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2015-12-01

KC-390 MOST ADVANCED AIRCRAFT IN ITS CATEGORY

Embraer KC-390 is a tactical transport aircraft designed to set new standards in its category while presenting the lowest life-cycle cost of the market. It can perform a variety of missions such as cargo and troop transport, troop and cargo air delivery, aerial refueling, search and rescue and forest fire fighting.

Embraer strongly believe the KC-390 can very much satisfy the needs and requirements of Middle Eastern countries. Its state-of-the-art development criteria makes this product a unique and most advanced aircraft in its category setting a new standard in the medium airlift global market.

It is a project of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) that, in 2009, hired Embraer to perform the aircraft development. Under this program, industrial partnerships were also established with Argentina, Portugal and Czech Republic.

Advanced Campaign

KC-390´s first prototype performed its first flight in February 2015 and the aircraft is now in the flight test campaign. On its maiden flight, the KC-390 crew performed maneuvers to evaluate its flight characteristics and conducted a variety of systems tests, having benefited from an advanced campaign of simulations and extensive ground tests.

The flight test campaign is expected to last approximately 18-24 months. Certification of the KC-390 is scheduled for the second half of 2017, with first deliveries in the first half of 2018. A second prototype will soon come online to join the flight test campaign. The program continues to move forward as planned and the KC-390 has drawn interest from several countries around the world.

In May 2014, Embraer opened the hangar where the final assembly of the KC-390 military transport jet was installed, in Gavião Peixoto, Brazil. On the occasion, Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force signed the contract for serial production of the KC-390, which provides for the acquisition of 28 aircraft, marking the beginning of a new phase of the project. Besides the order by the Brazilian Air Force, there are currently intentions to purchase 32 aircraft by five other nations.

Fly-by-Wire

Equipped with International Aero Engines V2500 turbofan engines, the latest avionics, a rear ramp, and an advanced cargo handling system, the KC-390 will provide excellent operational productivity and will be capable of transporting a payload of up to 26 tons, including pallets, helicopters, armored wheeled vehicles, and troops.

The performance of the KC-390 is benefited by a modern fly-by-wire control system with integrated technology that lowers the workload of the crew and increases the safety of its operation. The KC-390 can also perform aerial refueling operations with great flexibility, being capable of refueling from helicopters to high-performance fighter aircraft.

The KC-390 can refuel other airplanes in flight, with the installation of two removable internal fuel tanks. The in flight refueling capability provides greater flexibility for longer missions. An advanced self-defense system and ballistic protection in critical areas, increases the aircraft survival capability in hostile environments.

Austere Environments

The KC-390 is capable of carrying up to 26 metric tons of cargo at a maximum speed of 470 knots (870 km/h), with ability to operate in austere environments, including unpaved or damaged runways. The fuselage can accommodate large loads, with access through a rear ramp.

The modern cargo handling system allows to quickly reconfigure the aircraft using retractable rollers for moving cargo on pallets or flat floor for transporting troops or vehicles. Different types of loads can be transported, such as pallets, vehicles, helicopters, troops (up to 80 equipped troops), paratroops (up to 64 equipped paratroops, which can jump using the lateral doors or the rear ramp), stretchers for medical evacuation (up 74 standard NATO stretchers) or mixed configurations.

The aircraft can further be used as a tanker using two removable inner tanks, and has great flexibility to refuel both helicopters at low altitudes and speeds as high performance fighter aircraft at high altitudes and speeds.

Search and Rescue

Some of its features make the KC-390 the ideal aircraft for the scenario of search and rescue, operations are:

• High speed cruise, low speed flying capability;

• Long range and flying endurance;

• SAR ready from initial concept;

• High availability and low life-cycle cost.

“The KC-390 was designed to perform search and rescue missions in the most demanding environments since its conceptual stage. Therefore we are confident that this aircraft fully meets the operational requirements of SAR operations,” said Jackson Schneider, President and CEO of Embraer Defense and Security.

For this type of mission, the sooner you get to the search area, higher are the chances of success and the KC-390 is a turbofan aircraft what makes it the fastest fixed wing SAR aircraft in this category. Having been developed to airdrop troops and cargo, and also to refuel helicopters, the KC-390 wing design is very well suited to long endurance and low speed SAR missions.

Latest generation avionics, electro-optic/infrared and radar sensors, full compatibility with night vision goggles add to the aircraft’s capability to perform SAR over land or sea. State of the art full fly-by-wire technology makes the aircraft easy to fly allowing the crew to focus on the mission. Internal cabin space can fit all gear required for search mission and fast reconfiguration allows the plane to act as a fast transport for injured victims, with litters and life support equipment.

True Evolution

Embraer market analysis shows that the addressable market for this category is more than 700 aircraft in more than 70 countries. A large number of previous generation medium airlift aircraft are getting close to the end of their service life and the current operators will certainly look for solutions developed that offer a true evolution of their inventory. Based on the differentiated capability, new embedded technology and the positive market reception Embraer expect the KC-390 to take the majority of the confirmed opportunities.

Embraer maintains an open dialogue with some European countries, including Sweden, in order to raise the interest on the KC-390. Embraer is confident that a positive outcome may be achieved and, if so, Sweden and other European nations will join the Czech Republic and Portugal as future KC-390 operators. Early in the project, these two countries decided to partner with Embraer in the development and production of the KC-390. Aside from that both countries have signed Letters of Intent to purchase the KC-390. So did Argentina, Chile and Colombia.

Regarding Canada, Embraer strongly believes that the KC-390 is the most capable solution to whichever customer looking for the most technologically and versatile aircraft. Regarding the FWSAR, or fixed wing search and rescue program we believe the KC-390 is the right and most affordable solution due to the aircraft’s design characteristics, speed and low life-cycle costs. The KC-390 has been developed from the scratch to perform search and rescue missions.

Boeing is the lead for KC-390 sales, sustainability and training opportunities in select markets. The KC-390 marketing and sales campaign has already been initiated and based on the very positive market reaction. Embraer expects to have operators from the Middle East region among the first customers of this new Embraer aircraft. In the design of the KC-390 special consideration was given to operations in harsh environments, including very hot weather, by use of the latest technology available.

The interest shown is now confirming that the solutions chosen are meeting the expectations of the operators in the region. Unlike what we have seen in Embraer aircraft in the past, in which the approach was to have several versions of a basic platform to accomplish different missions, the multi-mission design of the KC-390 is based on a single platform capable to perform a wide range of missions. This path chosen by Embraer brings significant benefits in terms of direct operating costs, life-cycle costs, crew training as well as configuration management and maintenance that certainly will not go unnoticed by the US Armed Forces.

Direct Challenger to C-130J Super Hercules

KC-390 is a cheaper, more efficient challenger to Lockheed Martin’s C-130J Super Hercules. The Embraer KC-390 is a new generation military airlift aircraft, developed to establish new standards in efficiency in medium lift, presenting at the same time the smallest life-cycle cost in its category. KC-390´s improved efficiency compared to its competitors is the result of an unmatched mobility - delivering more cargo, much faster - combined with a DNA that brings embedded flexibility to perform a wide variety of missions using the same aircraft.

It is a 21st century aircraft program development which is using the most advanced engineering tools, process, materials and over 40 years of Embraer expertise to reach superior fleet reliability and availability rates with longer inspection intervals and reduced maintenance downtimes.

Embraer has an ever growing presence in the military sector with a very positive outcome for the marketing of Embraer products. This is also true for the KC-390 that has received a strong interest among several Air Forces at these venues. The air forces today are looking for disruptive solutions able to provide an edge on their operation capability with new design and technology. This is what the KC-390 will bring to their inventory.

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