Greece poised to become latest C-390 customer

Athens will acquire three of the Brazilian-made transports using purchase options belonging to Portugal.

Greece is set to become the latest customer of Embraer’s C-390 multi-role military transport aircraft, after a proposal to acquire three of the twinjets was approved by a parliamentary committee in Athens.

The Special Standing Committee on Armaments Programs and Contracts approved the deal on 10 June, according to local media outlets, which list the value of purchase at roughly €600 million ($694 million).

The C-390s would replace the Hellenic air force’s six Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules transports, all of which are legacy models.

The service currently operates five H-model C-130s, according to fleets data from aviation analytics company Cirium. All of these are around 50-years old, Cirrium suggests. The sixth aircraft is a 64-year-old C-130B built in 1961.

Embraer tells FlightGlobal that the company is not directly involved in the negotiations for a Greek C-390 acquisition. Instead, Greece worked out a deal with Portugal to take advantage of existing C-390 options already controlled by Lisbon.

“We as a company stand ready to support Portugal,” says Marcio Monteiro, chief marketing officer at Embraer Defense & Security. “We don’t have direct contact with Greece in these government-to-government arrangements. Our direct support is to, in this case, Portugal.”

A similar arrangement is in effect for several other C-390 customers in Europe. Sweden and Austria each ordered four of the transports using options from a master contract with the Netherlands, which maintains the legal relationship with Embraer.

Two of Austria’s aircraft are currently undergoing final assembly in Gaxio Peixoto.

Because the Greek order would come via previously issued options, the sale does not immediately impact Embraer’s backlog. The company says its current C-390 backlog includes firm orders for 60 aircraft, plus options for 29 more.

An order from Athens would shift three aircraft from the options column to firm sales.

The development closely follows Embraer’s largest C-390 order to date, which came from the UAE in May. That signed deal covers 10 firm orders and 10 more options.

Embraer plans to deliver six C-390s from its assembly line in Gavio Peixoto, Sao Paulo state, this year, including the first jets for South Korea, Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic.

The Brazilian manufacturer says it will increase C-390 production over the coming years, with a target of delivering 10 of the tanker/transport jets annually by 2030.

Fourteen K/C-390s are currently in service globally, including eight with Brazil, four with Portugal and two with Hungary.