India’s Financial Express revealed that Embraer and representatives of the Indian Air Force (IAF) have started talks about offering the C-390 Millennium airlifter to the Asian country.
To the Airway, Embraer acknowledged the conversations with the IAF, but stressed that there are still no negotiations in progress.
According to the Indian outlet, a possible agreement between the Brazilian manufacturer and the IAF could involve Indian suppliers of components for the C-390.
“We believe with the right Indian partner and the right approach, we will be able to deliver for India the best solution even integrating in the plane Indian products, capacities and capabilities for the plane,” said Jackson Schneider, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Safety.
Schneider also pointed out that “India is a great market it is one of the countries that we are close to geopolitically. I was representing Brazil in the BRICS chapter and I engaged in many talks with India. India has in defense a very complimentary industry. We are very open to discussing and doing more things together. As we did in the past, we are open to seeing both countries developing things together, and developing solutions together.”
The joint work mentioned by the CEO of Embraer’s military products division is the design of the NETRA AEW&C, the Indian version of the Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft based on the ERJ 145 jet. The surveillance jet has been in service with the IAF since 2017.
So far, Embraer has 29 orders for the KC/C-390: five aircraft for the Portuguese air force (in the KC-390 version) and two more (C-390) for the Hungarian air force, in addition to 22 aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force (which has already received five aircraft in the KC-390 configuration, capable of carrying out aerial refueling missions).
However, the FAB Commander has already expressed his intention to reduce the order to just 15 aircraft for budgetary reasons.
