Embraer has marked 10 years since the first flight of its C/KC-390 Millennium tactical transport, as it prepares to increase production on the back of recent strong international orders.
Conducted from the Brazilian airframer’s Gaviao Peixoto site on 3 February 2015, the milestone debut flight totalled 1h 25min. Embraer had rolled out its lead test asset in October the previous year.
Our news report of the time noted that “the aircraft’s crew performed manoeuvres to assess flight characteristics and system tests, including of its fly-by-wire [FBW] controls”.
Service entry with lead customer the Brazilian air force followed in 2019. The service – which received its seventh of the transport/tankers late last year – will take a total of 19, with an original 28-unit order having been reduced during a national budget squeeze.
Embraer has so far delivered a further three of the airlifters, to European NATO members Portugal (2) and Hungary (1), which have respective orders for five and two.
It has also enjoyed considerable further success with the International Aero Engines V2500-powered twinjet, with contracts for Austria (4), the Czech Republic (2), the Netherlands (5), South Korea (3), and an undisclosed buyer (2).
That list looks likely to be expanded by the future addition of Slovakia, which last December announced plans to buy three examples. Sweden also intends to acquire a yet-to-be-determined number of the 26t payload-capacity type, as replacements for its remaining Lockheed Martin C-130H transports.
In all, Embraer can count a current firm order backlog of 32 Millennium jets.
| Embraer C/KC-390 customers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nation | Active | On order |
| Austria | 4 | |
| Brazil | 7 | 12 |
| Czech Republic | 2 | |
| Hungary | 1 | 1 |
| The Netherlands | 5 | |
| Portugal | 2 | 3 |
| Slovakia | 3* | |
| South Korea | 3 | |
| Sweden | ?* | |
| Undisclosed customer | 2 | |
| Total | 10 | 32+3* |
| Source: Embraer/FlightGlobal | ||
| Note: * Pending confirmation | ||
“In just one decade, the KC-390 has proven to be an unbeatable combination of versatility, robustness and flexibility, steadily gaining its place in the market and becoming the ideal choice for countries looking for a multi-mission tactical military transport,” says Embraer Defense & Security chief executive Bosco da Costa Junior.
Embraer cites a mission completion rate of over 99% for the in-service C/KC-390 fleet, through some 16,300 flight hours.
In his evaluation report of November 2017, FlightGlobal test pilot Michael Gerzanics concluded: “Overall I was very impressed with the KC-390. Its FBW control system made it a joy to fly, while offering envelope protection features that should ease mission accomplishment.”
Referring to the Brazilian model’s prospects against its primary competitor – Lockheed’s C-130J – he noted: “There will be ebbs and flows, and the KC-390 need not achieve an even market split to be considered a huge success.”
Data from aviation analytics company Cirium indicates that Lockheed’s current order book for the J-model Hercules includes only five examples for export buyers: Egypt (2) and the Philippines (3).
