The Netherlands Ministry of Defence and Embraer have confirmed the start of structural assembly for the first Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force C-390 Millennium at Embraer’s Gavião Peixoto facility in Brazil. The milestone marks tangible progress in the trilateral airlift program shared by the Netherlands, Austria, and Sweden — a key initiative aimed at strengthening NATO’s tactical air transport capabilities.
Under the joint “Replacement of Tactical Airlift Capacity” framework, the three nations are set to acquire 13 C-390 aircraft with seven additional options. The Netherlands has ordered five units, with deliveries scheduled from 2027 following a recent production realignment. The initiative reinforces Europe’s growing reliance on shared air mobility fleets designed for humanitarian, medical, and tactical logistics operations within NATO.
The Embraer C-390 Millennium is a twin-engine, multi-mission military airlifter capable of carrying up to 26 tonnes at Mach 0.80. Equipped with NATO-compatible self-protection systems and digital fly-by-wire controls, it can perform tactical transport, aeromedical evacuation, firefighting, air-to-air refueling, and airdrop missions with rapid configuration changes. Its short take-off and landing performance enables operations from both unprepared airstrips and main bases, making it highly versatile for European and expeditionary missions.
In service since 2019 with the Brazilian Air Force, the C-390 has also been introduced into NATO operations by Portugal and Hungary, where it has successfully demonstrated its multi-role capabilities. Portugal expanded its fleet in 2025, while Hungary received its first aircraft in 2024. The Netherlands’ entry into production further consolidates the aircraft’s position as Europe’s preferred medium-lift solution.
Against its peers, the C-390 sits between the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules and Airbus A400M Atlas, offering higher speed and payload than the former, yet more economical and agile than the latter — bridging Europe’s tactical and strategic airlift gap.
The trilateral procurement effort also introduces a common training, sustainment, and logistics network, coordinated by the Netherlands’ COMMIT agency. This shared model enhances NATO’s ability to respond rapidly to humanitarian crises, medevac operations, and expeditionary deployments, while deepening industrial ties between Europe and Brazil.
As production ramps up, the Dutch C-390 program transforms years of planning into operational capability — paving the way for a unified European medium-lift fleet that enhances NATO readiness, speeds crisis response, and complements heavier A400M assets across the continent.
