Boeing [BA] and Brazil’s Embraer [ERJ] on Monday announced the name of their defense joint venture, which is expected to receive regulatory approval in early 2020, and which will sell the KC-390 airlifter as the now rebranded C-390 Millennium multi-mission aircraft.
The new Boeing Embraer – Defense group announced the rebranding of the multi-mission airlift and air mobility aircraft at the Dubai Air Show, and noted the JV will serve to specifically market the C-390 to global customers.
“The name of our joint venture represents the strong partnership between Embraer and Boeing that will strengthen the global competitiveness of this incredible aircraft and broaden the target markets, developing and generating greater value for the C-390 program to offer the best for our future customers,” Jackson Schneider, CEO of Embraer Defense & Security, said in a statement.
The group has already delivered its first C-390 to Brazil in early September under a full-rate production deal and a second delivery is expected in the near-term, according to company officials.
Portugal has also signed a deal in August for five C-390 aircraft, with deliveries to begin in 2023. Embraer said in an earnings call on November 12 the deal with Portugal will bring the company about $1 billion in revenue (Defense Daily, Nov. 14).
The newly-named C-390 Millennium is a medium-sized military transport aircraft that the company notes is designed for both airlift and air mobility missions, including cargo and troop transport, aerial refueling and search and rescue.
“Boeing Embraer – Defense will build on our companies’ history of collaboration across commercial and defense aerospace to unlock significant value in the state-of-the-art C-390 Millennium as it enters service and leads the next generation of airlift and air mobility aircraft,” Marc Allen, Boeing’s president of Embraer partnership and group operations, said in a statement.
The two companies first announced the new partnership last December, noting that Embraer would maintain a controlling interest, 51 percent of the joint venture (Defense Daily, Dec. 17 2018). Brazil’s government then approved the partnership in early January (Defense Daily, Jan. 10).
Boeing and Embraer are also working toward finalizing a second joint venture focused around commercial aviation opportunities. Boeing will hold an 80 percent share of the future Boeing Brasil – Commercial group.