On Wednesday, February 4, 2026, the Brazilian company Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica) announced that it had signed a service agreement with the Ministry of Defence of Hungary to provide operational support, including technical and logistical services, for two C-390 Millennium transport and tanker aircraft, leveraging the company’s European presence.
Photos: Ministry of Defence of Hungary
As Embraer notes, on November 12 last year Hungary, NATO’s second operator of the C-390 aircraft after Portugal, became the first country to receive all contracted aircraft, now operating two. Since entering service in late 2024 (with delivery on September 5 of the same year), the first Hungarian aircraft has carried out a wide range of missions, achieving a mission completion rate exceeding 99%.
“This agreement marks another important step in our partnership with the Hungarian Air Force. We are committed to building a long-term relationship that ensures sustained operational excellence through comprehensive support services. Hungary has demonstrated the aircraft’s outstanding reliability and versatility, and we look forward to continuing this collaboration to meet all current and future mission requirements,” says Douglas Lobo, VP Customer Support & Aftermarket Sales, Embraer Services & Support.
The aircraft are based at the 59th Dezső Szentgyörgyi Air Base in Kecskemét, in Bács-Kiskun County, as part of the 101st Aviation Brigade. They are intended to carry out missions involving heavy cargo transport and airdrop operations, troop transport, airborne operations, medical evacuation of critically injured personnel, as well as other tasks in support of the armed forces and other public services.
The Hungarian aircraft will be the first C-390s produced to date to be equipped with an intensive care unit module dedicated to humanitarian missions and to be certified for aerial refueling of JAS 39C Gripen multirole fighters operated by the Puma Fighter Squadron.
Hungary’s Ministry of Defence of Hungary ordered both aircraft on November 17, 2020, under the Zrinyi 2026 modernization program, in the KC-390 transport-and-tanker configuration.
Meanwhile, yesterday marked the 11th anniversary of the C-390 prototype’s maiden flight. In addition to Hungary, customers that have opted for the aircraft include Brazil (19 aircraft contracted instead of the originally planned 27), Portugal (six aircraft with an option for ten more), the Netherlands (five), South Korea (three), Austria (four), the Czech Republic (two), and Sweden (four with an option for seven more), as well as an undisclosed customer (two aircraft; initially suspected to be Morocco, but according to the manufacturer’s latest information this is Uzbekistan – editor’s note). In addition, three aircraft each are expected to be ordered by Slovakia and Lithuania, although contracts have not yet been signed. The aircraft is currently being promoted on the Saudi market and in India, together with the Mahindra Group, under the MTA program, estimated at 40–80 aircraft, as well as more broadly across Asia. In summary, of the 47 production aircraft ordered to date, 14 have so far been delivered.
The aircraft is 33.5 meters long, has a wingspan of 33.9 meters, and stands 11.4 meters high. Its maximum takeoff weight is 87 metric tons, including a payload capacity of 26 metric tons. The cargo hold measures 18.5 × 3.0 × 3.4 meters. With a 23-metric ton payload, the aircraft has a range of 2,815 km. Powered by two IAE V2500-E5 turbofan engines producing 139.4 kN of thrust each, it cruises at 870 km/h and can reach a service ceiling of 11,000 meters (the Polish delegation viewed the C-390 Millennium and A-29 Super Tucano aircraft).
NEWS | Embraer Signs Service Agreement to Support Hungarian Air Force’s C-390 Millennium Fleet. Read full news: https://t.co/JL6LajB4gN pic.twitter.com/thIzDptEAW
— Embraer (@embraer) February 4, 2026