[ad_1]
SINGAPORE AIRSHOW: Brazilian Military Aircraft Gaining Momentum in Europe, Asia
Embraer photo
SINGAPORE — Brazil-based Embraer recently secured its first Asian customer in South Korea for its C-390 Millennium aircraft, and the company wants to keep the momentum going with more sales in the region.
The C-390 Millennium is a multi-mission aircraft “prepared to carry everything” from troops to cargo to vehicles to fuel, Caetano Spuldaro Neto, Embraer Defense and Security’s vice president of sales for the Middle East and Asia, said during a media briefing at the Singapore Airshow Feb. 21.
The aircraft can haul up to 26 metric tons, features state-of-the-art avionics, full fly-by-wire technology and an integrated self-protection system, and can operate on unpaved or semi-prepared runways. Additionally, it can be rapidly changed to different configurations, able to shift from a cargo to a vehicle transport setup in 15 minutes, and a troop carrier configuration within an hour, with no tools required, according to Embraer.
Since delivering the first C-390 to the Brazilian military in 2019, Embraer has received orders from five European countries, four of which will get the aircraft with a unique NATO configuration. Neto did not provide full details of the NATO configuration, but said it does feature systems such as Link-16, military GPS, Identification Friend or Foe and secure communications.
Frederico Lemos, Embraer Defense and Security’s chief commercial officer, said: “Each nation is addressing its own specific requirements. So, there might be changes between one country to another country in specifications — both for the self-protection system and other capabilities such as comms.”
In December, the company announced South Korea had selected the C-390 for its Large Transport Aircraft II program. Lemos and Neto declined to say how many aircraft South Korea would be procuring or when the first platform would be delivered, but Neto said production began in Brazil in January, “and everything is running smoothly and on time for delivery of this capability to Korea.”
South Korea’s selection of the C-390 has “created a lot of buzz” for the aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region, Lemos said. In February, Embraer signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian company Mahindra to jointly pitch the C-390 for India’s Medium Transport Aircraft program.
“We are receiving a lot of interest,” Lemos said. “And the Singapore Airshow was a great opportunity to bring the airplane” to the region.
Singapore’s Chief of Air Force Maj. Gen. Kelvin Khong said in a written interview released Feb. 18 that the country’s aging, Lockheed Martin-built C-130 Hercules transport aircraft have been “reliable” in performing their designated mission, but added that the service is continually monitoring the performance of its transport fleet, “and when necessary, we will refresh, upgrade or replace the capabilities to meet our mission needs.”
Lemos said Embraer is “eager to learn more about” Singapore’s eventual plans to replace its C-130s. “We hope that the C-390 is considered in future projects for that replacement.”
Another potential customer is Sweden, which also operates C-130s, Lemos said.
“We also see a need — as with other countries in Europe — for Sweden to replace its aging fleet,” he said. “We are confident that the C-390 is one of the well-positioned options for Sweden. I cannot say anything about their process. We believe that the C-390 would address well the requirements for [Sweden’s] future airlift capabilities.”
Even with the influx of sales, Embraer still has “plenty of capacity to absorb new orders,” Neto said. “Of course … the production line is getting more busy,” but the company is “not really concerned” about lacking the necessary capacity.
“We’re definitely open to look [at] how we can expand production capability if it makes business sense and if the size of the orders justify that,” Lemos added. “We want to deliver well, fast, with quality, so any additional production line needs to be backed up with a sensible business approach.”
Topics: Global Defense Market, Air Power, International
[ad_2]
Source link