Embraer has Eyes on Indian MTA Requirement

Our Bureau - : Feb 10, 2025 - : 12:57 am

Embraer has brought a KC-390 Millennium tactical transport aircraft to Aero India, highlighting its seriousness in meeting an Indian Air Force (IAF) requirement for a new Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA). The other contenders for the deal, which could be for up to 80 aircraft are Lockheed Martin’s C-130J and the Airbus A400M. "Embraer is excited to be back at AeroIndia as we showcase the KC-390 Millennium and our broad portfolio of defense and security solutions to the industry,” said Bosco da Costa Junior, President & CEO, Embraer Defence & Security.

“It is an aircraft that is growing its global operator base and impressing the industry with its modern capabilities and reflects the versatility and reliability that our aircraft are known for. The Embraer team and its partners will be at Aero India in full force, in support of India’s aviation and defence aims". Since entering service with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019, the Portuguese Air Force in 2023, and the Hungarian Air Force in 2024, the KC-390 has demonstrated 93 percent mission capability rates and a mission completion rate above 99 percent. The fleet has clocked over 16,300 flight hours.

In addition to a newly announced customer nation, Embraer’s military transport has been selected by Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, South Korea, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovakia. Embraer announced in January, this year that it had delivered three new C-390 Millenniums in 2024 as compared to two aircraft in 2023.

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The airframer had also announced a contract last December, with the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) to supply a second Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS II) unit. This device can be quickly installed on any KC-390 multi-mission aircraft in FAB’s fleet. With THE MAFFS II, installed a KC-390 offers a deployment capacity of approximately 12,000 L of water in seven seconds, per flight. The system has been proven on more than 100 FAB flights.

Embraer and the FAB had also announced last December, that they would deepen collaborative studies aimed at expanding the capabilities of the C-390 Millennium platform for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions, with a focus on Maritime Patrol. "The studies to adapt the C-390 Millennium aircraft to ISR missions have evolved in a structured way, analysing the aircraft's capability to evolve in order to meet the current and future needs of the Brazilian Air Force, especially in relation to Maritime Patrol," Lieutenant-Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, Commander of the Brazilian Air Force had said.

Embraer’s Legacy 600 aircraft is used for the transportation of government officials and VIPs by the IAF and Border Security Force (BSF) and the ‘Netra’ AEW&C aircraft based on the Embraer ERJ145 platform operated by the IAF.

The aircraft when configured with air-to-air refueling equipment, receives the designation KC-390, has already proven its aerial refueling capacity both as a tanker and as a receiver, in this case by receiving fuel from another KC-390 using pods installed under the wings. The C-390 can carry more payload (26 tons) compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft and flies faster (470 knots) and farther. The aircraft has demonstrated its capability to undertake a wide range of missions such as transporting and dropping cargo and troops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting, and humanitarian missions, operating on temporary or unpaved runways such as packed earth, soil, and gravel.

Embraer / Aeroindia / Medium-transport-aircraft /

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