Embraer’s C-390 Millennium multi-mission
aircraft has received the Full Operational Capability (FOC)
certification.
Issued by the Institute of Industrial Development and
Coordination (IFI in Portuguese), the Brazilian body responsible
for certifying aircraft for military purposes, the FOC Certificate
confirms that the project meets all the requirements defined by
the Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian Air Force / FAB) and that the aircraft can carry out all
the missions for which
it was designed.
“This certificate places the
C-390 in a select group of aircraft in the world,” said Bosco da
Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense and Security.
“It is an unique moment in Embraer’s history. The C-390 is
redefining the military airlift and refueling space, challenging
the thinking behind current and future generation platforms. Air
forces around the world are focused on matching their
ever-evolving operational needs with their budgets, seeking a
platform that can perform multiple missions, recognizing that
today’s choice will affect their operational capabilities
tomorrow.”
As part of the development and certification
process, around 3,500 hours were flown on the prototype aircraft
under the most varied operating conditions, and another 85,000
hours were performed using laboratory test benches and devices.
The C-390 can carry 26 tons and fly at 470 knots.
It is designed to perform a wide range of missions such as
transporting and dropping cargo and troops, medical evacuation,
search and rescue, firefighting and humanitarian missions. It can
also operate on temporary or unpaved runways (i.e. including
packed earth, soil and gravel).
In its refueling version, the aircraft can not
only supply fuel to another aircraft but can even receive fuel
from another KC-390 using pods installed under the wings.
“This is the
KC-390, the aircraft that embodies the true meaning of the word
“perseverance”. Wherever it is, there will be the Brazilian State;
there will be the order and progress of a nation that aligns
itself with the idea that the full development of democracy cannot
dispense with inviolable sovereignty. Finally, I wish that these
feelings of “brazilianness” and pride, which we now experience,
will emerge in each citizen, when contemplating the skies and
verifying that the “wings that protect and integrate the country”
and Embraer are heading united in the purpose of ensuring a solid
future with the strategic stature of our beloved Brazil,” said Air
Force Commander, Lieutenant-Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno at
the ceremony.
Embraer has also commenced the delivery process of the sixth C-390
to FAB,
the first in the FOC configuration. The aircraft which have already
been
delivered to the Brazilian Air Force will be updated to have the
certification, and all aircraft to be exported will also have the certification.
FAB’s current fleet of five
aircraft, all in the aerial refueling version,
has already accumulated more than 8,200 flight hours.
The C-390 Millennium has orders from
Portugal and Hungary, both NATO member countries. Netherlands,
also a member of NATO, selected the C-390 Millennium in 2022.
