MELBOURNE, Australia — Embraer has responded to a recent New Zealand request for information (RFI) for a Future Air Mobility Capability (FAMC), with an offer for five KC-390 multimission transport aircraft.
The KC-390 is under development against a contract for 28 aircraft to replace the Brazilian Air Force’s fleet of Lockheed C-130H Hercules, with first deliveries beginning in 2018. The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer said it also holds letters of intent, for a further 32 aircraft, from five different countries and is actively marketing the aircraft to potential customers in Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
The New Zealand proposal marks the company’s first opportunity for the KC-390 in the Asia-Pacific region, and the bid is supported by Boeing defense products division under the terms of a teaming agreement announced at the Farnborough International Airshow in July.
The Royal New Zealand Air Force’s FAMC program seeks to acquire a fixed-wing transport capability to replace the country’s five C-130Hs and two Boeing 757s, either with two new aircraft or a single type able to meet essential requirements in both strategic and tactical airlift roles.
Delivery of the first aircraft is required by February 2020 and for initial operational capability (IOC) to follow in February 2021. Final operational capability (FOC) is required no later than February 2024. The first replacement aircraft for the 757 fleet is required to arrive in New Zealand before Feb. 1, 2025, and IOC declared by Feb. 1, 2026.
“We are very positive that we can provide the best solution for New Zealand for the mission requirements that they have presented to us (and) I think they are very interested in the KC-390. But we understand and respect that this is a competition and we will fulfill all the required steps of the process,” Embraer Defense & Security President and CEO Jackson Schneider said at the company’s corporate headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil, last week.
“We are in advanced talks with New Zealand (but) we are not negotiating contracts at the present time. The process is advanced, but it is a competition and we’re not the only bidder,” he said.
Schneider said that the only other manufacturer with a product in the same class as the KC-390 currently in production is US giant Lockheed Martin, with the C-130J Super Hercules.
He also revealed that Embraer is negotiating with what he considers a global civil customer for the KC-390, which will be certified to US Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency airworthiness requirements, but declined to provide specific details.
“There is one specific discussion with a global company for a fully civil application. It will not require too much customization for the specific mission that they are talking to us about,” he said.
Another senior Embraer executive also revealed that the manufacturer is considering the development of a maritime patrol version of its new E190-E2 commercial airliner at the invitation of the New Zealand government to meet a forthcoming RFI for a Future Air Surveillance Capability.
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