KC-390 Military Transport Aircraft
Geography: Americas · South America · Brazil
The C-390 Millennium is a twin-engine tactical transport designed and built by Embraer in Brazil. It carries 26 tons of cargo, performs aerial refueling, and can operate from unpaved runways. Portugal ordered 6 units (with a 6th added in 2025), Hungary received its first in 2023, and the Netherlands, Austria, and Czech Republic have selected it.
This is remarkable: a Brazilian aircraft is being adopted by NATO air forces over competing European and American designs. The C-390 won competitions against the Airbus A400M and Lockheed C-130J on performance, cost, and availability. Portugal called it a 'NATO benchmark.'
The KC-390 represents Brazil's defense-industrial capability at its peak: designing, certifying, manufacturing, and supporting a complex military platform that meets NATO standards. The aircraft is also being evaluated as a civilian cargo platform for Brazil's postal service (Correios).