News | 07-22-2024 | 5:10 PM
The Netherlands and Austria are purchasing a total of 9 new military transport aircraft from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. They are C-390 Millennium aircraft. Of these, 5 are for the Royal Air Force and 4 for Austria. The 5 aircraft destined for the Netherlands will replace the 4 old C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The contract for the supply of both countries was signed today in the United Kingdom.
Cooperation with Austria was established last year. This provides significant economies of scale for both equipment purchase and future maintenance. Joint procurement also allows both countries to exchange expertise and parts.
In addition to the aircraft, the agreement signed today also provides training, spare parts and supporting equipment. The Netherlands also intends to purchase a simulator.
Less maintenance
With the new aircraft, the Ministry of Defense is renewing and increasing its air transport capacity. This is urgently needed, because the end of the service life of old equipment is approaching. In addition, air transport is used more often due to all the fires in the world. This is also the reason for purchasing an additional device. The multi-functional C-390 aircraft also requires much less maintenance than its predecessor.
The Ministry of Defence has previously stated that it will purchase C-390s. The first three aircraft are expected to be delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force by the end of 2027. The Dutch company Fokker Techniek is already supplying the aircraft with special equipment for this purpose. This enables the Ministry of Defence to deploy the aircraft in an integrated manner within the NATO context.
