Hungary’s first Embraer C-390 Millennium makes its maiden flight

The Embraer Defense & Security team flew the aircraft for approximately four hours, carrying out a complete assessment of the aircraft, which will now undergo a test campaign ahead of the entry into service with the Hungarian Air Force.

“This maiden flight is a major milestone for the Hungarian C-390 program,” said Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. “The C-390 Millennium is receiving international recognition on the back of its remarkable operational performance and capabilities, and Embraer is ramping up production to address increasing market demand. It is an honor to work with the Hungarian Defence Forces in strengthening their capabilities with the best military airlift solution available. We are keen in further deepening this partnership with the Hungarian Defence Forces, and supporting them well into the future.”

In November 2020, the Hungarian government signed a contract with Embraer to acquire two C-390s. The Hungarian Defence Forces’ aircraft will be the first in the world to have an intensive care unit (ICU) in its configuration, an essential resource for carrying out humanitarian missions.

Hungary is the third country to have chosen the C-390, after Brazil and Portugal. The Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, and South Korea have also selected the multi-mission aircraft. The C-390 is redefining military air transport and challenging the logic behind current and future generation platforms, offering multi-mission capability, reliability, and interoperability built by design.

The C-390 can carry more payload (26 tons) than other medium-sized military transport aircraft and flies faster (470kt) and farther, being able to carry out a wide range of missions, such as transporting and launching cargo and troops, air medical evacuation (medevac), search and rescue (SAR), firefighting and humanitarian missions, even operating on unpaved runways, on surfaces such as compacted earth and gravel.