Embraer enters the Paris Airshow following several important achievements this year, but the expansion of the company’s footprint in Europe ranks among the most significant for its defense and security division.
Receipt of the final type certificate for the C-390 Millennium multi-mission jet transport program in April marked perhaps the most noteworthy step toward its European market expansion. The approval officially confirms the aircraft’s full operational capability (FOC) to perform all the missions specified in its design requirements, lending further credibility to a program that has already borne the fruits of intensive sales efforts on the continent.
“The C-390 has already started a successful international career, with orders from Portugal and Hungary, and more recently the selection by the Netherlands, and we are sure that obtaining the FOC certificate will be another differential for the success of our marketing campaigns,” proclaimed Embraer Defense & Security CEO Bosco da Costa Junior during April’s Latin American Aerospace and Defense exposition (LAAD).
The Gripen Connection
Embraer’s development as a major defense player in the world market received a major boost with the 2014 selection by the Brazilian air force (Força Aérea Brasileira, FAB) of the Swedish Saab FAS-39E/F Gripen for the FX-2/FX-BR program. The contract called for the establishment of a production line in Brazil, which the company inaugurated on May 9 at its manufacturing site at Gavião Peixoto in São Paulo state. This facility also houses the Gripen Design and Development Network (GDDN) and the Gripen Flight Test Center (GFTC) and is the only production site for the Gripen E outside of Sweden.
The original 2014 agreement called for the supply of 36 F-39E/F aircraft (the designation of the type in FAB service), 28 single-seat E models and eight two-seat F versions. Four of the F-39E models already operate with the FAB.
Saab officials describe the Gripen license-production program as the largest ongoing technology transfer project in the country. The companies now expect to expand their cooperation with an April signing at LAAD of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on some new business opportunities. Those enhanced engagements include the integration of Saab equipment on-board the KC-390.
“Our two companies have worked together to deliver an outstanding capability for Brazil that will last for decades,” said Saab president and CEO Micael Johansson. “This MoU is an important and gratifying step toward growing that cooperation into new areas between Saab and Embraer that goes beyond Brazil, while maximizing our existing achievements.”
Super Tucano for Europe
Separately, Embraer has proposed its Super Tucano turboprop attack aircraft for several mission profiles, one to replace aging Russian helicopters in use by armed services of former Warsaw Pact nations that are now NATO members.
Before Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s procurement officials had evaluated the Embraer platform in place of the NATO aspirant’s Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters and as a supplement to its close-air support platform.
Unfortunately for Embraer, the effort came to a halt with the beginning of the war. “Embraer conducted a demonstration to the Ukrainian Air Force with the A-29 Super Tucano, as happens with many countries in the world all the time, but currently we don’t have any negotiations to supply the aircraft to Ukraine,” da Costa told AIN.
The Embraer official also noted that the company recently launched the A-29N variant. “As we see many application possibilities for the aircraft, several European countries have shown interest in specific aircraft capabilities that we have now introduced with this version, which will include equipment and features to fulfill NATO’s operational requirements,” he explained.
That equipment includes “a new datalink and single-pilot operation” on certain missions, allowing, for example, its use in joint terminal attack controller training missions.
“Training devices will also be upgraded to the world’s most demanding standards, including virtual, augmented, and mixed reality,” concluded da Costa.