Portuguese Air Force Receives Second KC-390 Millennium Airlifter

Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer delivered the second KC-390 multi-mission plane to the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) on June 26.

The platform includes standard NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) equipment already integrated into the aircraft and meets the requirements set by the National Aeronautical Authority (AAN) of Portugal. In 2019, FAP ordered five KC-390, including a comprehensive services and support package and a flight simulator. The first aircraft entered into service in October 2023 at Beja Air Base.

The C-390 can carry a payload of 26 tons and flies at speeds of 470 knots. It is capable of performing missions such as transporting and dropping cargo and troops, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting, and humanitarian missions, operating on temporary or unpaved runways such as packed earth, soil, and gravel. The aircraft configured with air-to-air refueling equipment, with the designation KC-390, has already proven its aerial refueling capacity both as a tanker and as a receiver, in this case by receiving fuel from another KC-390 using pods installed under the wings.