Embraer reached yet another milestone in the development program of the KC-390, a military transport jet currently operated by the Brazilian Air Force (FAB), the in-flight refueling of two aircraft of the type.
The test flights were carried out at the Gavião Peixoto unit with two of the test planes and were supported by the FAB.
The KC-390 has a receptacle for refueling by a probe, which is installed in sub-wing pods. According to Embraer, the aircraft “is unique in this category, which allows the operators of the KC-390 Millennium to expand the capacity of logistical transportation and search and rescue operations, increasing the autonomy and scope of their missions.”
Millennium, as it is also called the twin-engine jet, has more precise fly-by-wire flight controls that allow this type of operation to be performed with great efficiency.
“The certification flight of the two KC-390s is an important milestone in the project. The piloting characteristics of the aircraft with the developed law were well suited and intuitive to the pilot, allowing precise piloting, which increases the chances of success in the flight refueling mission, which in itself already has operational difficulties related to the nature of the mission. with an aircraft the size of the KC-390,” said Colonel Aviator Marcelo Zampier Bussmann, director of the Air Force’s Flight Research and Test Institute.
Four KC-390 aircraft are currently in operation in the Brazilian Air Force and have already accumulated 2,400 flight hours.
