After several years of tests carried out, the Embraer KC-390 Millennium aircraft is finally approved and prepared to meet all project requirements.
The planemaker celebrated on April 3 having achieved Full Operational Capability (FOC), a certificate that proves that the airlifter can perform all the missions for which it was designed.
The FOC certificate for the KC-390 was issued by the Institute of Industrial Development and Coordination (IFI), an agency linked to the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA) of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
Follow ADN: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
The KC-390 already had the Type Certificate from ANAC (Brazilian Civil Aviation Agency) since 2018, which attested to the operational safety of the aircraft. The first plane was delivered in 2019 to the Air Force, but it was necessary to obtain full certification.
“This certificate places the C-390 in a select group of aircraft in the world,” says Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense and Security.
Multi-mission aircraft
As seen in recent years, the KC-390 has gone through a series of evaluations. The plane participated in launches of paratroopers and cargo in flight, performed aerial refueling tests, transported heavy vehicles, tested the new fire-fighting mechanism, among other tests.
According to Embraer, the process to obtain the FOC required more than 3,400 flight hours with the KC-390 test aircraft in different operational conditions.
“The C-390 is redefining the military airlift and refueling space, challenging the thinking behind current and future platforms generationr”, said the CEO of Embraer Defense and Security.
Recognized as a military certificate, the FOC of the KC-390 in Brazil paves the way for the approval of the aircraft in other countries, explained the CEO of Embraer Defense and Security. “All countries that happen to buy the KC-390 will take credit for this certification made of the basic platform.”
In addition to proving the KC-390’s functionality for the different missions envisaged in the original project, the FOC certificate is also important to establish training and maintenance programs for the plane.
This certification process starts during aircraft development and continues when the first aircraft are delivered to the operator.
6th KC-390 for the Brazilian Air Force
At the ceremony held at Embraer’s facilities, in Gavião Peixoto, the 6th airlifter of the Brazilian Air Force, its main customer, was presented.
The Brazilian government participates in the investment in the development of the aircraft and ordered 28 KC-390s, a total reduced to 19 planes last year, during the previous management at the Air Force Command.
The new aircraft received registration FAB 2858, but there is still no known date for its official delivery.
