during the AUSA exhibition in Washington, Sikorsky unveiled a concept in which it converted a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter into an autonomous UAS, known as the U-Hawk.

On the other side of this great power competition, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is making its own strides in the airlift sector.

In early October, it was widely reported that China’s aerospace industry conceived a design for a new generation strategic transporter featuring a blended wing body (BWB) – a radical shift in conventional configuration design. It is said that the new airlifter is envisioned to carry up to 120 tonnes of cargo with a maximum takeoff weight approaching 470 tonnes, surpassing China’s current heavy transport fleet.

However, Bronk shed light on the challenging reality of the concept. Besides the increased lift and drag, the tailless configuration means stability and control are more difficult compared to conventional aircraft with their high tails as seen with the A400 and C-390.

At the same time, this early concept must be for a highly specialised mission envelope since China has been ramping up its production of the Y-20B, the PLAAF’s version of the C-17. In fact, some say that the Y-20 design was informed by military technical data retrieved by Chinese hackers in 2014, which surely represents the success of the lynchpin across American and allied fleets.

Currently, the Y-20 fleet can transport two light airborne brigades, or one light mechanised airborne brigade if it uses its entire inventory of transport aircraft, leaving the limited extra capacity for emergency transport of materiel or other tasks.

This “relative weakness”, as observed the China Aerospace Studies Institute, which is currently being rectified, would put the lift required for a Taiwan invasion scenario at risk.