The South African National Defence Force has expressed interest in the Embraer C-390 Millennium as it seeks a replacement for its legacy transport aircraft fleet.
Embraer demonstrated the C-390 Millennium at the five-day Africa Aerospace and Defence exhibition, which concluded on Sunday, during which SANDF evaluated the military aircraft’s capabilities, including its capacity to carry up to 26 tons of cargo at high speed and perform various missions in demanding operational conditions.
The company built the C-390 for tactical troop, cargo, vehicles and equipment transport; medical evacuation; disaster management; humanitarian aid; quick crisis response; search and rescue; aerial refueling; and firefighting.
The air vehicle, which uses a modern avionics suite and mission software, has already been selected by Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, South Korea and the Czech Republic as their transport aircraft.
Bosco da Costa Junior, president and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, expressed confidence that the C-390 can meet the needs of the SANDF and other government authorities.
South Africa President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Defense Angie Motshekga, and defense and aviation experts also saw Embraer’s recent demonstration.