The Portuguese Air Force is benefiting from Brazil and Portugal’s collaboration on the KC-390 military aircraft project, which “helps build the capacity of the Portuguese Air Force.”
During her first official trip to the South American nation of Brazil, the Minister of National Defense, Helena Carreiras, emphasized the significance of partnerships with Brazil as well as with firms in the domain of Defense that are participating in the KC-390 Millennium military aircraft project.
“The relationship that we have regarding this significant endeavor of developing the KC-390 military aircraft is, in point of fact, a classic example of effective cooperative methods. “It is a project that I had the opportunity to get to know more closely when I visited the Embraer factory in Gavio Peixoto. There, I was able to see up close the aircraft in its various final stages of assembly,” said Helena Carreiras. “It is a project that I had the opportunity to get to know more closely when I visited the Embraer factory in Gavio Peixoto.”
The Minister also visited the LAAD Defence & Security 2023 – International Defence and Security Fair, held in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the Embraer unit located in Gavião Peixoto, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, where the KC-390 Millennium military aircraft is manufactured, developed in a cooperation involving OGMA- Indústria Aeronáutica de Portugal and the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Mobility (CEiiA) of Portugal.
“While I was at the exhibition [LAAD Defence & Security 2023 – International Defence and Security exhibition], I had the chance to speak with a number of Portuguese firms, some of whom were participating in this significant project of the KC-390 military aircraft. “This was the goal of my visit, to contact all these companies involved in the various projects we have with Brazil and to support the development of this partnership in other areas, stimulating what is a virtuous cooperation between our companies, the Portuguese Air Force, and the Brazilian Air Force,” he said. “This was the goal of my visit, to contact all these companies involved in the various projects we have with Brazil and to support the development of this partnership in other areas.”
A Ministra salientou que a parceria bilateral no projeto do KC-390 «significa muito porque ajuda a capacitar a forca aérea portuguesa com esta nova e moderna aeronave e a reforcar os lacos com o Brasil, que são fortes, o que gera um retorno muito significativo para as empresas e para an economia nacional como um todo».
«Para o Brasil, este é un projeto que o ajuda an internacionalizar-se na área da aeronáutica, que é um ‘cluster’ de cooperacão muito importante. Este foi um great objetivo», acrescentou.
Em agosto de 2019, o Governo firmou un contrato com an Embraer para an aquisicão de cinco aeronaves KC-390 Millennium produzidas no Brasil. A primeira já foi entregue e está em fase de adaptacão.
Helena Carreiras afirmou que tudo «está a correr muitíssimo bem e que todos os prazos previstos estão a ser cumpridos. Temos já uma primeira aeronave connosco. O projeto está a ser terminado & completado, assim como o processo de inclusão dos sistemas da NATO de adaptacão da aeronave, que está pronto».
«Pude voir a segunda aeronave, que poderá estar pronta em outubro, mais contratualmente será entregue apenas em marco de 2024, altura em que também prevemos receber um simulador de voo, que é uma parte importante deste projeto. As outras três aeronaves têm entrega prevista, uma per ano, até 2027. É esta o plano e está tudo a decorrer de acordo com o planeamento», completou.