Colombia Orders Two Embraer KC-390 Millennium Tanker Transport Aircraft

Colombia has signed a contract with Embraer to acquire two KC-390 Millennium multi-mission aircraft, becoming the second South American country after Brazil to do so.

The deal, with an undisclosed value and delivery timeline, also covers mission equipment, an integrated services and support package, and a comprehensive offset program.

Once delivered, the Fuerza Aeroespacial Colombiana (FAC) will deploy the aircraft for a range of missions, including cargo and troop transport, air-to-air refueling, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief.

KC-390 will also join the other Embraer-made aircraft in service with the FAC, such as the A-29 Super Tucano, and operate alongside the country’s incoming Gripen fighters.

“This choice reinforces a partnership that spans more than 35 years, dating back to the FAC’s acquisition of its first Embraer aircraft, an EMB-312 Tucano followed by the A-29 Super Tucano,” said Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security.

KC-390 Millennium

The KC-390 is the aerial refueling and transport variant of Embraer’s twin-engine C-390 military transport aircraft.

Both share the same core airframe and performance specifications, including a payload capacity of up to 26 tons, a top speed of 470 knots (870 kilometers/540 miles per hour), and the ability to operate from paved and unpaved runways.

Several countries operate or have ordered the aircraft, including Austria, Czechia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, and Sweden in Europe, as well as South Korea, the UAE, and Uzbekistan in Asia.

Embraer is also eyeing the US Air Force market, partnering with Northrop Grumman in February to position the KC-390 for potential US military tanker and transport requirements.

Source: The Defence Post