DUBAI AIR SHOW — A top official at Brazilian aerospace company Embraer said the firm no longer plans to pursue opening a final assembly line for the company’s C-390 Millennium airlifter in Saudi Arabia, opting instead to seek a similar facility in the UAE.
During a press conference here on Monday, Bosco da Costa Jr., the CEO of Embraer’s defense business, revealed that the company was in talks to expand into the UAE with a C-390 “completion center,” or final assembly line, that would serve the country and greater region. But that meant a previously discussed center in Saudi Arabia would not go ahead.
“Of course, we have a strong relationship in Saudi Arabia, and even a good relationship here as well,” Costa said. “But to be honest with you, my perspective is that for the C-390, there is no way to have two completion centers in the region. That’s my reading.”
Embraer in 2023 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Arabian Military Industries regarding a plan to expand into Saudi Arabia with a focus on the C-390, including potentially establishing a regional MRO plant and a Millennium final assembly facility in the kingdom. The C-390 final assembly line, in particular, would sweeten the deal for a potential acquisition of the airlifter by Riyadh.
It’s unclear how the move will affect KSA’s search for a new airlifter, which has been expected to be a choice between the C-390 and the Lockheed Martin-made C-130J Super Hercules.
The UAE does not currently fly the C-390, nor does any military in the region, but the new center would be the latest in an effort to increase the company’s presence here. Also on Monday, Embraer inked memoranda of understanding with the Emirati firms AMMROC and GAL with a particular emphasis on C-390 sustainment and training. And Costa said Embraer “would like to do more.”
Elsewhere in the world the Brazilian manufacturer has notched a number of wins, though the firm has yet to clinch a key customer: the United States. Embraer has pitched a final assembly line in the US for the C-390 as part of a potential American acquisition, which Costa emphasized is still on the table.
Company officials are “100 percent serious” about investing in an American final assembly line “if we have a case over there,” Costa reiterated. The firm has pitched the airlifter as a key enabler for moving cargo in austere environments, as well as a potential tanker. For an air refueling role, the company is studying how to incorporate a boom refueling rod, which Costa said “will be a gamechanger for us in the US as well.”
Embraer previously partnered with L3Harris to expand into the US, but the partnership fell apart last year, Breaking Defense reported.
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