The Netherlands acquires 9 Embraer C-390 Millennium aircraft in joint order with Austria

The Dutch Ministry of Defence signed the contract for the acquisition of nine Embraer C-390 Millennium aircraft during a ceremony at the Farnborough Airshow. As part of the project ‘Replacement of Tactical Airlift Capacity’, the contract is a joint purchase, in cooperation with Austria – five aircraft for the Royal Netherlands Air Force and four aircraft for the Austrian Air Force.

The C-390 will improve operational capacity by offering better performance, greater reliability, and higher transport capacity. Additionally, the choice for the C-390 ensures that the Royal Dutch and Austrian Air Forces are equipped with state-of-the-art technology to meet the mission demands of the future.

The C-390 can carry more payload (26 tons) compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft and flies faster (470 knots) and farther, being capable of performing a wide range of missions such as transporting and dropping cargo and troops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting, and humanitarian missions, operating on temporary or unpaved runways. The aircraft configured with air-to-air refueling equipment, with the designation KC-390, can operate both as a tanker and as a receiver, in this case also by receiving fuel from another KC-390 using pods installed under the wings.