Brazil designates first two homegrown KC-390 aircraft for Rio de Janeiro air base

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) is moving forward with its program to procure the multimission Embraer KC-390 aircraft.

In a ceremony held yesterday in Rio de Janeiro, the FAB handed over the first two units of the transport aircraft destined for the 1st/1st Transport Group (1º/1st GT), the so-called Fat Squadron, based at Galeão Air Base (BAGL). Specifically, these are aircraft numbered FAB 2853 and FAB 2857.

In Squadron 2 in Anapolis, the other three aircraft (FAB 2854, 2855, and 2856) remain on behalf of the 1st Troop Transport Group (1º GTT), the Zeus Squadron.

El Gordo is already awaiting delivery of the next KC-390 with the designator FAB 2852, supplied by Embraer Defence and Security with integrated aerial refueling capability (certification for this type of mission is expected to be completed before the end of the first half of 2022).

Currently, the 1st/1st GT with the KC-390 is the only squadron performing this type of mission in Brazil.

The ceremony was honored by the commander of the FAB, Brigadier General Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior. The ceremony was attended by general officers of the High Command of Aviation, general officers of the Navy and the Brazilian Air Force, commanders, chiefs, directors, and other civil and military authorities.

On this occasion, the Commander of Aerospace Operations and Readiness, Air Brigadier Sergio Roberto de Almeida, stressed that the acquisition of the aircraft by the 1st/1st WG represents a new phase in the deployment of the KC-390.

“This project started in Annapolis and is now being implemented here in Rio de Janeiro, the cradle of transport aviation. Now the unit can practice all that it has learned over the many years of operating the C-130 and become more and more efficient,” de Almeida said.

The commander of Galeão Air Base, Col. Aviador Renato Alves de Oliveira, also commented on the reception of the new aircraft. “Today is a historic day. The phrase in today’s video seemed perfect to me: heritage and future working together, launch, supply, rescue, two vectors, one mission,” he paraphrased.

For his part, the commander of the Fat Squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Vinicius Lorio Arruzzo, welcomed the arrival of the two new aircraft carriers. “It came to expand our unit’s capabilities with the C-130 aircraft. With it, we will have a greater cargo transport capacity to support the Brazilian population in disaster situations or repatriate Brazilians who are in trouble abroad,” he stressed.

THE KC-390

The KC-390 Millennium is the largest military aircraft developed and manufactured in the Southern Hemisphere. It is capable of performing missions such as logistical airlift, aerial refueling (REVO), medical evacuation, search and rescue, in-flight firefighting and more.

The KC-390 was developed to meet Brazil’s operational requirements and provide strategic mobility to the Brazilian Defense Forces.

It can perform aerial refueling, transport cargo and troops, and receive fuel in-flight. It will be the heaviest aircraft that the company has made and will be able to transport up to 21 tonnes (23 tons) of cargo, including wheeled armored vehicles.

In 2006, Embraer began studies on a military tactical transport design of a similar size to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. In April 2007, Embraer reported studying a medium-size airlifter with the company designation “C-390”.

The transport aircraft is to incorporate many of the technological solutions from the Embraer E-Jets series. It will feature a rear ramp for loading and unloading a wide range of cargo. The unit price is estimated to be around US$50 million, while the competition sells similar models, such as the C-130J, for up to $62 million.

Besides the Brazilian Air Force that ordered 2 KC-390 prototypes, the Colombian Air Force announced in August 2013 that it would acquire a fleet of KC-390s to replace its Lockheed C-130 Hercules fleet.