C-390 vs. Gripen E: Brazil and Sweden expand defense cooperation
Over the past three years, Embraer's Brazilian C-390 military transport aircraft has established itself with several European and Western air forces, especially to replace their aging C-130s.
Now it is the turn of Flygvapnet, the Swedish Air Force, to turn to the Brazilian aircraft, as Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson and his Brazilian counterpart José Mucio signed a defense and military industrial cooperation agreement between the two countries on November 9 in Natal, Brazil.
In addition to the acquisition of C-390s by Flygvapnet, the number of which is not strictly indicated, this agreement is accompanied by a letter of intent indicating that Brazil wanted to increase its fleet of JAS 39 Gripen E/F fighters by 25%.
As France prepares to submit to President Lula a historic offer of industrial defense cooperation, ranging from the order of a Scorpene Evolved submarine to that of 24 aircraft Rafale, on the occasion of the G20 in Rio, could this rapprochement between Stockholm and Brasilia mean a lesser interest from Brazil in the French approach?
In this section:
Sweden signs defense deal with Brazil, to buy Embraer C-390 transport aircraft
The most important announcement, surrounding The signing of the defense agreement between Sweden and Brazil, concerns the Swedish arbitration in favor of the Brazilian Embraer C-390 transport aircraft.
For Flygvapnet, this involves replacing the five American C-5Hs, and perhaps the KC-130H for in-flight refueling, with the Brazilian aircraft, designed precisely to position itself effectively on this market.
32 metres long and 35 metres wide, the C-390 is a twin-engine tactical transport aircraft weighing 35 tonnes empty, with a maximum take-off weight of 80 tonnes, very close to the 33 tonnes empty and 79 tonnes take-off of the C-130.
The C-390's range is also comparable to that of the C-130, at around 5000 km for 15 tonnes of cargo and 26 tonnes of fuel. On the other hand, the C-390's twin-jet configuration gives the aircraft a much higher cruising speed, 870 km/h versus 540 km/h, and a much higher ceiling.
However, the biggest advantage of the C-390 over its American counterpart is its price. The Brazilian aircraft actually costs $55 million per unit, in flying condition, compared to $65 to $70 million for its American counterpart.
The C-390's success with Western air forces continues unabated
This price, 20% lower than that of the C-130, gives the C-390 an obvious attractiveness, particularly for air forces with only a small number of transport aircraft, as is the case for many air forces in Europe.
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