The Hungarian government signed a contract with Embraer in November 2020 for two KC-390 aircraft to strengthen the capabilities of the Hungarian Defence Forces.
Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace manufacturer that produces military aircraft, and provides aeronautical services are making progress in the production of the first KC-390 Millennium aircraft for the Hungarian Defence Forces. The Hungarian government signed a contract with Embraer in November 2020 for the acquisition of two KC-390 defence aircraft with an aim to strengthen the capabilities of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Currently, Embraer is in the production phase assembling the semi-wings on the aircraft’s fuselage, with both structures already painted in the customer’s colors.
The KC-390 aircraft for the Hungarian Defence Forces will be the first in the world with the Intensive Care Unit in its configuration which is an essential feature for performing humanitarian missions anywhere. The KC-390 Millennium is fully compatible according the NATO guidelines, both in terms of the jet’s hardware and also in its avionics and communications configuration. The KC-390 probe and drogue refueling system assures that the aircraft can refuel the Hungarian JAS 39 Gripen as well as other aircraft that use the same technology.
Flight tests of the first KC-390 Millennium aircraft will commence in the second half of 2023, and the deliveries are to begin in the second quarter of 2024. The second unit of the KC-390 aircraft for Hungary is scheduled to begin production in December 2022, thus maintaining the pre-decided schedule, and is expected to be delivered by the end of 2024.
“We regularly follow the assembly of our first KC-390, and the production of the aircraft is significantly ahead of what was stipulated in the contract compared to the original plans, progressing better than planned,” said Colonel László Nagy, Head of Air Force Systems Development Branch, Hungarian Defence Forces Command, Force Planning Directorate. “We have also established a good relationship with the Brazilian Air Force, which gives us an opportunity for consultations that can be used extremely effectively by our teams in Hungary,” he further added.
The KC-390 Millennium defence aircraft fully meets the requirements of the Hungarian Defence Forces with the aircraft being able to perform different types of military and civilian missions, including Medical Evacuation, Cargo and Troops Transport, Precision Cargo Airdrop, Paratroopers Operations, and Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR).
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Embraer and Aeroplex signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June 2022 with intentions to cooperate on a project to qualify Aeroplex as an Embraer Authorized Service Center (EASC) in Hungary. This MoU aims to support and enable Aeroplex to provide maintenance for the Hungarian Defence Forces KC-390 Millennium aircraft.
