Middle East Air Force Cygnus Deployment Possible [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

President Yoon Gives Instructions at Middle East Crisis Review Meeting
Over 600 South Koreans Likely Staying in Israel

The multi-purpose aerial refueling transport aircraft ‘KC-330’ Cygnus is expected to be deployed to the Middle East.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed this during the ‘Emergency Economic Security Inspection Meeting on the Middle East Situation’ held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 2nd, saying, "Protecting our citizens located in Israel and the Middle East region is the most important task," according to spokesperson Jung Hye-jeon.

The situation in the Middle East has become more unstable as the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas is spreading to neighboring countries such as Lebanon, and Iran launched a missile attack with about 200 missiles on Israel the day before.

It is known that about 180 of our citizens entered Israel to attend a local event of a religious organization. Since the deterioration of the situation in the Middle East, the Korean government has been checking the status of our citizens staying locally every day and confirmed that about 180 citizens have entered Israel. Considering the recent Middle East situation, the government is strongly recommending the prompt departure of overseas Koreans staying in Israel, including the 180 entrants, and it is known that the relevant religious organization has also been directly and indirectly advised to leave. The number of our citizens staying in Israel has significantly increased from about 500 to 680. About 100 citizens are staying in Iran, and about 90 in Lebanon.

To evacuate citizens staying in the Middle East, the multi-purpose aerial refueling transport aircraft ‘KC-330’ Cygnus is highly likely to be deployed. Cygnus has earned the trust of the people by successfully carrying out operations such as the ‘Miracle Operation,’ which safely transported special contributors and their families from Afghanistan to Korea, the ‘Promise Operation,’ which supported the emergency evacuation of overseas Koreans from Sudan, and the ‘Emergency Return of Korean Residents in Israel’ during the Israel-Hamas war situation. Additionally, it has conducted operations worldwide, including the repatriation of fallen soldiers’ remains and the multinational joint air exercise ‘2024 Pitch Black.’

Cygnus is a civilian A330-200 passenger aircraft manufactured by Airbus in Europe, converted into an aerial refueling aircraft at the Spanish facility in Getafe. Starting with the arrival of the first aircraft in Korea in November 2018, the second aircraft was introduced in April 2019, the third in August, and the fourth in December. A total of four aircraft have been deployed in operations since July 2020. The fuselage length is 58.80m, wingspan is 60.3m, and height is 17.4m. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 233,000 kg, a maximum speed of Mach 0.86 (1053 km/h), a maximum fuel-loaded range of 15,320 km, and a maximum operating altitude of 41,500 ft. It can carry over 100 tons of fuel and, besides aerial refueling, can simultaneously transport about 40 tons of cargo and more than 300 troops. When transporting patients, it can be equipped with 130 beds to perform medical functions. It is the most cost-effective multi-purpose aircraft among the transport aircraft owned by the Republic of Korea Air Force.

The unit operating the aerial refueling aircraft KC-330 Cygnus is the 261st Air Refueling Squadron of the Air Force’s 5th Air Mobility Wing. This unit, which celebrated its 6th anniversary last August, is performing missions by expanding the Air Force’s combat power and operational mission radius through the KC-330. It has also established a record of ‘6 years of accident-free flights.’ The squadron has flown approximately 7,680 hours over six years, covering a distance of 57,730,320 km, which is equivalent to about 124 laps around the Earth.