South African defence conglomerate Denel was at the just ended Latin America Aerospace and Defence (LAAD) exhibition where it entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Brazilian aerospace company Embraer.
A statement has it the MoU “will strengthen the companies’ strategic partnership with special focus on Embraer’s new generation transport aircraft”.
The aircraft is the high-wing twin-engine KC-390, seen in South Africa at last year’s Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) exhibition – the second time in 12 months the South American designed and built military transport was at Air Force Base (AFB) Waterkloof.
The MoU, signed by Chris Boshoff, Group Executive (CEO) – Aerospace of Denel, and Fabio Caparica, Vice President of Contracts at Embraer Defense and Security, outlines a framework for potential future collaboration on the KC-390 Millennium aircraft, with a focus on aerostructure manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul activities.
“We are thrilled to strengthen our ties with Denel, a proven aerospace leader in South Africa, as the country looks to replace its legacy military aircraft. We are looking forward to providing South Africa with the most advanced aircraft in its category while co-operating with South Africa’s defence industry,” Caparica is quoted as saying in the statement.
Boshoff, in turn, expressed enthusiasm for partnering with a company renowned worldwide for quality and craftsmanship. “Our longstanding relationship spans several decades and this collaboration will further strengthen ties. Denel is well equipped and is a suitably qualified industrial partner to undertake the necessary tasks envisaged for the collaboration and will significantly enhance the strategic airlift support capabilities on the African continent,” the statement has Boshoff saying.
The KC-390 Millennium is a next generation military transport aircraft particularly suited for operations in South Africa, according to Embraer. Its versatility, ease of reconfiguration between missions and ability to operate from unprepared airstrips make it an ideal, cost-efficient, aircraft for modern armed forces on the African continent.
The KC-390 can carry more payload (26 tons) compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft and fly faster (470 knots) and farther, Embraer said of its airlifter. It is capable of performing a wide range of missions including humanitarian aid, transport and airdrop of cargo and troops, air-to-air refuelling as tanker and receiver, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting and special operations, while operating from temporary or unpaved runways such as packed earth, soil and gravel.
To date the aircraft is operated by eight countries – Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, South Korea, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic and an undisclosed customer. The Embraer statement notes it has been officially selected by Sweden and Slovakia to modernise their air forces.
Since entering service with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019, the Portuguese Air Force in 2023 and, most recently, the Hungarian Air Force in 2024, the KC-390 Millennium multi-mission military aircraft has proven its capability, reliability and performance, Embraer said. The current global fleet of KC-390 Millennium aircraft has a 99% mission completion rate, demonstrating what is termed “exceptional productivity in its segment”.
