Embraer expects to deliver a total of five C/KC-390 tactical transports for the same number of customers this year, as it works towards doubling annual output before the end of this decade.

The company last announced a delivery of the twinjet type in September 2024, with that aircraft – its seventh of an eventual 19 for launch operator the Brazilian air force – the 10^th example to have been handed over. Other recipients by that point were Hungary, which had fielded its first of two, and Portugal, with its lead two of five.

“We are in the middle of the delivery process for two units: for the Brazilian air force and Portugal, and we have planes for Hungary, South Korea and an another customer inside our assembly line,” Embraer Defense & Security chief executive Bosco da Costa Junior tells FlightGlobal. “Everything is moving towards delivering those five units still this year,” he adds.

“We have a strong ramp-up plan in place, and we are pushing a lot, to achieve 10 units per year by 2030,” he says. “We are running our production line in an amazing way, bringing all of the knowledge that we have in other units [of the company], and applying a lean concept.

“We are ramping up production together with the supply chain. There are several actions in place to make the manufacturing of the C-390 outstanding, and everything is moving perfectly. We are quite well positioned to attend to demand.”

Beyond its existing facility at Sao Jose dos Campos, he notes that the company also continues to explore the potential for “additional assembly lines.” India and the USA are viewed as potential locations for such expanded capability, should sales campaigns succeed in both markets, with Poland and Saudi Arabia also having been identified as possible candidates.

Speaking ahead of the Paris air show, da Costa outlined the company’s plans for the event. He notes that for Embraer, “Over the last four years, ‘commercial’ air shows like Le Bourget have become more important for defence.

“We have very busy agendas, with big delegations who are showing interest to meet us,” he says. “We are expecting the same with this edition of the Paris air show.”

A KC-390 is scheduled to take part in the flying display on the opening day, with the Brazilian air force asset and an A-29 Super Tucano also to be on view in the static park.

“We are expecting some announcements. We are still working very hard on some of them,” he says.

Alluding to the airframer having signed C/KC-390 contracts with or gained selection by 10 nations, he notes: “It has become a trend in the tactical transport category.”

Its latest customer is Sweden, which in late-April confirmed a deal to buy four. Stockholm has signed a formal agreement to combine its acquisition with an existing deal covering the production of five NATO-standard aircraft for the Netherlands, and four examples for Austria.

Da Costa says Embraer’s contract with lead nation the Netherlands also contains provision for “potential new slots, if new nations would like to join the club”. Portugal – the company’s first export customer for the C-390 – also is interested in establishing a similar mechanism, he adds.

Angola was recently reported as having an interest in acquiring the C-390: Embraer has yet to secure a first customer for the airlifter in Africa.

“We have a local team in the region, and we are investing a lot in Africa,” he says, while noting that multiple operators there already fly its A-29, including Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria.

Confirming the company’s pitch to Angola, he adds: “we have sales campaigns in several other countries” on the continent. In September 2024, it described South Africa’s military as having expressed “great interest” in the transport.

Da Costa summarises his unit’s current level of business activity as representing “a very special momentum”.

“When I assumed this position we had a clear strategy to bring Embraer Defense & Security as a serious defence player,” he says. “We did that in 2024 and we have been doing it in 2025. We would like to become an even more relevant international player, and you are going to see us everywhere.”