KC-390 Millennium
ICAO E390Brazil's jet-powered answer to the Hercules, now selling into Europe. Live KC-390 Millennium positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No KC-390 Millennium is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Embraer
- Role
- Tactical airlift and aerial refuelling
- Class
- L2J — Landplane, 2 jet engines
- Crew
- 3
- First flight
- 3 February 2015
- In service
- 2019
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the KC-390 Millennium
The KC-390 is the most serious challenge the Hercules has faced in decades, and it is unusual in being a jet. Where the C-130 and A400M use turboprops, Embraer fitted two turbofans, trading some short-field performance for a substantially higher cruise speed.
It has begun to sell. Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, South Korea and Sweden have all ordered it, and the Portuguese aircraft in particular are now regular sights over Europe. Brazil remains the largest operator.
It can also refuel, using wing pods, which puts a tanker capability into a tactical transport that ordinarily would not have one.
Callsign prefixes
- SNAK
- A recurring Portuguese Air Force block
- BRS
- Brazilian Air Force
- HUAF
- Hungarian Air Force
How to recognise it
- —Two turbofans on underwing pylons — no other tactical transport in this class has jets.
- —A high wing and rear ramp like a Hercules, but a cleaner, more modern line and a swept tail.
- —Cruises faster than the turboprops it competes with, typically around 400 knots.
Common questions
+ Is the KC-390 better than the C-130J?
It is faster and carries somewhat more, but the Hercules has better rough-field performance and seventy years of support infrastructure behind it. Several air forces have chosen the KC-390 on speed and cost; others have stayed with Lockheed for exactly those reasons.
+ Which countries have ordered the KC-390?
Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, South Korea and Sweden among others. Deliveries are still in progress, so the fleet visible here grows year on year.
+ Why does a transport aircraft use jet engines?
Speed and altitude. A turbofan gets the aircraft to a destination sooner and lets it cruise in airliner airspace, which matters more for strategic movement than for landing on a dirt strip.