Sweden announced on 09 September the signing of a letter of intent to purchase the aircraft Embraer C390 making it clear of initiating the process of acquiring the Brazilian aircraft.
During a defense minister's meeting in Brazil today, Pål Jonson, Minister for Defence, Sweden, signed a letter of intent regarding expanded cooperation in the aviation area. The letter of intent (LoI) is the first step to begin the process to acquire the C-390 as a new military transport aircraft for the Swedish Armed Forces.
Pål Jonson , Minister for Defence, Sweden, said in a statement :
Good news from Natal in Brazil: Sweden is prepared to start the process of buying C390 Millennium tactical transport aircrafts. Brazil plans to increase its order of 36 Gripen E/F fighter aircraft by 25%.
Brazilian Minister of Defence José Múcio and I, with our respective delegations, had a fruitful meeting with discussions about combat and transport aircraft, as well as the security situations in our respective regions and global issues. (2/4)
In 2014, Brazil signed a contract with Swedish Saab to buy 36 Jas 39 Gripen jets. So far, eight jets have been delivered to Brazil. Saab and the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer have also started joint production of Jas 39 Gripen aircraft on site in Brazil. Now Brazil states that it plans to increase the contract on the Jas 39 Gripen plane by 25%.
At the same time, Sweden is interested in buying transport planes from Brazil, of the type Embraer C-390. With today's declaration of intent, the government is ready to instruct the Defense Materiel Agency (FMV) and the Swedish Armed Forces to begin negotiations with the aim of purchasing C-390 aircraft.
As per the armed forces' statement, the current military transport aircraft, the TP 84 Hercules, is old and has accessibility problems. The aircraft has served the Armed Forces for over 50 years and the process to replace the system has been ongoing for a long time. The signed letter of intent is therefore a welcome message as it has been important to get a replacement in place.
During his trip to Brazil, Jonson also visited the major air force exercise Cruzex 2024 currently taking place there. In the exercise, Brazil participates, among other things, with the Jas 39 Gripen planes that the country already has.
Swedish Armed Forces' statement in this regard was :
The signed declaration of intent aims to strengthen the far-reaching bilateral relations between Sweden and Brazil in the area of both tactical transport aircraft and combat aircraft.
The C-390 air system is manufactured by the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer and is a medium-haul tactical transport aircraft with the capacity to carry 80 passengers or a load of 26 tonnes.
Worth mentioning here, on 25 October 2024, the Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract for the acquisition of two C-390 Millennium multi-mission transport aircraft.
The C-390 offers a maximum payload (26 tonnes concentrated) compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft and flies faster (870 km/h). When compared, a Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules has a maximum payload of 21.7 tonnes and a maximum cruising speed of 657 km/h.
As well as being in service with the Brazilian Air Force, the C-390 Millennium has been ordered by Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria and South Korea.
In a recent media interaction, Embraer CEO acknowledged that Morocco, the UAE and Chile have have shown interest in the C-390 transport aircraft.
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