Military and Strategic Journal
Issued by the Directorate of Morale Guidance at the General Command of the Armed Forces
United Arab Emirates
Founded in August 1971

2023-02-01

Embraer Eyes New Horizons

In recent years, Embraer Defense & Security has grown its portfolio to keep up with the evolving nature of defence and security needs. In an interview, Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, gives an insight into the company’s latest solutions, expansion plans, R&D initiatives and more. Excerpts from the interview:
 
Your career has spanned various sectors, including planning, supply chain, contracts, business development and sales. What are your immediate priorities as the new President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security?
Embraer Defense & Security has products and solutions in more than 60 countries worldwide. It is known for the engineering excellence, technology mastery, and industrial capabilities that consistently result in aircraft, systems and solutions that achieve or surpass the levels of performance, reliability, maintainability and longevity. Embraer offers cost-effective solutions complemented by a global network of services and support. We are, more than ever, committed to providing our customers with the best solutions that are customised to their needs.
 
My priorities are mainly to widen our global footprint by introducing our product range to new customers, as well as strengthening our existing relationships with current operators of our platforms. Seeing our flagship C-390 Millennium fly under as many colours as possible sits high on my priority list.
 
Our regional teams have worked closely with various stakeholders in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. We are engaged with various military operators that are keen to know how our aircraft and solutions can be a further valuable asset addition to optimise their capabilities.
 
As CEO, how do you plan to expand cooperation with customers and governments worldwide?
Embraer is looking to establish long-term, win-win partnerships, which can lead to new projects with customers that will boost the defence capabilities of end-users.
Our global footprint and broad customer base mean that Embraer is used to developing customised solutions for military operators with various requirements, such as local support capability development and deployment. Our flexibility is our strength, and it also boosts the confidence and cooperation of the operator. 
 
What products in your portfolio are you promoting in the Middle East region? 
The C-390 Millennium, the A-29 Super Tucano, the P600 AEW&C, as well as our radars and land systems, are the highlights of our defence and security portfolio that we believe will benefit the Middle East region.
The C-390 Millennium, which has made several visits to the Middle East region, is the most modern next-generation military tactical transport aircraft, designed to establish new performance standards and transport capability, with the lowest life-cycle cost in the medium-lift category, being able to carry more cargo on fewer flights. 
 
In terms of operation, the C-390 Millennium also has high interoperability capabilities. In 2021, the aircraft impressed during Operation Culminating, an unprecedented joint training exercise between the Brazilian Air Force, the U.S. Army, and the Brazilian Army, to prepare paratroopers and crews for deployment in air-land operations. 
 
Furthermore, the A-29 Super Tucano is one of Embraer’s bestsellers in its Defense & Security portfolio. It has logged more than 500,000 flight hours and is currently operated by around 15 countries, including in the Middle East, Africa and Asia regions. 
 
Embraer is one of the leading OEMs in the AEW&C arena. We have the expertise and flexibility to modify our existing platforms with the required equipment suite according to our customer’s requirements. Embraer supplied its ERJ 145 platforms for the Indian Air Force’s AWACS project (NETRA Airborne Early Warning & Control System), and they have been and continue to be deployed. Currently, Embraer is working on the P600 AEW&C, which is a next-generation aircraft based on the advanced super midsize platform of the Embraer Praetor 600 business jet, delivering superior aircraft altitude, extended endurance, a low altitude cabin environment, and advanced fly-by-wire systems.
 
We also have a Radars & Land Systems division to address the ground & aerial surveillance requirements of a force. Embraer has successfully implemented the SISFRON project (Phase-I completed and Phase-II underway) for the Brazilian government, which is Brazil’s national programme for Border Management.


 
How does the C-390 Millennium compare to the C130J Super Hercules? 
The C-390 Millennium, by design and performance, is an effective competitor. It provides significantly improved mobility, load capacity, speed, genuine multi-mission capability with rapid re-configuration, reduced workload, and flight safety. In other words, it is an aircraft that matches the demands of the 21st century’s operating environment. 
 
The Brazilian Air Force, when developing the brief for the C-390, recognised Embraer’s commercial aviation credentials and demanded that the C-390 display unprecedented levels of availability underpinned by exceptional levels of reliability and a significantly reduced maintenance regime.  
 
The C-390, now into its fourth year of operation with the Brazilian Air Force, has demonstrated that it surpassed expectations in these three areas - a fact duly acknowledged by the three other air forces that have elected to procure the C-390 since it achieved Initial Operating Capability in 2018.
 
How have lessons learned from the Afghanistan evacuations in 2021 and the dramatically changed security situation on Europe’s eastern flank impacted armed forces’ requirements for guaranteed availability of transport aircraft?
The fundamental facets of military airlift and air mobility remain unchanged: survivability, speed, and capacity combined with fast turn-around and high availability will always deliver more logistic airlift effect. C-390 has been carefully designed to be able to get in and out once assigned to a mission. 
 
The C-390 flies faster and carries more cargo than any other military airlifter in its class. Furthermore, its ability to operate from unpaved runways means that it delivers tactical capability with strategic reach. Fewer inspections and on-demand simplified maintenance improves the human/machine interface (HMI) to generate higher availability. The full fly-by-wire flight control system (FBW) significantly reduces crew workload, which, combined with increased situational awareness, helps enhance crew effectiveness and safety during missions. 
 
Are there any major plans for expansion in the Gulf region and especially in the UAE?
We have been working closely with partners and potential customers in the Gulf region. We have been actively promoting our products and solutions in the GCC over the past years, and I strongly believe that all this hard work and collaborative approach will eventually result in many of our solutions being adopted by Gulf countries’ Armed Forces.
 
At what stage is Embraer’s collaboration with the UAE-based EDGE on the A-29 Super Tucano Advanced Weapon System?
Our collaboration with EDGE has been progressing steadily. We genuinely believe that this partnership will be mutually beneficial and allow both our companies to widen their portfolio by proposing new capabilities to our existing and future customers.
Tell us more about R&D at Embraer.
 
Embraer as a whole invests about 5 to 6 per cent of its net revenue in research and development. About 4,000 employees are entrusted with research and development efforts, and we have cooperation agreements with more than 40 entities around the world. 
 
We are focused on adopting and adapting techniques, technology, and materials to deliver sustainable and affordable solutions to meet the world’s aviation, defence, and security challenges. The goal is to decarbonise direct and indirect operations, focusing mainly on reductions in carbon emissions. In this sense, Embraer has some initiatives, such as the eVTOL, a 100 per cent electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, which is expected to go to market in 2026. Also, Defense & Security has signed an MoU with BAE Systems to pursue the potential development of a defence variant, with Eve (Embraer’s spin-off urban air mobility company) being the platform provider.
 

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