The Netherlands (also known as Holland) has just selected the Brazilian Embraer KC-390 to replace the C-130 Hercules.
The announcement was made this afternoon by Dutch Defense Minister Christoph van der Maat, who noted that the current four C-130J Super Hercules were scheduled to fly by 2031, but their availability is low due to the age of the aircraft. It can no longer wait until the next decade to replace it.
In doing so, the Netherlands selected the Embraer C-390M Millenium aircraft to replace four C-130Js. Initially planning was for four new aircraft, but this was increased to five “to meet new demands for current flying hours, which would be 4,000. The minister said the four units initially planned for the C-390M are already capable of serving at least 2,400 flying hours annually, with C -130J We’ll need another one (in total 5) to get to that lower number.”
According to the Dutch government, the contract is estimated at between €1 billion and €2.5 billion, and today it reaches a figure of R$13 billion, depending on additional costs, maintenance costs and flight hours.
In an official note, Embraer stated that “She was honored with the decision of the Dutch Ministry of Defense to select the C-390 Millennium multi-role transport aircraft. Recognizing that there is still much work to be done in the coming months, we are committed to the success of this new phase of cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Defense.“.
The first aircraft will be delivered to the Netherlands in 2026 and will also form part of the European Air Transport Command, a consortium of European Union members that accounts for 75% of the European continent’s military air transport capacity.
Headquartered at Eindhoven Airport and Air Base in the Netherlands, it has members from Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands itself. All these countries are also part of NATO, but this consortium is not associated with the alliance.
With information from the press office of the Dutch Ministry of Defense
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