On Monday, July 6, 2026, in the afternoon, the first of two C-390 Millennium medium transport aircraft produced by Brazil’s Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica) for the 242nd Transport and Special Aviation Squadron of the Czech Air Force, part of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, landed at Václav Havel Airport Prague. The unit is based at the Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk 24th Transport Air Base at Prague-Kbely.
Armády České republiky via X
The aircraft, carrying the temporary registration PT-CNM, departed Embraer’s factory airfield at Gavião Peixoto in the Brazilian state of São Paulo on July 4, making a transatlantic flight with two stopovers. After a stop at Václav Havel Airport Prague, it was transferred to Prague-Kbely airfield.
The aircraft made its first flight in mid-May this year, according to information published on May 19. Within the 242nd Squadron, the two C-390s will complement six smaller Airbus C295MW medium transport aircraft and four Turbolet L 410 UVP E-20 light aircraft.
In addition, as part of NATO cooperation, the Czech Republic has access to Boeing C-17A Globemaster III heavy transport aircraft operated by the transport squadron based at Pápa Air Base in Hungary under the NATO Airlift Management Programme, as well as Airbus A330-200 MRTT (Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport) tanker-transport aircraft belonging to the NATO MMF (Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet) consortium.
It should be recalled that the Brazilian design was selected by the Czech Ministry of Defence on October 16, 2023, although Prague had been interested in the new Brazilian transport aircraft for a decade, having signed a letter of intent in April 2013. On October 25, 2024, a contract worth 11.3 billion CZK was signed for the delivery of two aircraft, together with a comprehensive training and support package to ensure their smooth integration into the Air Force.
The contract was preceded by an Industrial Cooperation Agreement (ICA) with the Czech Ministry of Defence and the companies AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE and LOM Praha, concluded on October 2 this year, with a total value of 1.89 billion CZK. In 2025, the former sent components manufactured for the assembly of the Czech C-390s to Brazil.
In addition to Czechia, since 2014 Embraer has received orders for the C-390 Millennium from Brazil, which contracted 19 aircraft instead of the originally planned 27; Portugal, with six aircraft and an option for 10 more; the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with five; Austria, with four; the Republic of Korea, with three; Hungary, with two; Sweden, with four and an option for seven more; an undisclosed customer, with two aircraft, initially suspected to be Morocco but, according to the manufacturer’s latest information, understood to be Uzbekistan; and the United Arab Emirates, with 10 aircraft and an option for 10 more. In addition, Slovakia and Lithuania are each expected to order three aircraft, although contracts have not yet been signed. Vilnius, however, postponed its decision until after 2030 in January 2026 and will modernize its C-27J Spartan aircraft by 2036. Greece recently announced a decision to purchase three aircraft.
The aircraft are currently being promoted on the Saudi market, in India together with Mahindra Group under the MTA program, estimated at 40–80 aircraft, and across the broader Asian market. Together with Northrop Grumman, the aircraft is also being offered in the United States as an aerial tanker equipped with a boom. In total, out of 47 serial production aircraft ordered, 14 have been delivered so far, while the fleet has already logged more than 20,000 flight hours.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the aircraft is being offered in Poland under the Drop program, where the manufacturer has established cooperation with Military Aviation Works No. 2 in Bydgoszcz. However, during the NATO Summit in Ankara today, the Ministry of National Defence announced that Poland would join the development of an Allied fleet of Airbus A400M-180 Atlas transport aircraft.
Vítej doma! 🇨🇿
Do České republiky přiletěl letoun C-390 Millennium. Každý nový stroj znamená větší schopnosti přepravy vojáků, techniky i materiálu tam, kde je potřeba.✈️ pic.twitter.com/gRnle3L35t
— Armáda ČR (@ArmadaCR) July 6, 2026