The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) will receive two KC-390 aircraft by the end of 2018. The information was confirmed by Embraer during LAAD Defense & Security, held in Rio de Janeiro this month. The director of the KC-390 program, Paulo Gastão Silva, explained that the contract, signed in 2014, involves the delivery of 28 aircraft by 2030.
According to the manufacturer, one of the aircraft, the first in the series to be delivered, is in the process of assembling the fuselage and wing, and the second has already been started. In addition, two prototypes are currently being used for testing, and together they accumulate more than 900 flight hours. “The test results confirm the project’s predictions. Our tests are carried out jointly with the Brazilian Air Force and the Army, “explained Silva.
Embraer and FAB are expected to complete the aircraft certification by the end of this year, which will be the most advanced and heavyweight ever developed by Brazilian industry. One of the tests that the freighter must undergo this year is air refueling of helicopters. The KC-390 should also be present at the Paris Air Show (Le Bourget) in June of this year.
On a civil variant of the plane, Gaston Silva said that the idea was always part of the plans of the program. “This interest is already happening and we must also compete in this market share. But I can not give more details, “he said.
Present at the press conference, Embraer President and CEO Embraer Defense and Security Jackson Schneider said that the delivery of the two aircraft for next year will happen in stages. An airplane arrives in the first half of 2018 and the next in the second half of the same year. Schneider also said that three planes are under development to be delivered in the course of 2019.
