Republic of Korea Defence Force – KC-30A Advisory Services for Aircraft Conversion to Tanker

Our client delivers sustainment services to a range of military aircraft fleets for the Australian Defence Force and is the incumbent Through Life Support (TLS) contractor for the existing KC-30A fleet.

The Challenge

Australia originally procured five KC-30A aircraft as the launch customer. The first A330 aircraft was converted to tanker in Spain and the last four in Australia. Our client was engaged by Airbus Defence as the local Australian subcontractor to undertake all conversion efforts in Australia under Airbus Defence supervision.

In 2013, it became evident that the Republic of Korea (ROK) was going to procure a fleet of KC-30As. Our client decided to develop an unsolicited proposal to provide advisory services to the ROK military. Its aim was to short-circuit the many problems learned through Australia’s experience. It would reduce conversion time and risk through advising and implementing strategies learned through their experience converting Australia’s KC-30A fleet from A330 aircraft to tankers.

The Solution

The Salentis team, comprising a Senior Associate Writer and a Design Lead (Graphic Artist) developed an unsolicited proposal, in a magazine-style format. They did it in parallel with an existing Request for Information (RFI) response that Salentis was supporting for Through Life Sustainment to Australia’s new Leonardo C-27J transport aircraft. 

The Impact

Our client was delighted that they were able to provide a high-quality unsolicited bid to the ROK, developed in only 2 weeks. 

Article published: February 2021