In last week of August the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and Embraer Defense and Security concluded the preliminary design review (PDR) of the military transport jet aircraft KC-390 development project.
“We are quite pleased with the results and we are sure that the project is on the right track”, said Colonel-Engineer Sergio Carneiro, Project KC-390 Manager at FAB. “We checked all the main aspects of the aircraft’s project and the KC-390 meets the Brazilian Air Force’s expectations.” The next review, the Critical Design review (CDR) is scheduled in seven months, in March 2013, will freeze the final configuration of the aircraft, enabling the company to release production drawings, the last phase before the construction of prototypes.
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Embraer presented to the Air Force Command the technical characteristics of the project’s solutions adopted for structural and aircraft systems, including the definitions of the main components and their interfaces, demonstrating that the project has reached its expected maturity at the current phase. The discussion included an evaluation of the cockpit’s ergonomics. Equipped with advanced mission and flight systems, the KC-390 is the largest aircraft ever built by the Brazilian aircraft industry and will establish a new standard for mid-sized military transport aircraft, in terms of performance and load capacity.
If all goes well, the C-390 will make its maiden flight in 2014 with first deliveries to the FAB scheduled in 2016. The KC-390 will replace the C-130 Hercules for transport and in-flight refueling missions.
