“We see a lot of potential for the K-390 in Poland with the growth of forces, the needs for logistics and rapid employment of capabilities,” said Embraer’s Chief Marketing Officer Marcio Monteiro.
The Air Force plans to use the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus’s Capability Production Document “as the most affordable requirements basis” for the new program, potentially giving the embattled aerospace manufacturer a leg up in a competition.
Six companies have already signed up for a new flight-test program to mature their autonomy software.
Breaking Defense takes a look at the Embraer KC-390 for this video report on the refueling tanker/cargo plane that can be built in the U.S.A.
Lithuania becomes the 11th announced buyer for the Embraer-made plane.
Portugal also added 10 options for future buys, while the Dutch hold options on seven further aeromedical modules.
Sweden's order increases global KC-390 sales to 42 units overall, largely based on a variety of European orders that also include the Czech Republic, Hungary and Portugal.
As aircraft shrink, threats expand, and technology accelerates, aircraft engines must iterate along with the threats.
Should the Air Force say "'we're going to move now with NGAS....[or] If they say 'we have reassessed, and our plans will be different, we [at Embraer] need to adjust that investment timeline" accordingly, said Frederico Lemos, Embraer Defense and Security chief commercial officer.
Speaking to Breaking Defense, Andrew Hunter said that the CCA loyal wingman program is proof the Air Force can move forward in new directions.
Slovakian fixed wing air transport capabilities are currently covered by seven aging L-410 light and two Leonardo C-27J Spartan medium tactical lift platforms, but both are due to be cut from service under a new transport aviation replacement effort.
“This strategy to become a supplier of the US government is not a project that I have created inside of my business unit only. It is a 'One Embraer' approach,” Embraer Defense and Security CEO Bosco da Costa Jr told Breaking Defense.
Explore how networked warfare, AI, and 3D-printed drones are reshaping US Indo-Pacific strategy.
“Aerospace cooperation is important to both Sweden and Brazil. The new letter of intent provides a basis for us to further deepen this cooperation,” Swedish Minister for Defence Pål Jonson said in a statement.
“I think it’s fair to say that the L3 partnership is not there anymore for the agile tanker,” Embraer Defense and Security CEO Bosco da Costa Jr. told Breaking Defense. “They decided not to move on [it] because of other priorities.”
Last year, Sweden decided to reassess how to move forward with a replacement of six Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules after an attempt to procure used C-130J Super Hercules unexpectedly failed to meet requirements.
Dutch State Secretary of Defence Christophe Van der Maat said that an original 2026 delivery timeline “turned out not to be feasible due to cooperation with Austria and negotiations with the manufacturer.”