DefenseSaudi Arabia is no longer a priority market for the C-390 Millennium military transport, Embraer CEO Francisco Gomes Neto said, signaling weaker prospects for a deal that had been under discussion for several years.
Speaking to Reuters, Gomes Neto said the Middle Eastern country remains a potential business opportunity but is no longer a “hotspot” for the company’s defense division, which is now focusing its efforts on India and the United States.
Embraer had hoped to replace part of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s aging fleet of Lockheed Martin C‑130 Hercules with the Embraer C‑390 Millennium. Saudi Arabia already operates the newer Lockheed Martin C‑130J Super Hercules, which competes directly with the Brazilian jet.
In 2023, during a visit by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the kingdom, Embraer signed an agreement with Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), backed by the sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund, to study the creation of a C-390 assembly line in the country.
At the time, the Brazilian manufacturer was pursuing a possible order for 33 aircraft and proposed producing them locally with up to 50% domestic content, alongside the creation of engineering capabilities in the country.
The proposal was aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, the government’s strategy to develop domestic industrial sectors including aerospace and defense.
Gomes Neto suggested that the Saudi air force may be looking for a larger transport aircraft, which could reduce the likelihood of a near-term order for the C-390.
The Embraer CEO’s remarks are consistent with Airbus’s negotiations with Saudi Arabia to offer the A400M Atlas. The transport already carries heavier payloads than medium aircraft such as the C-390 or the C-130J, and the manufacturer is studying an increase in maximum payload to 40 tonnes in a future configuration.
