The C-390 Millennium multi-mission jet program, from embraer, achieved today a historic milestone in world aviation. In a ceremony held at the Gavião Peixoto Unit, in São Paulo, with the presence of the High Command of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), the aircraft received the Final Type Certificate, reflecting its Full Operational Capability (FOC, in the acronym in English).
Issued by IFI (Instituto de Fomento Industrial), a military organization linked to the DCTA (Department of Aerospace Science and Technology) and the body responsible for certifying aircraft for military use, the FOC certificate confirms that the project meets all the requirements defined by the FAB and that the aircraft is capable of performing all the missions for which it was designed.
“This certificate places the C-390 in a select group of aircraft in the world”, says Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense and Security.
“It is a unique moment in Embraer's history. The C-390 is redefining military and resupply airlift, challenging the thinking behind currently available platforms. Air forces around the world are focused on optimizing the relationship between their operational needs and their budgets, and the C-390 is the right aircraft to meet this equation.”
Developed under the strict operational requirements of the FAB, the genesis of the C-390 is in the triple propeller model, the culmination of the union of the greatest minds from academia, industry and the state.
As part of the development and certification process, around 3.500 hours were flown in the prototype aircraft under the most varied operational conditions, and another 85.000 hours were performed using laboratory test benches and devices. The result, after years of development, testing and certification, is a design established to the highest industry standards.
“This is the KC-390, the aircraft that embodies the true meaning of the word “perseverance”. Wherever it is, there will be the Brazilian State; there will be the order and progress of a nation that aligns itself with the idea that the full development of democracy cannot do without inviolable sovereignty. Finally, I wish that these feelings of Brazilianness and pride, which we now experience, will surface in each citizen, when contemplating the skies and ing that the “wings that protect and integrate the country” and Embraer are heading united in the purpose of ensuring a future consistent with the strategic stature of our beloved Brazil”, Air Force Commander, Lieutenant-Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno said at the ceremony.
At the same event, Embraer began the delivery process to the FAB of the sixth unit of the C-390, the first in the FOC configuration. The other aircraft already delivered to the FAB will now be updated to be able to operate with their full capabilities. In addition, all aircraft to be exported will be able to receive these capabilities.
The C-390 is the most modern military tactical transport aircraft of the new generation, and its multi-mission platform offers incomparable mobility, combining high productivity and operating flexibility with low operating costs, which is an unbeatable combination.
The C-390 can carry more payload (26 tons) compared to other medium-sized military cargo aircraft and flies faster (470 knots) and farther, being capable of performing 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 (i.e. including packed earth, soil and gravel).
In its refueling version, the aircraft has already proven its capacity for aerial refueling, as well as an aircraft receiving fuel from another KC-390 from pods installed under the wings, being the only aircraft in the world in the segment to carry out such an operation.
Since entering into operation at the FAB in 2019, the C-390 has proven its capacity, reliability and performance.
The current fleet of five aircraft, all in the aerial refueling version, called KC-390, has already accumulated more than 8.200 flight hours and recent figures show an operational availability of around 80%, with a mission completion rate above 99% , demonstrating exceptional productivity in the category. The C-390 Millennium has orders from Portugal and Hungary, both NATO member countries. The Netherlands, also a member of NATO, selected the C-390 Millennium in 2022.
Street: Embraer
