The C-390 Millennium multi-mission tactical freighter Embraer completed another stage of its development. The manufacturer, in partnership with the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), certified the aircraft to operate on gravel runways.
The certification for “operation on semi-prepared gravel pavements” was concluded this month, according to a video published by Embraer itself this Monday (29). The images were released almost 1 year after the company published the first tests on an unpaved track.
The tests were conducted at Embraer's own facilities, in Gavião Peixoto (SP), where the company built a dirt track 2100 meters long, 1200 of which “dedicated to the gravel pavement with the objective of evaluating take-offs and landings in this type of terrain.”
This same space, built in 2021, was used to certify model operations on dirt tracks. Embraer used the second prototype of the C-390 (PT-ZNJ) for the evaluations.
The C-390 (also called KC-390) is the largest military aircraft developed in Latin America. Five aircraft are in operation with the FAB, divided between two squadrons: Zeus, in Anápolis, and Gordo, in Rio de Janeiro. A sixth aircraft is expected to be delivered in September.
Embraer and FAB are experiencing friction, as the Air Force Command has reduced the original order from 28 to 22 aircraft, and want to remove one more unit.
At the same time, the company continues to promote the aircraft on the international market. The C-390 is being presented in thailand and will still be shown in a air show in Austria in the next days. The aircraft was also featured in the Royal International Air Tattoo, in the United Kingdom.
Embraer currently has 11 firm export orders: five for Portugal, four to The Netherlands and two for Hungary.
