This Wednesday (01), the Brazilian Air Force received another KC-390 Millennium aircraft, the fifth in the fleet. The multi-mission freighter manufactured by Embraer was delivered in a ceremony held at Anápolis Air Force Base (Ala 2).
The ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro, the Minister of Defense Walter Braga Netto, the Commander of the FAB Air Force Lieutenant-Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Jr. and other authorities.
Now, the KC 390 de registration FAB 2857 becomes part of the fleet of the 1st Troop Transport Group, the Zeus Squadron. The 60th Activation Anniversary of the 1st GTT was also celebrated at the ceremony.
At the ceremony, the Chalice of Olympus was handed over to the pilots of the second group of the KC-390 Millennium aircraft. In addition, the award of Honorary Zeus of the Order of the Millennium took place.
The tribute was created to recognize those who contributed to the process of deployment, development, and operational performance of the KC-390 aircraft in the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
Before going to Anápolis, the President participated in an event at the Brasília Air Force Base (Ala 1) to sign an update of the FAB Graduate Personnel Regulations.
The president @jairbolsonaro edited the Decree that amends the Regulation of the Graduate Personnel of the Air Force (Decree No. 3.690, of 2000).
What does this mean in practice ❓
ADVERTISING ✅ Adequacy of subspecialties to the usual technological changes currently observed. pic.twitter.com/eu6UOjeAv8
— Ministry of Defense (@DefesaGovBr) December 1, 2021
“It is a great honor to be here in another moment that marks the history of the Brazilian Air Force, equipping and renewing its fleet. Especially since it comes from 100% Brazilian technology. This is really good for all of us.”, emphasized President Bolsonaro.
At the event, the President of the Republic baptized the KC-390 FAB 2857 aircraft with a bottle of sparkling wine, accompanied by the Minister of Defense and the Air Force Commander.
The first KC-390, the FAB 2853, was delivered to the unit in September 2019, in a ceremony that was also attended by Bolsonaro. The fourth aircraft, the FAB 2856, was delivered on December 19, 2020, with the fifth arriving today, just under a year after the last delivery.
new and operational
Since entering service, the KC-390 has operated “non-stop”, demonstrating great availability within the scope of Operation COVID-19.
The aircraft transported a number of materials, including liquid and gaseous oxygen, field hospitals, supplies, medicines, PPE and others. The KC-390 is also the first FAB plane to transport vaccines within the country.
In Amazonas, the aircraft was also used to transport a series of heavy-duty construction vehicles at Estirão Airport in Ecuador, on the border with Peru. Among the heaviest loads were an excavator weighing more than 21 tons.
Millennium was also employed in a recent humanitarian mission to Haiti. In all, 15,5 tons of food, medicine, solar s were taken in two different trips, as well as a search and rescue team. In Colombia, the aircraft was used to drop paratroopers during the multinational exercise Ángel de Los Andes III. In addition, the KC-390 also showed 100% availability throughout the training.
In a short time, the KC-390 will also be performing in-flight refueling missions, multiplying the capabilities of the F-5M Tiger II, A-1M, H-36 Caracal and, in the future, F-39 Gripen aircraft.
Delivery amid order reduction
While celebrating the receipt of the 5th aircraft, the FAB is also working on amending the contract signed in 2014. For budgetary reasons, the Air Force decided to reduce the number of planes acquired from 28 to 15 units.
Also in May, the renegotiation of the contract was announced. The two parties talked, but Embraer did not accept the Air Force Command's proposal. On the same day that the cut in the contract was announced, Embraer published a note stating that it will seek legal action on the case.
In addition to Brazil, Portugal and Hungary have already acquired Embraer's multimission freighter. Last week, the first Portuguese Air Force KC-390 crew completed his training with the FAB. Also in November the manufacturer started the production of the first of two aircraft for the Hungarian Air Force.
At the end of October it was revealed that the Italy would also be interested in the KC-390. In contrast, Brasilia would like to acquire 8×8 armored vehicles from Iveco.
If you want to know more about the KC-390, check out the videos below, produced by us at Portal Aeroflap.
