The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNAF) is in a hurry to receive its future C-390 Millennium, Embraer’s new airlifter that will replace the old C-130 Hercules turboprops.
Although the European country declared the Brazilian aircraft the winner of the competition for a new tactical transport aircraft in June of 2022, to date the contract has not been signed.
One of the reasons was Austria’s accession to the agreement in 2023, which provides for nine aircraft, five of which are for the Netherlands.
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In a letter to parliament, Dutch Defense Secretary Christophe van der Maat stated that the delay will result in a lower acquisition value.
Program will cost 1.7 billion euros
On the other hand, he expects the first Dutch C-390 to be delivered at the end of 2027 and the others by 2029. The Air Force’s initial plan was to add the jets between 2031 and 2033.
The Netherlands even aimed to have the aircraft earlier, in 2026, but negotiations went on longer than expected and the goal is no longer achievable.
The cost of the project, according to van der Maat, reaches 1.7 billion euros, or around US$1.83 billion.
As well as the Netherlands and Austria, other European nations have chosen the C-390 Millennium to modernize their transport wings such as Portugal, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
