Embraer Defense & Security announced, today, during a press conference at the LAAD Defence & Security trade fair, that it is beginning to promote and sell the KC-390 military transport jet on the market.
Embraer recently concluded the Critical Design Review (CDR) of the project with the Brazilian Air Force, showing the maturity of the product and setting the definitive configuration of the aircraft, which made it possible to begin releasing information for producing the prototypes. The finalization of this important phase of the program also permitted establishing the final technical specifications, and it set the price and the delivery conditions, which opens the way to begin the commercial campaign.
"The project has firmly and consistently moved forward and, now that we have concluded the CDR, we are ready to begin holding discussions with potential customers of the aircraft," said Luiz Carlos Aguiar, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. "There is a heavy demand for replacing older aircraft in this segment of the international market."
"The KC-390 has exceeded our expectations and will bring significant operational gains to the FAB," said Lieutenant-Brigadier Juniti Saito, Commander of the Brazilian Air Force ."The excellent performance, flexibility, and optimal logistics of the aircraft will be decisive for increasing efficiency of our missions."
The KC-390 is the largest airplane ever built by the Brazilian aeronautics industry and will set a new standard for medium-sized military transport aircraft, in terms of performance and payload capacity, and it will have advanced mission and flight systems. With its 23-ton capacity and a maximum cruising speed of 465 knots (860 km/h), the KC-390 will provide significant mobility gains for its operators and will considerably reduce mission time.
The highly flexible KC-390 will be capable of fulfilling military logistical transport missions, dropping cargo and parachute troops, performing in-flight refueling of jets and helicopters, conducting search and rescue missions, and handling Medevac operations, as well as providing support for humanitarian missions. All of this comes in a single version. The KC-390 also provides the best the market has to offer for increasing the efficiency of its missions, such as the latest-generation integrated avionics, a fly-by-wire system that gets maximum performance from the aircraft, a cargo handling system that allows for a rapid reconfiguration for different types of missions, and precision for cargo drops, as well as a state-of-the-art self-protection system. Besides all of these capabilities, the KC-390 will be easy to keep up, with longer cycles between inspections and less maintenance down time, thus offering the lowest life-cycle cost in its category.
