Rwanda in advanced talks to acquire KC-390 Airlifter, according to the commander of the Brazilian Air Force. The C-390 Millennium is a medium-size, twin-engine, jet-powered military transport aircraft designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
South Africa, Austria, South Korea, Egypt, India, Czech Republic, Rwanda and Sweden were listed among the potential new customers of the airlifter
The Commander of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, participated earlier this month in a public hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in which he revealed the countries that are in negotiations to acquire the KC-390 Millennium airlifter from Embraer.
Some of the nations mentioned in the public hearing had already declared on previous occasions that they are evaluating the KC-390, cases of Austria, India, Sweden, South Korea and the Czech Republic, which is a strategic partner of Embraer’s program.
The new potential customers of the aircraft disclosed at the time are South Africa, Egypt and Rwanda, countries with which the manufacturer has “very advanced talks”, as stated by the Air Force Commander.
In addition to being ordered by the FAB, which is also participating in its development, the KC-390 also has firm orders from Portugal (five units) and Hungary (two units). Another country that selected the Embraer military plane was the Netherlands, which should confirm the purchase of five aircraft by the end of this year.
In each of these instances, the Millennium was selected as a replacement for Lockheed Martin’s outdated collection of C-130 Hercules turboprop aircraft.
Lieutenant-Brigadier Damasceno expressed his confidence, stating, “Given the global demand for this aircraft, we anticipate even higher sales compared to our current figures.” He further revealed that there will be forthcoming announcements regarding significant sales of the KC-390 in the near future.
KC-390 delivery schedule for Brazil
Another revealing piece of information disclosed at the hearing was the updated delivery schedule of the KC-390 to the FAB, which should extend until 2034. The Air Force, which received the first aircraft in 2019, ordered 19 multirole jets (out of a total of 28 originally agreed) .
Commander Damasceno states that the Air Force currently operates six aircraft of this particular type, although the official confirmation of the delivery of the sixth aircraft with the FOC configuration from Embraer is pending.
The Air Force will receive the remaining aircraft at a rate of one unit per year until 2033, and the final two aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in 2034.
