Embraer says Mahindra will be its partner for IAF's 60 transport plane tender, to partner with Adani for commercial planes

Brazilian aerospace firm Embraer has said that it would be partnering with Indian Mahindra Group for the Indian Air Force's 60-aircraft Multi-Role Transport Aircraft programme, where they would be offering their KC-390 Millennium jet.

In an interaction with ANI, Embraer Defence & Security President and CEO Bosco Da Costa Junior said that for the civilian aircraft business, they have tied up with the Indian AdGroup.

"Let me make this point very clear. Again, as I mentioned, we have been following this since the beginning. So, back in 2023, we did a C-390 demo here in India, where we could meet the entire ecosystem, their own ecosystem and potential partners for that. At that time, we did a very deep analysis of the market, and we chose the Mahindra Group to be our partner for MTA. So, on the military side, Mahindra is our partner to pursue this case around the transport aircraft. On the Embraer commercial side, from a civilian perspective, Embraer is exploring another avenue with Adani to address the increased demand around connectivity and regional flights. So, Adani is our partner for the civilian side. This is not going to change," he said when asked if Adani could also be their partner for the military transport deal as they have also been given the Request for Proposal.


Asked about the MTA programme where the Indian Air Force is looking to buy 60 transport aircraft, Bosco said, "We are fully engaged to answer this, to comply with the timeline that they are looking for. They need this capability fast to increase the availability of their fleet. And again, I think the C-390 is the perfect fit for them."

The MTA programme seeks 60 aircraft to begin replacing the IAF's ageing transport fleet, with an option to add another 50 per cent. Embraer is offering the twin-engine C-390, a platform already in service with Brazil, Portugal and other air forces.

Talking about the Brazilian aircraft C-390 for Indian Air Force requirements, he said, "Embraer is positioning the KC-390 as a direct replacement not just for the AN-32, but as a platform to standardise the IAF's medium transport fleet."

Five companies, including Mahindra, Tata, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Reliance Defence and Adani, have received the Request for Proposal from the Defence Ministry for the Indian Air Force programme

Asked to compare the Brazilian aircraft with the American C-130J, which is being offered by the Tata-Lockheed Martin team, Bosco said, "What a C-130 can do, the KC-390 can do even better. We can carry more; we can fly faster, higher, with unprecedented rates of availability and mission accomplishment."

Citing global fleet data, he said the KC-390 is currently achieving 93% availability and 99% mission accomplishment. "One customer that has more than four units achieved 100% availability last month," he added.

The Embraer Defence CEO said the aircraft has already demonstrated operations from unpaved desert runways during a one-week trial with the UAE Air Force.

With a global order of around 70 KC-390 aircraft, including new orders from the UAE for 10 and Colombia for 2 more, Embraer says India was important and central to its supply chain plans.

"We would like to use India as a hub for us because, again, we need to expand our supply chain base and our MRO base because we are growing. I can't support operators worldwide without growing my network from a global perspective. So that's the reason we are watching this case here as a very strategic one for us," Bosco said.