June 18, 2025 – Paris, Le Bourget
The Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania has officially selected the Embraer C-390 Millennium as the country’s next-generation military transport aircraft. This decision marks a major step toward strengthening Lithuania’s defense capabilities and enhancing interoperability with NATO allies.
Lithuania plans to acquire three C-390 aircraft, subject to national legal procedures. The decision follows a thorough evaluation of available military transport options, with the C-390 emerging as the platform best suited to meet the country’s operational and strategic needs.
“We conducted a detailed assessment of all available transport aircraft, and the C-390 Millennium clearly meets our requirements,” said Loreta Maskaliovienė, Vice Minister of National Defence of Lithuania. “We are now entering the negotiation phase and expect to finalize the contract in the coming months.”
The deal also includes industrial cooperation, which will create opportunities for local MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) services, co-production of parts, and collaboration with research institutions.
Bosco Da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, welcomed the selection: “We are honored by Lithuania’s choice. The C-390’s versatility, performance, and NATO compatibility make it an ideal solution for a wide range of military operations.”
The C-390 Millennium is designed for tough operational environments and offers superior speed, payload capacity (up to 26 tons), and mission flexibility. It is capable of operating from unpaved or temporary runways and performing a wide variety of missions, including cargo and troop transport, air drops, medevac, search and rescue, firefighting, and humanitarian relief. It can also be equipped for air-to-air refueling, both as a tanker and receiver.
Lithuania now joins a growing list of NATO and European nations—including Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Sweden, and Slovakia—that have chosen the C-390 to modernize their air forces.
Since its operational debut with the Brazilian Air Force in 2019, and later with Portugal and Hungary, the C-390 has proven its reliability and performance, achieving a 93% mission capability rate and over 99% mission completion rate.