WARSAW, Poland — The Czech Ministry of Defence has signed a deal to purchase two Embraer C-390 Millennium transport aircraft, making Prague the fifth NATO member to order the Brazilian plane for its air force.
“Past and present history clearly shows us that the military needs to be able to transport persons and heavier cargo over longer distances. Evacuations from Afghanistan and Sudan are clear evidence of this,” Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová said in a statement. “I am therefore very pleased that we have managed to buy aircraft for our Air Force that are capable of performing these tasks.”
Under the plan, the first two planes are to be delivered to the Czech military next year. The country’s own defense industry is to cooperate with the Brazilian manufacturer on the procurement, according to the statement.
“The Ministry of Defence concluded an Industrial Cooperation Agreement with Embraer in the beginning of this October, and the total value of the program is more than 82.3 million U.S. dollars,” the ministry said.
Czech company Aero Vodochody is already involved in the production of C-390 planes, as it produces a number of parts for the transport aircraft.
The defense ministry did not disclose the value of the deal. For comparison, in September 2023, Austria’s Federal Ministry of Defence decided to purchase four Embraer C-390 Millennium aircraft with the aim to replace its aging fleet of three C-130 Hercules cargo planes. The Austrian ministry said in a statement the acquisition was estimated to be worth more than €500 million ($540 million).
In addition to Austria and the Czech Republic, other countries which have selected the C-390 for their armed forces include Brazil, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, and South Korea.
Embraer says the twin-engine aircraft has a maximum concentrated payload of some 26 metric tons (57,320 lb). The plane is enabled with a maximum cruise speed of 0.8 Mach. For aerial assault operations, the C-390 is capable of transporting 64 fully equipped paratroopers, according to figures from the Brazilian company.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
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