FARNBOROUGH, England, 22 July 2010. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer signed an agreement to sell 28 KC-390 medium-sized military cargo jets to the Brazilian air force. The agreement was announced Wednesday at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England.
The Embraer KC-390, the heaviest aircraft the company has ever made, is a twin-engined military transport jet that Embraer has under development. The jet will be able to haul as much as 19 tons of cargo, including wheeled armored vehicles, and similar in size to the U.S.-built Lockheed Martin C-130J four-engine military utility turboprop.
The KC-390 will feature Computed Air Release Point (CARP) technology integrated with the fly-by-wire system for accuracy of air dropping, while reducing crew workload. Avionics of the KC-390 will feature two head-up displays and a self-defense system. The KC-390 operation will be compatible with military night vision goggles.
Embraer officials announced their development program for the KC-390 in April 2009 at the Latin America Aero and Defence (LAAD) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To date, Embraer has finished preliminary studies, and first flight of the KC-390 is set for 2014. Leaders of the Brazilian air force say they expect to deploy the new aircraft by the end of 2015.
Although the KC-390 originally was designed for a 19-ton payload capacity, Embraer officials say the aircraft should be able to achieve 23.6 tons of capacity, which might exceed that of the U.S. C-130J cargo aircraft.
The aircraft will be able to operate from short and semi-prepared runways, and its missions include carrying soldiers and cargo in environments ranging from the Antarctica to the Amazon, as well as in-flight refueling, search and rescue, and medical evacuation.
For more information contact Embraer online at www.embraer.com.
