WARSAW, Poland — Slovakia and Brazil have signed a memorandum under which Bratislava could buy four Embraer C-390 Millennium transport aircraft for the country’s armed forces. Meanwhile, the Slovak government is pitching to the Brazilian Ministry of Defense the acquisition of Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers, according to Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák.
Kaliňák made the announcement on Dec. 11 during the Slovak government’s official visit to Brazil during which he discussed the potential procurements with his counterpart, José Múcio.
“I think that both the Brazilian and Slovak industrial bases can offer a huge amount of experience, what we are strong in, what we are good at,” Kaliňák said, as quoted by state-run news agency TASR.
He added that Brazilian officials had also shown an interest in Slovakia’s know-how in the field of ammunition production.
In May 2024, Brazil decided to buy 36 ATMOS 2000 self-propelled howitzers from Israel’s Elbit Systems. However, the procurement remains suspended over Brazilian President Inazio “Lula” da Silva’s criticism of the Israeli government’s actions against Hamas in Gaza.
The 155mm Zuzana 2 howitzer is manufactured by Slovak company Konštrukta Defence, and it is based on a four-axle Tatra wheeled chassis.
While the C-390′s basic model is priced at some €80 million ($84 million), other countries which have ordered the planes paid up to €220 million per unit, depending on the selected version and its equipment, Kaliňák said.
In September 2023, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence decided to buy four C-390s to replace its aging fleet of three C-130 Hercules cargo planes. The ministry said in a statement the purchase was estimated to be worth more than €500 million.
In October 2024, the Czech Ministry of Defence signed a deal to buy two C-390s, making Prague the fifth NATO member state to order the Brazilian plane for its air force. Other nations which have selected the C-390 for their militaries include Brazil, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal, and South Korea.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
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