The deal with Bogota represents Embraer’s first C-390 order in Latin America outside the company’s home country of Brazil.
Colombia will acquire two multi-mission KC-390 tanker/transport aircraft from Brazilian airframer Embraer.
The deal was signed in Bogota on 4 August and marks a key win for Embraer, which until now had not secured any Latin American orders for the military airlifter outside the company’s home market and C-390 launch customer, Brazil.
Currently, the Colombian aerospace force (FAC) has only one tanker aircraft — a lone Boeing 767 Multi-Mission Tanker Transport that is more than 37 years old. The service also operates a mixed transports fleet that includes six legacy Lockheed Martin C-130Hs, seven Airbus C295s and five Boeing 737s.
Embraer says the new-build KC-390s will help modernise both segments of Colombia’s air mobility fleet.
“The FAC’s KC-390 Millennium fleet will be capable of performing a wide range of missions, including humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, cargo and troop transport, airdrop operations, and air-to-air refuelling,” Embraer says.
The first aircraft will be delivered to Colombia in 2029, with the second following in 2030, the FAC says. The acquisition is expected to cost $366 million.
One factor in Bogota’s KC-390 decision was the ability to integrate with the FAC’s new Saab Gripen E/F fighters.
Colombia signed a deal with the Swedish airframer in November covering 17 Gripen E/F jets, with deliveries beginning this year and running through 2032.
“The aircraft will also feature full connectivity to operate seamlessly alongside Colombia’s recently acquired Gripen fighters,” Embraer says of the country’s KC-390s.
Embraer is separately assembling new Gripen E/Fs for the Brazilian air force (FAB) under licence from Saab.
While the company is only on contract to build 15 Gripens for the FAB, Embraer and Saab announced a framework at the recent Farnborough air show to potentially expand fighter production at Embraer’s Gavio Peixoto assembly line.
That deal could see Embraer deliver another 20 Gripen E/F jets for export customers, particularly in Latin America.
In addition to Brazil and Colombia, the KC-390 has been selected by Portugal, Hungary, South Korea, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan, Sweden, the UAE, Slovakia and Lithuania.
Greece is also pursuing a KC-390 acquisition using options assigned to NATO ally Portugal.
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