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Embraer plans to deliver four C-390s this year and to ramp up to 12 units by 2030.
Embraer has had some success recently in securing export orders for its C-390 Millennium military transport aircraft and is about to sign a combined contract with Austria and the Netherlands for up to 15 more, including six options. But the goal remains to place the aircraft in much bigger export markets, and the U.S. is a key target.
“We are very aggressive in the U.S.,” Embraer Defense CEO Bosco da Costa Junior says. “We would like to become a partner of the U.S. government.” Embraer is building up its defense team in the U.S. to expand its presence and sees an opportunity for the C-390 in the Air Force, Navy and other services.
- The OEM is about to sign deals for the military transport aircraft with Austria and the Netherlands
- Saudi Arabia and India are seen as the biggest export opportunities
“The C-390 can help them a lot to improve the efficiency and productivity of the fleet,” Embraer CEO Francisco Gomes Neto says. For the KC-390 tanker version of the aircraft, Embraer is willing to develop a boom, too, for the U.S. market.
Embraer has discontinued preliminary work with L3 Harris on a boom and is “exploring other opportunities” to introduce the aircraft and develop the boom, Gomes Neto says.
The KC-390 so far offers only a hose-and-drogue system for refueling, as required by its main customer, the Brazilian Air Force, and its current export customers. “If [the U.S.] has a requirement for a dedicated version, we are ready to develop with them that solution,” da Costa says. “We are completely open.”
Embraer so far has delivered seven C-390s, six to Brazil and one to Portugal. The Brazilian Air Force has accumulated 10,000 flight hours with the aircraft; Portugal is at 650 hr. after six months. The manufacturer plans to hand over three more aircraft before year-end to Brazil, Hungary and Portugal.
The final assembly line at Embraer’s site in Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil, is capable of building 18 aircraft per year, far more than the four planned for 2024. Embraer aims to grow output to six units in 2025, seven in 2027 and 12 in 2030, still considerably short of the facility’s capacity.
The company estimates there will be a market for around 490 units over the next 20 years just for replacements, as 260 aircraft used for similar missions are 45 years or older, da Costa notes. “We are ready to capture a good portion of that,” he says. “We are 100% U.S.- and NATO-oriented,” he stresses. Embraer is not seeking any Chinese defense business.
The NATO version of the C-390 was introduced in October. Embraer says it is “engaged” with several countries in Europe about the C-390, including some that do not have military transport aircraft now.
In Africa, Embraer sees opportunities in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. Several countries in the region are “in the final stages” of talks for the A-29 Super Tucano, particularly in the light attack aircraft role.
In the C-390 program, Brazil is the biggest customer so far, with 19 aircraft, cut back from an original agreement for 28. Da Costa says there are no discussions about the country reducing the commitment further. Portugal and the Netherlands will each take five, Austria has signed up for four, and Hungary and the Czech Republic have committed to two aircraft each. The size of South Korea’s order is undisclosed. Da Costa says that “several [additional] campaigns are ongoing.”
Most important among them are India and Saudi Arabia. India’s Medium Transport Aircraft program is looking to procure up to 80 units to replace aging Antonov An-32s. Da Costa expects a decision in 2-4 years. Embraer has selected Mahindra as a local partner and is prepared to open a final assembly line for the C-390 in India if it wins the contract.
Saudi Arabia is looking to replace a fleet of 50 Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules; da Costa believes the competition could be decided in a similar time frame. Unlike the efforts in India, which are primarily focused on the defense market, the Saudi engagement goes beyond the C-390. It also could include commercial and executive jets as well as advanced air mobility vehicles, a segment for which Embraer is developing the Eve electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
As for the C-390, “we have made a lot of market studies in Saudi Arabia with them as well, and we believe that [an order for] 20 C-390s is very reasonable,” Gomes Neto says.
Two years ago, Embraer signed an agreement with Saab to support sales of the two companies’ products in their respective home regions. The cooperation “is moving well,” Gomes Neto says. Embraer is supposed to help sell Saab Gripens in countries such as Brazil or Colombia, while Saab is to assist with potential C-390 deals in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe. So far, none of them have come through.
Maritime patrol versions of existing aircraft are another avenue Embraer is exploring. Talks with the Brazilian Air Force are underway, and export sales could be built on that. The C-390 and the Embraer 190/195 commercial jets could serve as platforms, although da Costa points out that executive jets also could work in that role.
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