Sweden formally signed an agreement to acquire four Embraer C-390 Millennium transport aircraft, joining the growing group of European operators of the Brazilian platform. The contract includes purchase options as part of a broader trilateral framework involving Austria and the Netherlands.
Sweden, which joined NATO in 2024, is modernizing its tactical airlift capability with the KC-390 replacing legacy transport platforms. The aircraft meets Swedish requirements for cargo transport, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), paratrooper deployment and aerial refueling — missions the KC-390 performs with substantially greater efficiency than its predecessors.
With Sweden’s addition to the customer list, the KC-390 now has European operators in Portugal, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Sweden — a remarkable NATO footprint for a Brazilian-designed aircraft.
The Brazil-Sweden defense relationship runs particularly deep: the two countries are partners in the Gripen E/F program, with Saab and Embraer co-producing the fighters at Gavião Peixoto. The KC-390 further reinforces this strategic bilateral partnership at both the industrial and governmental level.
