Tuesday Embraer held the opening cerimony of the final assembly line of the KC-390 military transport. The event occurred at Embraer’s plant in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo, and was attended by Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, the Governor of the State of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin, and other dignitaries.

On the occasion, Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force signed the series production contract of the KC-390, thus marking the beginning of a new phase of the project, which began to be developed in 2009. The contract provides for the purchase of 28 aircraft over a period of ten years, with the first delivery scheduled for the end of 2016. Besides the aircraft, the contract provides for supplying a logistical support package, which includes spare parts and maintenance. At a total value of R$ 7.2 billion, the contract still depends on complementary documentation in order to go into effect, which is expected to occur within 90 days. Only then, will Embraer formally include it in its order book.

The KC-390 is a joint project of the Brazilian Air Force with Embraer to develop and produce a tactical military transport and aerial refueling airplane that is a significant advance in terms of technology and innovation for the Brazilian aeronautics industry. This is an aircraft designed to establish new standards in its market category, with a lower operating cost and the flexibility to perform a variety of missions: cargo and troop transport, cargo deploymemt, aerial refueling, search and rescue, and combating forest fires.

The airplane will be produced at the Gavião Peixoto industrial plant, in outstate São Paulo, in facilities including more than 30,000 square meters of hangars, where the first prototype is already in the structural assembly phase. Final assembly is planned to begin in June.

“This is a historic day for the Brazilian Air Force,” said the Commander of Brazilian Air Force, Brigadier General Juniti Saito. “The KC-390 is a project that was carefully specified to serve our nation, in total alignment with the guidelines of the National Defense Strategy, and it will represent a great leap in the operating capacity of air transportation.”

“We are very happy to achieve another great landmark in this challenging project,” said Jackson Schneider, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. “Few countries in the world can experience the pride of operating aircraft that were specified, developed and manufactured on their own soil, and once again, the partnership between the Brazilian Air Force and Embraer is generating a product that promises to be an outstanding worldwide success.”

The contract for developing the KC-390 was signed in 2009. Besides the order by the Brazilian Air Force, there are currently intentions to purchase 32 aircraft by other countries.