Page 31 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
DEFENCE BUSINESS C-390 MILLENNIUM 31
LEFT: The self-protection suite includes 14 chaff and flare dispensers, RWR, LWR, MAWS and a DIRCM
ABOVE: Embraer has certified the C-390 for operations from austere and unpaved runways
vided no details of how the assessment was conducted in such a short period of time in 2021 and Liberal Senator David Fawcett pointed out in the Senate hearing that the Netherlands’ Defence Ministry had decided the Embraer C-390 Millennium was superior to the C-130J across a number of criteria.
“I noticed the Dutch Defence Minister, when speaking to their parliament and explaining why they had purchased the Embraer aircraft, said, essentially, that it cost less, was easier to maintain and had more capacity and more avail- ability than the C-130J,” Senator Fawcett said.
While the Airbus A400M and Kawasaki C-2 are arguably larger than what the RAAF is looking for in a medium air- lifter – sized somewhere between the C-130J-30 and Boe- ing C-17A Globemaster III – the C-390 has been developed as a direct replacement for the Hercules. It is a multi-role aircraft, certified as a two-point (hose and drogue) tanker capable of refuelling both fast (fighter) and slow (helicop- ter) receivers.
Given the lack of details in Defence’s explanation of why the C-130J-30 was deemed superior, and in the light of Fawcett’s comments in the Senate hearing, it’s perhaps timely to examine the C-390 more closely here.
C-390 MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT
Embraer launched the C-390 in 2009, in response to a Brazilian Air Force requirement to replace its Lockheed C-130H Hercules fleet. The aircraft was originally known as the KC-390 – reflecting the optional tanker role – and it was required to be capable of carrying the same load as the C-130H and operate from airfields, ranging from small strips in the Amazon jungle to the frozen airstrips in Antarctica.
While the C-390’s cargo bay is of similar dimensions to the C-130H, it has greater volume, because the main landing gear is accommodated in external sponsons, rather than intruding into the fuselage.
To meet the Brazilian Air Force requirements, the air- craft has the ability to transport 14 tonnes of cargo over 2,710nm from a paved runway and it also has to operate from unpaved and austere airfields. Embraer’s brochure figures suggest it is capable of carrying 12 tonnes of car- go over 500 nautical miles from a 4,000 ft (1,220m) long semi-prepared runway.
In addition to the airlift and tanker roles the C-390 is ca- pable of Aerial Fire Fighting, Search and Rescue (SAR) and Medevac missions, using role kits which can be installed in less than three hours.
It is powered by two IAE V2500-E5 turbofan engines, similar to those installed on thousands of Airbus A320s, conferring a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.80 and a maximum altitude of 36,000 ft. The flight control system is fully fly-by-wire with active sidestick controllers and the
EMBRAER