Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer has agreed a cut to the final amount of KC-390 medium-size jet-powered military transport aircraft which will be delivered to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
According to an Embraer statement released on October 21, 2022, the manufacturer agreed to cut the FAB order from 22 to 19 KC-390 Millennium twin-jet airlifters. The decision was made after long rounds of negotiations regarding the contract amendment.
“Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force engaged in negotiations on this subject, conducting a new negotiation process, which resulted in the execution of amendments to the contracts in order to reduce from 22 to 19 the total number of KC-390 Millennium aircraft to be delivered under the terms of the Contracts, definitively ending the possibility of unilateral reductions pursuant to the law,” Embraer wrote.
The manufacturer said the parties also agreed on an adjusted aircraft delivery schedule.
“The amendments to the contracts preserve the company’s cash flow, ensure the economic and financial viability of the KC-390 Millennium project, and do not change and do not compromise the company’s guidance for 2022,” the manufacturer explained in the statement.
Having placed an initial order for 28 planes in 2014, in November 2021, the FAB said it wanted to change the purchase agreement and shrink the order to 15 planes.
After further talks, the two sides then agreed in February 2022, to cut the order to 22 aircraft and deliveries were spread out over a longer time frame.
The KC-390 is a multi-mission aircraft, which can provide humanitarian support, medical evacuation, search and rescue, troop and cargo transport, as well as aerial refueling.