On Friday, February 14, 2025, the Brazilian company Embraer (Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica) announced that assembly has begun at its Gavião Peixoto facility in São Paulo state on the first of four C-390 Millennium medium jet transport aircraft ordered by Austria for its Air Force (Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte). A delegation from the Austrian government and Ministry of Defense was present at the event.
Photos and images: Embraer
“We’re thrilled to start production of first aircraft for Austria and we look forward to delivering the first aircraft to the Austrian Air Force soon. The C-390 is setting new standards as a medium airlift, truly multi-mission aircraft. It offers an unbeatable combination of the latest technology, reliability, and low operational costs, with unmatched performance”, said Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security.
It is worth noting that Austria ordered these aircraft together with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which decided to acquire five units. The three-party agreement was signed on July 22, 2024, during the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom (notably, on February 12 of this year, the Kingdom of the Netherlands ordered a full flight and mission simulator, as well as a cargo trainer for its fleet from the German group Rheinmetall AG, which is Embraer’s European partner). Deliveries for Austria are expected to begin at the turn of 2026 and 2027.
On September 20, 2023, the Austrian Ministry of Defense decided to purchase four C-390 aircraft, which will replace its three C-130K Hercules. The future contract was estimated at approximately 600 million EUR. Earlier, on August 10 of the same year, the Ministry of Defense spokesperson Michael Bauer announced that Letter of Request (LoR) had been sent out regarding the procurement of 4 to 5 medium transport aircraft.
Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner stated that the Brazilian offer was the only one that met Austria’s operational requirements, which included a single-fleet system, a minimum payload capacity of 20 tons, and the ability to conduct aerial refueling using hose-and-drogue pods. The request for proposal was sent to 29 countries. On March 28, 2023, Austrian representatives attended a presentation of the Portuguese C-390 at the 11th Air Base in Beja, located in the district of the same name in the Alentejo region (Portugal has ordered five to six units). The procurement program officially began on January 4, 2021.
Since 2003, the Austrian Air Force has been operating three ex-British C-130K Hercules aircraft, acquired from the Royal Air Force’s surplus fleet after the RAF transitioned to the C-130J Super Hercules. In 2013, these aircraft were upgraded by the British company Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group.
Recently, on February 3 of this year, Embraer celebrated the 10th anniversary of the first prototype flight of the C-390 Millennium. In addition to the aforementioned countries, the following nations have also decided to purchase series-production aircraft: Brazil (19 units, instead of the originally planned 27), Hungary (2 units), Czechia (2 units), South Korea (an undisclosed number ordered, possibly 12), Sweden (an undisclosed number planned for order), Slovakia (three planned for order), and an undisclosed customer (possibly Morocco – editor’s note). Currently, the C-390 is being actively promoted in the Saudi market, the broader Asian region, and as a contender in India’s MTA (Medium Transport Aircraft) program, which aims to procure between 40 and 80 aircraft.
Since entering service with Brazil in 2019, Portugal in 2023, and most recently Hungary in 2024, the C-390 has proven its capabilities, reliability, and efficiency. The current operational fleet of 10 aircraft—7 in Brazil, 2 in Portugal, and 1 in Hungary—has accumulated over 16,300 flight hours, with a mission capability rate of 93% and mission completion rates exceeding 99%.
The C-390 can carry a larger payload compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft, while also flying faster and farther. It is capable of performing a wide range of missions, including cargo and troop transport and airdrop, medical evacuation, search and rescue, aerial refueling (both as a tanker and a receiver), firefighting and humanitarian missions, and operations on temporary or unpaved runways, such as compacted earth, soil, and gravel.
The aircraft is 33.5 m long, with a wingspan of 33.9 m and a height of 11.4 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is 87 tons, with a payload capacity of 26 tons. The cargo bay dimensions are 18.5 x 3.0 x 3.4 m, and its range with a 23-ton payload is 2,815 km. Powered by two IAE V2500-E5 turbofan engines, each generating 139.4 kN of thrust, the C-390 achieves a cruising speed of 870 km/h and an operational ceiling of 11,000 meters.
#NEWS | Embraer begins production of Austria’s first C-390 #Millennium. Read full news: https://t.co/kOogM8DK1T #EmbraerStories #C390 #KC390 pic.twitter.com/RWCw3cXlmJ
— Embraer (@embraer) February 14, 2025