Brazil may renew push for C-390 aircraft during Brics Summit

Brazil is expected to renew its push for Embraer’s C-390 Millennium aircraft for the IAF’s medium transport aircraft programme during the Brics Summit.

Brazil is expected to renew its push for the C-390 Millennium aircraft for the Indian Air Force’s medium transport aircraft programme on the sidelines of the 18th Brics Summit, people aware of the matter said on Thursday.

Senior executives from Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer, part of the business delegation accompanying foreign minister Mauro Vieira, are expected to meet senior Indian government officials during the summit to discuss the company’s C-390 offering and plans to expand the regional aviation segment with Embraer E-Jets, the people said, asking not to be named.

José Serrador Neto, Global Vice President of Institutional Engagement, is leading the Embraer delegation.

In August, the Indian defence ministry issued a tender worth around ₹1 lakh crore to buy up to 60 MTA aircraft to boost the IAF’s airlift capabilities. The tender was issued to five Indian companies: Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), Mahindra Group, Adani Defence & Aerospace, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Reliance Defence. The IAF, the world’s fourth-largest, is looking for a new transport aircraft with an 18-to-30-tonne cargo-carrying capacity to meet its growing airlift needs.

TASL has tied up with US firm Lockheed Martin, which offered its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for the MTA contest, while the Mahindra Group has teamed up with Embraer, which pitched its C-390 Millennium aircraft to India. The three other Indian firms have not yet announced partnerships to advance the project. The MTA contest aligns with the government’s Make in India initiative to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector; the winner will set up a production line for the planes in India.

Neto met civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu and discussed Embraer’s Make-in-India plans and the growing opportunities for collaboration. “The confidence of global OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) in India’s growing aerospace ecosystem and reliance on Indian manufacturers as key suppliers for global aviation supply chains is encouraging,” Naidu wrote on X on Thursday.

In January, Embraer and Adani Defence & Aerospace signed a memorandum of understanding to manufacture aircraft in India and develop an integrated regional transport aircraft ecosystem. Under the agreement, Embraer is looking to create an ecosystem to support a Make in India E-Jet, along with a possible final assembly line for the E-175 regional jet.