When Portugal signed an almost €830 million ($1.1 billion) contract for five Embraer C/KC-390 tactical transports in July 2019, it was taking something of a gamble by becoming the first export buyer for the Brazilian-built type.
But now close to receiving its third example, the Portuguese air force is rapidly expanding its capabilities in operating the Millennium jet, while multiple other NATO nations have followed suit in also ordering it.
Formed in May 2023 to fly the new assets, the service’s 506 Sqn – known as the Rhinos – has already completed more than 1,000 missions, including to locations as diverse as Brazil, the USA and the Central African Republic.
Operating from Beja air base, around a 90min drive southeast of Lisbon, the unit is upping the pace of its activities, even before expanding its fleet beyond the two airlifters currently in use.
FlightGlobal visited the squadron in late March, as it opened its doors to journalists for the first time.
The service’s lead aircraft – which was delivered in October 2023 – was on the ramp, with preparations underway for it to be flown to the USA to bring back the air force’s fourth Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. Nine of the secondhand helicopters have been acquired to support logistics and firefighting duties by the air force’s 551 Sqn.
NATO DUTIES
Meanwhile, its other transport was airborne en route to Amari air base in Estonia, to deliver support equipment for a NATO Baltic Air Policing deployment involving Portuguese Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters. Lisbon also is employing its older Lockheed C-130H transports as part of this duty.
“We have done a lot of missions already,” says 506 Sqn commander Major Miguel Pousa. Today, the unit performs logistics support tasks, with future additional duties planned to include air-to-air refuelling, firefighting and search and rescue.
Underscoring its rapid pace of adoption, the service had planned to log 600h with its lead aircraft through a first year of operation. Instead, it accumulated 1,000h within only eight months.
By late-March, Portugal’s first two C-390s had accumulated almost 1,700 flight hours combined: roughly 10% of the global fleet total for the Embraer type, which is also currently flown by the air forces of Brazil (seven) and Hungary (one). Combined, the Portuguese jets had transported almost 1,400t of cargo and more than 12,600 passengers.
CRUZEX CONTROL
One of the biggest commitments to have involved the Portuguese aircraft so far saw its second example – received in June 2024 – flown back to Brazil to participate in the multinational Cruzex exercise, which ran from 3-15 November.
“Cruzex was the first [ever] exercise that 506 Sqn participated in, and it was a big success,” Pousa says. “We flew with our brothers from the Brazilian air force, and did a lot of missions.” The activity included performing joint formation flights with the host nation’s KC-390s and making drops of paratroopers and equipment.
Meanwhile, the longest sortie completed by a Portuguese C-390 so far was an almost 7h flight from Recife in Brazil to the Azores. The distance of 2,720nm (5,030km) was completed with the transport carrying only a light payload.
With a cargo load of 25t – 1t below its maximum capability – the C-390 can be flown directly from Beja to Rome, Italy, but Pousa notes that the aircraft is typically operated below that limit, extending its reach.
“Ninety per cent of the missions I do are not at maximum payload – the average is 14t,” he says. That enables the aircraft to cover the 2,520nm between its home base and Sao Tome, off the coast of West Africa.
Powered by two International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans, the C-390 can achieve a maximum cruise speed of 470kt (870km/h) – equivalent to Mach 0.8, with an operating ceiling of 36,000ft.
Referring to a UN support mission to Africa which routed from Beja to Cape Verde and then Accra, Ghana, Pousa notes: “With the C-130 we would have to do two missions to carry seven pallets and 30 passengers. Here we can do it with one [aircraft]. The mission took three days – for the C-130 we had to take six.”
A former Hercules pilot with more than 3,000h spent flying the venerable type, Pousa also notes that due to increased noise and vibration on the older model, “after eight hours on an [C-130]H you are really tired”.
A C-390 has transported each of the Portuguese air force’s Black Hawks to Europe, with the route departing the USA via Providence, Rhode Island. The ex-US Army A- and L-model assets have been refurbished by Ace Aeronautics.
To transport the UH-60, its main rotors and rotor assembly are removed. On loading, the clearance between the helicopter’s roof and the underside of the C-390’s centre wingbox reduces to only 3-5cm at one point. The process takes between 90min and 2h to complete, while unloading can be performed in around 1h.
Portugal typically operates its new transports with a four-person crew: two pilots and two loadmasters. This is sometimes increased to five, depending on the cargo being transported or if a large passenger load – to a maximum of 88 personnel – is onboard.
CARGO CAPACITY
Using an iPad-like loadmaster tool, the crew can check in advance if a load will fit, while also automatically calculating its weight and centre of gravity. In the cargo bay, the flat floor can be rapidly reconfigured with either rails, rollers or a mix, depending on the equipment to be carried, while it also has an in-built cargo winch. A maximum of seven standard pallets can be accommodated, or if six are turned sideways, space also remains for passengers.
In an example of the type’s broader lift abilities, one of Portugal’s transports was made available for a NATO trial at Ramstein air base in Germany in July 2024, during which a wheeled vehicle-housed HIMARS long-range artillery system weighing in at over 20t was loaded.
“It was really fast and easy,” Pousa says, with the activity completed inside 20min. “They were surprised by the capability of the KC-390.”
Referring to the squadron’s nickname, he notes: “The Rhino is the strongest, is fast, and can carry a lot of payload.”
For flights into contested environments, the aircraft can be equipped with jamming pods beneath its wing – Portugal’s configuration includes this fit.
COMBAT-READY
“The KC-390 is an aircraft that intends to go to war,” says Major General Joao Nogueira, director of the Portuguese air force’s weapon systems maintenance directorate. Its NATO equipment fit includes a Link 16 datalink and self-protection equipment. “We are ready to go to scenarios that are not so friendly, and can protect our crews,” he says.
More is to come, however, starting with the addition of a tanking capability. For this, the now-KC-390 will have hose and drogue refuelling pods fitted beneath its outer wing, drawing on its internal fuel load of 23t. Internal fuel tanks can also be installed to boost this further.
Pousa says Lisbon aims to introduce air-to-air refuelling by 2027, noting that for the air force “this is really important”, as it will bring the ability to support fighters, transports and helicopters. Portugal also will look to work with other nations, potentially by selling tanker flight hours to support their training activities.
A campaign of flight testing with Embraer will start next year, initially involving a C-390 receiving fuel behind another example of the type.
In another adaptation, the transport can be rapidly equipped with the roll-on, roll-off MAFFS II system for aerial firefighting. For this, the paratrooper doors on either side of the rear fuselage are replaced with ones featuring nozzles to dispense water or retardant.
For the longer term, the Brazilian and Portuguese air forces are involved in “collaborative studies to identify potential adaptations” that would enable the platform to also perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) tasks via the use of a roll-on, roll-off mission system.
The C-390 already has limited ISR functionality, as it can be equipped with the Rafael-produced Litening electro-optical/infrared pod.
Brazil’s air force entered into an agreement with Embraer in April 2024 to explore a potential maritime patrol adaptation, before expanding the arrangement last December to also include ISR.
Early studies have “pointed to several possibilities and solutions for the integration of new mission systems, sensors, workstations, and weapons”, the airframer says. Conceptual artwork shows the aircraft armed with anti-ship missiles under the wing.
“We see a great potential of the aircraft for ISR and maritime patrol missions,” says Brazilian air force commander Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno. The service will receive a total of 19 KC-390s under its current production contract.
Welcoming the tie-up between its first two customer nations for the type, Embraer Defense & Security chief executive Bosco da Costa Junior notes: “Since the beginning of the programme, our Brazilian and Portuguese partners have been crucial in making the KC-390 an undeniable operational and technical success.”
Portugal’s 506 Sqn currently has a personnel strength of around 75, including four captains and seven co-pilots, plus 10 loadmasters, with the remainder performing duties such as maintenance and support functions. Its current pilots have prior operational experience on the C-130H and Airbus Defence & Space C295 medium transport.
The unit has already attained initial operational capability (IOC), and IOC+ status will be declared once its third aircraft arrives in the second half of this year and a new full-mission simulator (FMS) comes online at Beja. The milestone also will involve its first two crews undergoing instruction in tactical operations.
Full operational capability will be declared with the arrival of Portugal’s fifth and currently final aircraft in 2027. At that point, the squadron should have a full-strength complement of 25 pilots and 18 loadmasters.
Lisbon, however, has an option to potentially boost its fleet size by an additional example.
Portugal did not buy the C-390 to directly replace its C-130s, and no decision has yet been taken on the older type’s withdrawal from use.
“The technology and the performance of the aircraft is completely different,” Pousa notes, with the Brazilian model’s fly-by-wire controls making it “fun to fly”.
“However, our biggest challenge is that the technology is so amazing that you need to train the new pilots to fly without it,” he notes.
Now close to receiving operational clearance, the Rheinmetall-produced FMS will enable the air force to perform 90% of its required training activities in the synthetic environment.
“The simulator is just like flying the aircraft,” Pousa says.
In addition to supporting the needs of its own personnel, Portugal has acquired the FMS with an eye firmly on making access to the device and its new training centre available to other C/KC-390 users.
“All the [customer] nations are asking us how we see the possibility of using the simulator,” Nogueira says. “That asset will be of high value in training our crews and those of other nations.”
A hangar at Beja can accommodate two C-390s for line maintenance, with activities supported by an on-site Embraer warehouse with one staff member. Depth maintenance – which is scheduled to occur on an aircraft after five years of service – and future upgrade work will be performed at Embraer subsidiary OGMA’s facility near Lisbon.
PROGRAMME SUCCESS
“I’m proud of being part of this programme,” says Nogueira, who has been heavily involved with Portugal’s acquisition since 2011. “We were only the second nation to buy, and we would have people ask: are we sure? Since the first engagement with Embraer, we realised the concept was good.
“The C-390 was not bought to transport cargo to the islands [Azores] – we want to go further,” he notes.
“When we received the first aircraft, we had already had a huge preparation. It was easy. The results up to now are excellent, and the FMS will be a huge boost for the capabilities of the squadron.
“In these programmes there is always a risk,” he says. “Now we have to see how robust the C-390 is and draw down the C-130. We are in a critical moment to make that decision, and will see in the near future,” he said at the air force’s Lisbon headquarters.
“Our focus is to have as many aircraft in our hands at any time. If the availability is ensured, we can get very high hours. Our aim is to explore the aircraft to the limit. We will look to bring value to the air force, Portugal and our allies.
“Portugal brought to the programme another step, for NATO. Now our partners are moving to a new platform,” he adds. In addition to fellow operator Hungary (which will receive two), the type is on order for alliance members the Czech Republic (three) and the Netherlands (five), and has been selected by Slovakia (three) and Sweden (four). Also in Europe, neutral nation Austria will take four.
Pointing to Lisbon’s participation in the European Partner Air Force structure for the F-16, Nogueira says: “My vision is to try to do something similar with the KC-390 – we need to share costs, and keep a similar configuration.
“The aircraft is all the time somewhere,” he notes. “After we started flying, supported an F-16 detachment, deployed to Spain for an exercise, we started to receive letters from air forces wanting to talk about the KC-, and started receiving delegations.
“We are very proud and happy when the number of contracts is being increased. It gives us a sense that we took the right decision. We are aiming for the best in everything – the aircraft, training, and support. Now we see the results. Today, I don’t have any doubts – this is the aircraft of the future.”
Back in Beja, the squadron is preparing to later this year advance trials using an unpaved runway. This will include participating in a NATO exercise, demonstrating the ability to support so-called agile combat employment missions.
Pousa notes that C-390 flights to the Azores already make use of a 1,160m (3,800ft)-long and 30m-wide runway in challenging conditions. “It’s really difficult to land there because of the wind, but we’ve done it,” he says.
The squadron also expects to take part in a third user group meeting which is likely to take place in Hungary, following previous iterations in Brazil and Portugal. The gathering will enable C/KC-390 operators and future customers to share their experiences and best practice.
Proud of 506 Sqn’s early achievements with the new type, Pousa notes: “The bar will be the history of the squadron. Now there are a lot of white walls – but come back in 10 years…”
