Yesterday, May 14, the Argentine Aircraft Factory (FAdeA) delivered the cargo door and landing gear door assemblies of the Serial Number 011, which will be the first KC-390 of the Portuguese Air Force.
According to what the company communicated, this delivery is the first one destined for a client outside the Brazilian Air Force. FAdeA has been part of the KC-390 program since the beggining, and is not the only foreign supplier of the Millennium: Aero Vodochody participates in the rear fuselage, Rockwell Collins provides the avionics, and BAE Systems is in charge of the fly-by-wire control system, among others. The KC-390’s engines are from International Aero Engines (IAE), in the first military installation of the V2500-E5.
Hungary and Portugal are the two confirmed foreign customers of the aircraft, which is also being observed by several nations. Argentina at the beginning of the program expressed its interest in incorporating six KC-390s, but at the moment that interest did not translate into real orders.
FAdeA expects to deliver one more set for this aircraft in the coming months, and the future production rate will be related to the dynamic of the orders.
