Do Jungle Jet ao Transporte Militar Legítimo

Embraer S.A., the multinational aerospace manufacturer of commercial, military, executive, and agricultural aircraft founded in 1969 and headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, reported in October 2023 that the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) has fielded its first KC-390 Millennium—a medium-size, twin-engine, jet-powered military transport aircraft designed and produced by the Brazilian plane-maker.

Subject aircraft meets the requirements set by the National Aeronautical Authority (AAN) of Portugal and is equipped with standard NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) equipment. Integration of the NATO-standard accouterments was predicated, in part, upon an extensive flight-test campaign jointly undertaken by Embraer, the FAP, and OGMA—a Portuguese provider of aircraft Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services.

In 2019, FAP ordered five KC-390 aircraft, a comprehensive services and support agreement, and a flight simulator. The entry into service of the FAP’s inaugural KC-390 was preceded by a ceremony at Embraer’s plant in Gavião Peixoto, Brazil.

Embraer Defense & Security COO Walter Pinto Jr. remarked: “This is a wonderful time for us, as we witness the first KC-390 Millennium enter into service outside Brazil. The Portuguese Air Force is Embraer's strategic partner, having supported us since the beginning of the KC-390 Millennium's internationalization. Embraer and the Portuguese Air Force will continue working together to advance our long-term projects for years to come.”

KC-390 program supervision and monitoring mission president Brigadier General João Nogueira set forth: "The entry into service of this aircraft is significant for the Portuguese Air Force and Portugal, as it completes the development and production of a multi-value aircraft capable of the most demanding operational scenarios. The requirements set by the Portuguese Air Force have taken this aircraft to an even higher technological and capability level.”

Embraer’s C-390 Millennium is a mid-sized utility transport aircraft of a conventional high-wing, twin-jet-engine, T-tail empennage design. The aircraft evokes images of a growth-hormone deficient Boeing C-17 Globemaster III deprived of half its engines and kitted-out with an over-cockpit refueling-probe similar to that of Airbus’s A400M turboprop transport.

The C-390 is powered by a pair of 31,330-lbf. IAE V2500-E5 turbofan engines mounted forward of the aircraft’s high wing. So motivated, the aircraft manages a 533-knot (0.799 Mach) maximum speed, a 470-knot (0.70 Mach) cruise speed, and an unremarkable service-ceiling of FL360. The C-390’s 191,800-pound maximum takeoff weight comprises a 77,161-pound empty weight, a 57,320-pound payload, and a standard fuel capacity of 50,700-pounds.

Founded in 1983 for the express purpose of developing a turbine engine conducive to the needs of the 150-seat single-aisle aircraft market, International Aero Engines (IAE) is a Zürich-registered joint venture of Pratt & Whitney, Germany’s MTU Aero Engines AG, and the Japanese Aero Engine Corporation. The company’s V2500 turbofan engine is among the world’s most popular aircraft powerplants and can be found slung beneath the wings of Airbus’s A320 family.

To the subject of wings, Embraer provisioned the C-390 with an elegant and efficient high-main-wing featuring a conspicuous anhedral angle, slats, and high-lift devices capable of deploying to 40-degrees deflection. The design affords the C-390 a degree of agility rare in cargo aircraft and occasions excellent low-speed manners—to include a leisurely 104-knot Vso stall-speed.

The two, dual-axle main assemblies of the C-390’s  undercarriage retract into bilateral sponsons affixed to the lower, underwing aspect of the aircraft’s fuselage. The single-axle nose-wheel is steerable via a flight-deck tiller. Tires are of the low-pressure (85-psi) variety. Collectively, the architecture facilitates operations from soft, unpaved ground, austere airstrips, and damaged runways.

The C-390’s two-pilot crew interface with the aircraft via dual active sidesticks commanding a fully fly-by-wire flight-control system. Power-management is by dint of a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) scheme and autothrottles.

The C-390’s flight deck is handsomely appointed with Rockwell Collins’s Pro Line Fusion avionics suite, twin head-up displays, and enhanced vision. The aircraft’s Thales Group-supplied navigational system includes INS, GPS, and TCAS. The jet’s SELEX Galileo Gabbiano tactical radar is capable of Ground Moving-Target Indication (GMTI), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR), and Search And Rescue Radar Transponder (SART) modes.

By way of self-defense, the C-390 sports an Elbit Systems-supplied directional infrared countermeasures suite.

The C-390’s hold measures 61-feet in length, 11-feet-four-inches in width, nine-feet-eight-inches in height, and is accessed primarily via a large rear-ramp integrated with the aircraft’s aft-lower fuselage. The aircraft can be configured to perform missions the likes of troop, VIP, and cargo transportation, and aerial refueling (as a tanker). Fully-loaded, the C-390 can carry payloads such as two fully-tracked M113 armored personnel carriers, one Boxer armored vehicle, a Sikorsky H-60 helicopter, 74 litters with corresponding life-support equipment, up to eighty soldiers or 66 paratroopers in full gear. Loads of up to 42,000-pounds can be air dropped from the aircraft’s rear-door.

The air-to-air refueling (AAR) configuration, designated the KC-390, has proved eminently capable during operations with the Brazilian Air Force. The model, by dint of left-and-right-side underwing pods, is capable of and authorized to refuel several types of fighter aircraft as well as fellow KC-390s.

Portugal is Embraer’s largest C-390 program international partner. In addition to Portugal, C-390s are or will imminently serve in the air forces of  Brazil, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

Since entering service with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019, the C-390 has proven capable and reliable. The service’s current fleet of five aircraft—all in the KC-390 aerial refueling configuration—has accumulated north of 8,900-flight-hours with a mission-readiness rate of approximately eighty-percent and a mission-completion rate exceeding 99-percent.

FMI: www.embraer.com