South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced Embraer’s C-390 Millennium as the winner of the Large Transport Aircraft (LTA) II public tender to provide the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) with new military transport aircraft. South Korea is the C-390 Millennium’s first customer in Asia.
Under the signed contract, Embraer will provide an undisclosed number of C-390 Millennium aircraft specially configured to meet ROKAF’s requirements, as well as services & support including training, ground support equipment and spare parts. The value of the contract will be included in Embraer’s backlog in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Embraer will also provide a comprehensive consortium and offset package including a significant amount of C-390 Millennium parts to be locally manufactured by Korean partner companies and the development of a local Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) provider.
South Korea is the seventh nation to select the C-390 after Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria and the Czech Republic. The C-390 is redefining military airlift and challenging the thinking behind current and future generation platforms, with multi-mission capability, reliability and interoperability built by design.
Since entering operation with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019 and most recently with the Portuguese Air Force in 2023, the C-390 has proven its capacity, reliability, and performance. The current fleet of aircraft in operation has accumulated more than 10,800 flight hours, with operational availability of around 80% and mission completion rates above 99%, demonstrating exceptional productivity in the category.
