Greece inks deal for KC-390 fleet

Embraer's KC-390 Millennium in flight during the 2026 Farnborough airshow. (Bartosz Głowacki / Breaking Defense)

PARIS — Greece has finalized a deal for a new fleet of up to six KC-390 Millennium aircraft, capping an anticipated sale of the airlifter to Athens and setting a first delivery for next year, Greek Defense Minister Nikoloas Dendias and Brazilian manufacturer Embraer revealed today.

The finalized deal, which includes three aircraft with options for three more, was announced by Dendias as part of a visit from his counterpart, Portuguese Minister of National Defense Nuno Melo. The agreement follows the reported approval in June by a Greek parliament committee for the procurement and follow-on support of three Millennium aircraft, with an expected budget of roughly €600 million ($672 million).

The purchase of the Embraer aircraft “marks two firsts” for the Hellenic Air Force, Dendias said, according to a Google translation of his remarks released by the Greek Ministry of National Defense: the acquisition of a “jet transport aircraft,” as well as a refueling tanker. Once fielded by the Hellenic Air Force, the Millennium can refuel Greek fighter jets using a hose-and-drogue system, which Dendias called a “huge advantage.”

Athens plans to acquire the KC-390 via a government-to-government agreement with Portugal, which Dendias confirmed in July . Last year, in addition to upping its own Millennium buy to six aircraft, Lisbon announced options for an additional ten aircraft that could be shared among other NATO members.

“We are honored by Greece’s decision to acquire the KC-390 Millennium. This choice underscores the trust and confidence that leading NATO members place in our aircraft,” Bosco Da Costa Junior, the president and CEO Embraer’s defense unit, said in a company press release .

In his remarks, Dendias noted that Portugal will help Greece effectively wield its forthcoming fleet, including for training and operations. Dendias described the aircraft’s significance in world-historical terms, asserting the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 — a long-simmering tension between the two NATO countries — “could not have happened” if the Hellenic Air Force possessed a tanker aircraft that capable of refueling its fighter jets.

The sale of the KC-390 marks the seventh European customer for Embraer, which has developed a strong market among NATO nations. Like other international customers, Athens was swayed to replace its aging Lockheed Martin C-130H fleets with the Millennium, which often competes against the newer C-130J. The aircraft can move cargo in addition to refueling among other applications.

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The Greek finalized order adds a third customer this year for the Millennium, following deals announced by Colombia and the United Arab Emirates . The Brazilian planemaker eventually hopes to break into the US market with the KC-390 and has offered a dedicated American final assembly line to sweeten the bid.

In the meantime, Embraer plans to ramp production of the C-390 amid higher global demand, aiming for an annual output of 10 aircraft by the end of the decade.

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巴西航空工业公司的KC-390“千禧”加油机在2026年范堡罗航展上飞行。（Bartosz Głowacki / Breaking Defense）

巴黎——希腊国防部长尼古拉斯·登迪亚斯和巴西航空工业公司今天透露，希腊已最终敲定购买至多六架KC-390“千禧”运输机的协议，这标志着希腊向雅典出售该型运输机的预期完成，并确定明年将交付首批飞机。

最终敲定的协议包括三架飞机，并可选择增购三架。该协议由希腊国防部长登迪亚斯在葡萄牙国防部长努诺·梅洛访问期间宣布。此前，希腊议会一个委员会已于6月批准采购三架“千禧年”飞机并提供后续支持，预计预算约为6亿欧元（约合6.72亿美元）。

据希腊国防部发布的谷歌翻译版本显示，国防部长登迪亚斯表示，购买巴西航空工业公司的飞机对希腊空军而言“意义非凡”，标志着希腊空军“首次拥有两架喷气式运输机”和一架加油机。登迪亚斯称，一旦希腊空军装备“千禧年”飞机，它就可以使用软管和锥套系统为希腊战斗机加油，这是一个“巨大的优势”。

雅典计划通过与葡萄牙的政府间协议采购KC-390加油机，丹迪亚斯已于7月证实了这一点。去年，里斯本除了将自身“千年发展目标”计划的采购规模增加到6架之外，还宣布了另外10架飞机的选择权，这些飞机可以与其他北约成员国共享。

“希腊决定采购KC-390千禧加油机，我们深感荣幸。这一选择凸显了北约主要成员国对我们飞机的信任和信心，”巴西航空工业公司防务部门总裁兼首席执行官博斯科·达·科斯塔·儒尼奥尔在一份公司新闻稿中表示。

登迪亚斯在讲话中指出，葡萄牙将帮助希腊有效运用其即将交付的机队，包括用于训练和作战。登迪亚斯从世界历史的角度阐述了这架飞机的重要性，他断言，如果希腊空军拥有能够为其战斗机加油的加油机，那么1974年土耳其入侵塞浦路斯——这两个北约国家之间长期存在的紧张关系——“就不可能发生”。

KC-390的售出标志着巴西航空工业公司（Embraer）在欧洲获得了第七个客户。该公司在北约国家中建立了强大的市场。与其他国际客户一样，雅典也决定用KC-390替换其老旧的洛克希德·马丁C-130H机队。KC-390经常与更新型的C-130J展开竞争。除了空中加油等用途外，该飞机还可以运输货物。

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继哥伦比亚和阿联酋之后，希腊最终敲定的订单使这家巴西飞机制造商今年获得了第三个千禧年型飞机客户。这家巴西飞机制造商最终希望凭借KC-390打入美国市场，并提出在美国设立一条专用总装线以增加竞标吸引力。

与此同时，随着全球需求的增长，巴西航空工业公司计划提高 C-390 的产量，目标是在本十年末实现年产 10 架飞机的目标。

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